Monitoring digital marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is vital, ensuring you are producing the right content online for your business. Crucial online data is easily accessible for companies looking to utilise their digital platforms more efficiently. By analysing this data, businesses can hit target markets and get a return on investment (ROI) for the time and money they are spending.

At Springboard, we know how difficult it can be for businesses to evaluate what impact their content is making. That is why we have listed these top three digital marketing metrics which can really work for your business.

Traffic Metrics:

Understanding where your website visitors are coming from is essential. By understanding and comparing traffic sources, you can analyse what is driving visitors to your website. You can then work to improve lead generation from the weakest sources. The number of referrals to your site from URLs on other pages can give you insight into whether your guest blogging/articles are a success. You can also see whether visitors are searching for your business organically. This kind of analysis can help you understand what attracts visitors to your page, and which keywords and phrases are most likely to increase conversions.

Conversion Metrics:

The traffic to your page may be increasing day-on-day, but in order to assess whether the right people are reaching your page, you need to look at your conversion rates. This is measured by looking at the volume of people that took action on your website. Did they complete a newsletter sign-up form? Did they return to the website again? How long did they stay and what pages were they most interested in? By considering these metrics, you can gauge a number of things. If you have a high bounce rate on your website, this may indicate that you haven’t leveraged your content effectively to encourage readers to stay on your website and visit other pages. You may also find that your newsletter sign-ups may be minimal, which could be due to lack of incentive. This might be improved by offering a white paper on registration to gather more leads and increase conversions.

Bottom Line Metrics:

It can be difficult to evaluate whether you are getting a ROI for the time you are spending on content creation, or the money you are spending on pay-per-click (PPC). You can start by analysing the volume of your teams’ content and comparing it to the number of conversions and leads the content generates. This will gauge the average value of the material they create. It’s important to note not every piece of content will result in an immediate sale. Sometimes a piece of content is a vital part of brand awareness, which can be difficult to measure in cost. So how can you make sure you are getting a ROI in marketing? You should retain a focus on your bottom line and end goals at all times. Always complete an evaluation at the end of any campaign, and whether the cost justified what you achieved. If you did not achieve your goals, or see any desired changes in consumer behaviour, then you need to investigate where the campaign failed.  By using bottom line metrics, you can learn how to improve your content strategy in the future to generate a better ROI.

By utilising these three types of metrics in your marketing strategy, you can provide better targeted digital content to achieve your marketing goals.

To read about content marketing metrics you should be using click here.

Follow @Springboard_PR on Twitter or follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with our weekly #TuesdayPRTip.

Post by Susie Horgan

Susie founded Springboard in 2011, and has developed the business into a leading, director-led communications agency. She has worked for over 20 years in senior marketing and public relations roles.