Defining Success Metrics for Corporate Blogs
I was recently asked to help someone define success metrics for a corporate blog. I thought this was such a great topic that I'd share my answer with a wider audience.
Many of the success metrics for blogs are similar to those that might apply to a Website, since blogs are a variation on a Website.
These 'shared' success metrics include:
Blog/Website Traffic
- Unique Visitors
- Unique Visits
- Repeat Visits
- Page Views
- Page Views per Visit
- Average Time Spent on site
Blog/Website Brand/Content Interactions
- Content Page Views
- Content % of Page Views
Blog/Website Responses (if applicable)
- Number of Desired Responses
- Conversion Rate from site visitor to Desired Response
- Cost-Per-Desired Response
In addition to the above 'shared' success metrics, there are a number of success metrics that are specific to the unique nature of blogs.
These blog-specific success metrics include:
- Number of Subscribers to the blog's RSS Feed
- Number of Overall Inbound Links to the blog
- Number of other Blogs that Link to the blog
- Number of Comments Submitted to the blog
- Number of Trackbacks Submitted to our blog
Not all of these success metrics will apply in every case, however these are some of the more common ones.
