Anyone running a business wants to know that their marketing or advertising dollars are being spent wisely, and more importantly, with an actual return on that investment (catchily known as ROI). That’s why Google Analytics and other tracking software are a big deal for website owners – they can measure the success (or lack thereof) of their content and drill down to very specific information.
When it comes to blogging, we can get an idea of which posts perform best and generate new content that explores those topics further. The idea is to own that first page of Google for an ideal search term or keyword phrase. I keep an eye on this myself for a few of my clients, including Metal Roof Network and Freestyle Fitness. I want to know which posts get the most clicks, feedback and interaction – and which ones aren’t doing much. In those instances, I can shake things up to get a better response. In other cases, I don’t have access to the analytics myself, but I don’t let that stop me!
But does it work?
I reached out to Pregnancy & Newborn magazine at the beginning of this year for feedback about my blogging on their site. Here’s what they said:
On January 7, my number one post (“The Baby Goes with Everything”) had 3,595 views. It was the 52nd most viewed page on their (ginormous) site for the previous 12 months and the number one most read blog post overall for the same time period. It beat the second most popular blog post, written by another blogger, by more than 1,000 views.
My second most read post, “Moving On Up,” had 1,290 views for the quarter and ranked as the 92nd most viewed page on the entire site.
what does it all mean?
Here’s the significance of those numbers: people are considering those posts relevant enough read, comment on and share with their friends, families and respective audiences. That’s how valuable content spreads on the Internet. Granted, these are fluff pieces about my darling baby but the value to Pregnancy & Newborn is customer interaction, fresh new content to keep their website growing and the potential to get their site in front of a buying audience.
When you blog (or, even better, when I do it for you) from a business standpoint, you’re doing the same thing – getting your company and product or service line in front of a receptive audience. They’re coming to you because your content is appearing when they search. And it’s filling a need, however small that need may be, which is the definition of good business at its very core.
Last September, P&N gave me additional feedback on my posts, sharing that they are “packed with helpful info for new mamas, and they always do well – in fact… your recent post on what to buy for a new baby was the sixteenth most read post on our website for the month of August with 1,893 page views. Only one other blog post made it into the top 25, so that’s nothing to sneeze at!”
I’m six months into this blogging project for P&N, and I’m so enjoying it. I write every day, but rarely do I write for myself. This gives me an outlet to do just that, and if I can make other mamas laugh or cry or commiserate while I’m doing it, that’s a win-win. I’m happy that the numbers are reflective of that. : )