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.

Comments

[Easton Ellsworth]

Great list. I'd add another category to the pile: referral URLs. Companies should look closely at where their blog visitors are coming from - search engine searches, other blogs, press releases, feedreaders, etc.