the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s valuefebruary 4, 2015

raventools.com

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value intro

Arienne Holland Director of Marketing and Customer Experience

@arienneHO

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value intro

What you’ll learn • the problem with proving content marketing’s value

• the Google Analytics solution

• the dead simple solution

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the problem

the problemHow do you proveto clients that content marketing is worth it?

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the problem

$$$

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the problem

Content is valuable.

Content ismore valuable when it is shared (linked).

Value grows over time.

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the problem

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

the google analytics solution Gather referral data from GA. Dump it into a spreadsheet. Easy.*

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

*Caveats • Existing Google Analytics Goals are a prerequisite

• “Easy” does not equal fast

• “Does not equal fast” equals tedious time suck

• It’s free

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

Learn everythingyou need to know about GA goals, free!

Google Analytics Academy

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

Prep for the hack job 1. Google Analytics > Profile > Acquisition > All Traffic >

Referrals

2. Choose Explorer view “Summary”(or Goal Set X for more focused chart)

3. Choose Primary Dimension “Source”

4. Choose Secondary Dimension “Landing Page”

then…

5. Look for a referral source that’s bringing visitors who complete one or more of your goals.

6. Tip: drill down to the money-making goals.

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

then…

7. Click on the source of the money-making traffic.

8. Find out which URL(s) on the source domain are actually driving the money-making traffic.

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

then…

9. Open the specific URLs (a.k.a. Referral Paths) delivering money-making traffic.

10.Find the link on the page.

then…

11. Try to remember whether or not these are referral linksyou obtained via content marketing — by link building, relationship building, outreach or any other method that’s not random.

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

then…

12. Update your spreadsheet.

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

then…

13. Think, surely you could just download a CSV from Google Analytics with all of this in one table, right? Let’s try. 1. Google Analytics > Profile > Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals. 2. Choose Explorer view “Summary” (or Goal Set X for more focused chart). 3. Choose Primary Dimension “Landing Page.” 4. Choose Secondary Dimension “Referral Path.” 5. Sort columns by Referral Path to group results. 6. Choose to view 5,000 rows. 6. Export to CSV. But that doesn't show you the domain, only the specific referral path. Not very useful. So… 1. Google Analytics > Profile > Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals. 2. Choose Explorer view “Summary” (or Goal Set X for more focused chart). 3. Choose Primary Dimension “Landing Page.” 4. Choose Secondary Dimension “Source.” 5. Sort columns by Source to group results. 6. Choose to view 5,000 rows. 6. Export to CSV. But that doesn't show you the specific referring URL, only the domain. Not very useful. Okay, well, what if you just search for the referring URLs that you know were based on outreach, and then update your spreadsheet one line at a time?

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

then…

REALIZE THIS IS A TEDIOUS

TIME SUCK

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value the ga solution

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

the dead simple solution Run the Link Referrals report in Raven. It takes ~4 seconds.*

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

*Caveats • OK, sometimes it takes 9 seconds

• Existing Google Analytics Goals are a prerequisite

• Your referral links (a.k.a. backlinks) must be stored and monitored in Raven’s Link Manager

• It’s not free — but what is your time worth?

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

Prep for surgery 1. Authorize Raven to crunch your Google Analytics data.

2. Go to Tool Options > Customize Settings.

3. Check the “Auto-Import” box.

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

Go on,hum the Jeopardy theme song to yourself.

REALIZE THIS IS DEAD SIMPLE

prove content marketing’s value the dead simple solution

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value conclusion

What you learned • Proving content marketing ROI takes time

• You can do it manually with Google Analytics, spreadsheet, patience and a gazillion hours

• You can do it automatically with Raven, in seconds

the dead simple way to prove content marketing’s value conclusion

questions? help@raventools.com