3 Reasons Why Content Intelligence And Web Analytics Must Coexist

One of the main questions we get asked at Knotch is - “Why do we need a content intelligence (CI) platform if we’re already using web analytics tools?”.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, nearly 90% of businesses use website traffic and website engagement as the top ways to measure content performance. This includes metrics such as views, bounce rates, time on page, etc. - the key performance indicators (KPIs) we have relied on since the need to measure content was realized. However, as you dig deeper, you uncover a clear disconnect between the tools being used to measure content and their actual effectiveness. 

So, ‘Do you need a content intelligence platform?’ Yes, and here’s why. For far too long, we’ve overlooked that the content landscape has evolved greatly over time. Unfortunately, our MarTech stack has remained unchanged. To stay in sync with the changing needs of your audiences, and to successfully use content to achieve business outcomes, you need to adopt new technologies built to support these goals.‍

59% of businesses say the lack of actionable insights from current tracking methods is their biggest limitation when determining the effectiveness of their content activity. This could be one of the primary reasons why 67% of marketers believe their content is ‘not successful’ to ‘only moderately successful’. 

It’s safe to say as long as websites exist, there will be a need to understand how they perform. But can web analytics tools effectively measure the success of both - your website and content? If your business values ‘content’, then it’s time to explore technologies that are designed to specifically measure content performance and, in turn, help you connect it to outcomes that truly matter. 

To better understand the importance of content intelligence, let’s explore the top benefits of adopting a CI platform.

Meaningful Data 

Web analytics platforms are good at collecting data and measuring events that indicate if your website is healthy. And while that’s important, it’s crucial to realize the data and metrics, which track the performance of the ‘content’ on your website are different. A content intelligence platform expands the data points you’re able to collect, access and analyze to create a 360 degree view of your content. This includes necessary data points such as enhanced content engagement data, sentiment data, profile data, and firmographic data. Additionally, content intelligence platforms extend the collection of these data points to paid content channels with publishers. That’s typically a divide created by web analytics. 

The Chief Strategy Advisor at the Content Marketing Institute wrote, “If you’re looking for measurability, there will be no other foundational element as important as connecting your content marketing experiences and being able to have a 360-degree view into the audience you are engaging. This includes, of course, the data that customers willingly, trustingly, and emotionally give to you as part of that program. This is what Forrester calls “Zero Party Data.” We just call it building an audience.”

Scalable Structure

Another big gain that comes from using a content intelligence platform is organization. Web analytics platforms handcuff you to the hierarchy of your website, which makes it nearly impossible to stay on top of what content exists, where it exists, why it exists and if it’s performing or not. On the other hand, a CI platform gives you the ability to index and organize your content in custom libraries and content catalogues. This helps you arrange your content in a way that makes sense for your content strategy. Best practices include organizing by campaign, channel, publisher, blog, theme, funnel stage - the options are endless. Applying this methodology will evolve your content operations from simply understanding how to create content to operationalizing them at scale. It will also create visibility into what exists and performs well, so high-performing content can be leveraged across teams. If you’re investing in content, organization is key. 

Content Clarity

CI platforms take a content-centric approach to leveraging data and organization to provide you with new clarity. This means using distinct metrics and scores that were especially designed to help you connect your content to outcomes - at the individual asset level, folder level, and aggregate level. CI platforms arm content stakeholders with direct access to content specific insights derived from those metrics and scores. This is how you go from lacking the insights to determine content effectiveness to being confident that your content strategy is enhancing brand, increasing ROI, and building an audience. 

As a result, your ability to take action is dramatically increased. You’ll be able to understand if Publisher A is performing better or worse than Publisher B. You’ll have insight into if your content on Topic A actually resonated with your audience and encouraged them to consume additional content. You’ll be able to double down on what content is working, and change what isn’t. 

Making the Most of CI and Web Analytics 

The truth is - we need web analytics and we need content intelligence, using one of the two no longer makes the cut. The top takeaways:

• Stop treating content like a web page
• Give your content teams the resources they need to succeed
  

Armed with the right Martech, content leaders can build strategies that have the power to change brand perception, engage your target audience, and move deals in the right direction. That's why content intelligence and web analytics aren't alternatives for each other but must coexist.

If you’re curious to learn more about content measurement and connecting your content to business outcomes, download our free guide here. 

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