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.
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.
Posted by: Easton Ellsworth | September 11, 2006 at 07:30 PM