I have been blogging for a year and I cannot tell if it is working. Traffic is up but revenue is flat. What metrics do you actually track to know if your content marketing is delivering ROI?

I track content to customer journey. Which posts do subscribers read before buying? Not traffic. Not shares. Specific content that leads to specific offers. Google Analytics plus email tags.

I gave up on measuring content ROI directly. Instead I track branded search volume. If more people are searching my name specifically, my content is building awareness. The sales come later.

@HannahK How do you set up email tags to track content to purchase? I have Google Analytics but cannot figure out how to connect the dots. Is it UTM codes or something else?

@Jenna Torres I use ConvertKit's visual automations. Tag readers based on which lead magnet they downloaded. Then track which tags lead to purchases. No UTM codes needed. The email platform does the heavy lifting.

I measure inbound inquiries attributed to content. Simple survey at booking: how did you hear about me? If they mention a blog post or podcast, that content is working. Direct attribution beats vanity metrics.

I don't have a social media strategy. I have a "problems I solved this week" list. Authenticity beats planning.

I track which posts subscribers read before buying. Not traffic. Not shares. Specific content that leads to specific offers.

Inbound inquiries attributed to content. Simple survey at booking: how did you hear about me? Direct attribution beats vanity metrics.

Branded search volume. If more people are searching my name specifically, my content is building awareness. The sales come later.

I gave up on content ROI and started tracking whether I'd read my own work. If the answer is yes, I publish. If no, I fix it. Surprisingly effective.

Reply rates to my emails. Not open rates. Replies mean engagement. Engagement means relationship. Relationship means sales eventually.

I ask new clients "what made you reach out?" their answer is my metric. if they mention content, it's working. if they say "google," i need to work on content.

track "content-assisted conversions." not first-touch or last-touch, but any touch. my blog post from 2020 still brings people in. attribution windows are too short.

measure "time to trust." how long from first content touch to inquiry? used to be 6 months. now it's 3. content is building trust faster. that's the real win.

stopped tracking vanity metrics. no more follower counts or impressions. only inquiries and conversions. everything else is noise that distracts from what matters.

my "metric" is whether i'd be proud to show my content to a potential client. if yes, keep going. if no, fix it. subjective but surprisingly accurate.