Content marketing is still so important to B2B success. B2 B’s buying cycle is getting longer. Recent research found that 74% of B2B sales to new customers take at least four months to close. It takes a long time for a lead to be nurtured.
Content marketing can help prospects navigate their journeys by allowing them to explore topics and resources that are important to them.
The problem is that not all content marketing is successful. Many businesses become so involved in creating content that it becomes difficult to monitor the metrics that help them determine what is working and what isn’t.
What is B2B Content Marketing?
B2B marketing is the strategy business-to-business marketers use to develop the range of communication and assets needed to engage potential buyers, customers, stakeholders and other parties to support an organization’s business goals. B2B Content Marketing goes beyond just copy on a website. It includes audio and video, social media communication, and the many assets used to generate demand.
Important to Track Content Marketing Metrics For B2B Marketers
Monitoring content marketing metrics to see what content users respond to is important. You can gain insights from tracking metrics such as traffic and engagement to see your prospects’ formats and topics.
Tracking metrics can tell you more than just what topics you should cover in your content. There are many other benefits to tracking metrics:
So you can improve the quality of your leads and not just their quantity, it is important to understand what high-revenue leads are looking for.
Monitor how SEO efforts affect your website, leads and overall revenue.
Tracking how visitors navigate your site will help you improve the ROI of your campaigns.
You can improve your content by looking for areas lacking in leads and traffic.
The right content marketing metrics can give you a bird’s-eye view of the success and failure of your entire marketing strategy. What metrics are most important?
16 B2B Content Marketing Metrics to Track
You can start by defining your goals and working backward to determine which B2B content marketing metrics you should track. If your goal is brand development, metrics related to SEO or engagement will be more important than MQL and SQL conversions.
SEO Success
Website SEO and on-page optimization help your content rank for relevant searches. Is it working? These metrics will tell you if your SEO strategy is driving traffic.
Search ranking This metric shows you the position of specific pages in search results for key keywords. To track it, use an SEO tool such as Ahrefs.
Backlinks A major ranking factor is the number of sites linking to your content. Track backlinks with Moz’s Link Explorer.
Traffic: Overall, website traffic helps determine if people are finding your site. You can drill down to view traffic to specific content. This metric can be found in Google Analytics.
Engagement
B2B engagement is one of the most important B2B content marketing metrics you can track. According to Content Marketing Institute’s 2022, website engagement provides the best insight into B2B Content Marketing Performance.