SEO marketing analytics: what to track and why it matters

Content marketing helps you attract, engage and retain an audience by creating useful or interesting material they want to read or watch. It’s not about selling directly, it’s about earning attention and trust over time.

Without the right analytics, it’s hard to know if your content is actually working. You might not see an instant spike in sales and start to doubt its impact. But content marketing pays off in the long run by building your brand and cultivating an engaged and loyal audience.

For this reason it’s important to think about the bigger picture. Track how people interact with your content, whether they come back, and how it supports your wider goals like engagement, awareness or lead generation.

How do you use analytics for content marketing?

You should track different metrics depending on the platform you’re using. Analytics helps you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how content contributes to your wider business goals.

Website and blog content

Use tools like Google Analytics or WordPress plugins to track:

• Page views – see which pages are getting traffic
• Traffic sources – understand where visitors come from (search, social, direct, referral)
• Time on page – check how long users stay on each piece of content
• Bounce rate – see how often people leave without engaging further
• Social shares – see which content gets shared and where

Social media

Use platform-specific tools like Meta Business Suite, LinkedIn Analytics, or X/Twitter Analytics to track:

• Follower growth – are you building an audience?
• Engagement – likes, comments, shares
• Reach and impressions – how many people saw your content
• Click-through rate (CTR) – how often people click your links

Use multiple metrics to paint the bigger picture

When analysing your content marketing analytics, it’s important to look at a combination of metrics to get the full picture. Here are a few key metrics to focus on:

Engagement

Engagement is a very important metric for socials. Higher engagement signals to the platform’s algorithm that your content is worth promoting, which can boost reach and visibility. It also shows that your audience is paying attention, giving you a chance to deepen loyalty and guide them toward action. Once engagement grows, use it strategically, test calls to action, introduce offers, or drive traffic to owned channels like your website or mailing list.

Follower Growth

While follower growth isn’t the most important metric on its own, it can indicate whether your content is resonating and making people want to stay connected with your brand. If you see a spike in new followers after publishing certain content, dig into the analytics to understand what drove that growth. You may be able to replicate successful tactics.

Conversion Metrics

Ultimately, your content marketing should be driving real business results, like leads, sales, or other key performance indicators. Be sure to track how your content is contributing to these bottom-line metrics so you can understand the true ROI of your efforts. This will help you make informed decisions about where to focus your content strategy for maximum impact.

Cross platform analysis and strategy

If you post on various platforms you may find that some content works better on specific platforms. Analysing how different content formats and distribution channels perform can help you optimise your overall content strategy. By regularly reviewing your analytics, you can identify high-performing content, understand your audience’s interests, and make data-driven decisions to create more impactful content that drives the desired outcomes for your business.

Content funnel performance

Don’t analyse content in isolation. A good strategy maps out how content moves people through your funnel.

Track conversion metrics like:

• Email sign-ups
• Product demo requests
• Purchases or enquiries

This shows how content contributes to actual business outcomes. By regularly reviewing your content analytics, you can make informed decisions about what to create more of, what to adjust, and how to optimise your content marketing strategy for maximum impact.

Final tip - always refer to your content marketing strategy

Don’t fall into the trap of posting just to post. A clear content marketing strategy makes analytics easier to use and makes planning your next piece of content much easierl. It doesn’t need to be complicated. Start by asking: “Why does my target audience want this product or service?” Then build your strategy around the problems they face.

Map your content to key stages of their decision process:

• Problem-aware – they know something isn’t working, but not what to do about it
• Solution-aware – they know what kind of solution they need, but not how to implement it
• Comparison-ready – they’re using something already but are open to better options

Create content for each stage. When you match content to real needs, you’ll get more meaningful data from your analytics and more conversions.

Need help planning your content strategy? Get in touch below: