If you are blogging on a regular basis, you will begin to develop a sense of what your target audience is interested in and what metrics constitutes success. But, if you are unsure as to what success looks like it can be difficult to judge the success of a post.
Has Anyone Read The Post?
This should always be the first question when you assessing the results of your blog posts. Head over to Google Analytics and view all of the key metrics associated with that particular blog post. Metrics such as pageviews and what drove the traffic to the post will provide useful information for your future blog strategy. Was the blog post featured in a weekly email update which delivered a large uplift in views? Or did the post gain many shares on LinkedIn that encouraged users to visit your website? Exploring the traffic sources of the pageviews will provide insightful data and allow you to quantify how many people have viewed the post.
What Happened Next?
Blog posts have two main purposes – to provide useful content and to drive traffic to your website. But, what do your blog readers do after they have landed on your website and read your blog content? If your blog readers are reading the post and then leaving your website, there is an opportunity to improve the user experience of your landing pages. Creating links to additional or related content can dramatically improve your pageviews as readers will be keen to learn more about a subject if the additional content is presented to them.
Did You Reach Your Goals?
When it comes to blogging there are many actions that could constitute a ‘goal’. Deciding what your overall objective is from the beginning will enable you to define whether the post was successful. Are your goals business based? If so, did the post generate any leads, phone calls or emails from interested customers? Are your aims to increase engagement on social media? If this is the case, then how many shares, likes and comments were generated across your social channels? Was this more or less than the previous post? Analysing the performance of all your marketing activities is essential in being able to answer the original question – how successful was my blog post?