Content Analytics

Overview

Content Analytics provides comprehensive insights into your content performance, audience behavior, search visibility, and editorial productivity. This section covers four main areas: Traffic Data, Content Ranking, Search Performance, and Content Production.

Traffic Data

Access detailed traffic analytics by navigating to Analytics → Traffic. This dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of your audience behavior and engagement patterns.

Key Metrics

The top of the dashboard displays critical summary metrics:

Total Visits

• Total number of visits to your site during the selected period
• Includes both new and returning visitors

Total Unique Visitors

• Number of unique individuals who visited your site
• Deduplicated across multiple visits by the same person

Returning Visits

• Percentage of visits from users who have visited before
• Indicates audience loyalty and retention

New Visits

• Percentage of first-time visitors
• Indicates reach and acquisition effectiveness

Average Time on Site

• Mean duration of visits across all users
• Higher values indicate stronger engagement

Bounce Rate

• Percentage of single-page visits
• Lower values generally indicate better engagement

Average Visit Duration

• Similar to time on site, may use different calculation methodology

Behavior Analysis

Visits and Pageviews

• Line graph comparing total visits vs. total pageviews over time
• Helps identify traffic patterns and content consumption trends
• Multiple pageviews per visit indicates engaged browsing behavior

Unique Users

• Trend line showing unique user counts over time
• Distinguishes between new and returning users (shown in different colors)
• Useful for understanding audience growth

Average Logged In Users by Time of Day

• Area chart showing when authenticated users are most active
• Helps optimize publishing schedules for subscriber engagement
• Useful for planning time-sensitive content releases

Average Visit Duration

• Line graph showing how session length varies over time
• Increasing duration suggests improving content quality or engagement
• Can be correlated with content changes or site improvements

Pages per Visit

• Trend showing average number of pages viewed per session
• Higher values indicate stronger content discovery and navigation
• Useful for evaluating internal linking and recommendation effectiveness

Bounce Rate

• Line graph tracking bounce rate percentage over time
• Helps identify periods of poor engagement
• Can be correlated with specific content or site changes

User Analysis

User Identification

• Stacked bar chart showing new vs. returning users by day
• Blue bars represent returning users
• Pink/red bars represent new users
• Helps track audience composition and growth patterns

Loyalty

• Stacked bar chart showing visit frequency distribution
• Segments users by number of visits (1 visit, 2-5 visits, 6-10 visits, etc.)
• Indicates strength of audience retention
• More visits in higher frequency buckets suggests strong loyalty

Account Creations

• Bar chart showing new account registrations over time
• Tracks datawall and voluntary registration effectiveness
• Useful for measuring audience growth

Content Reads Based on Customer Subscription Status

• Table comparing content consumption between subscribers and non-subscribers
• Shows percentage of reads from each audience segment
• Key metric for subscription business model

Geographic Data

Countries

• Table listing top countries by visit volume
• Shows percentage distribution of international audience
• Helps identify expansion opportunities

Visits by Country

• Stacked area chart showing visit distribution by country over time
• Multiple colors represent different countries
• Visualizes geographic trends and seasonal patterns

Device and Platform

Devices

• Table showing visits by device category (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet)
• Percentage breakdown of audience platform preferences

Visits by Device Type

• Stacked area chart showing device usage trends over time
• Helps inform responsive design priorities
• Tracks mobile vs. desktop consumption patterns

Traffic Sources

All Traffic

• Table showing traffic source breakdown with percentages
• Categories typically include:
  • Direct Entry (typed URL or bookmark)
  • Search Engines (organic search traffic)
  • Social Networks (social media referrals)
  • Websites (referral traffic from other sites)

Visits by Traffic Source

• Stacked area chart showing traffic source trends over time
• Different colors represent different source categories
• Helps evaluate marketing channel effectiveness

Visits by Campaign Medium

• Stacked bar chart showing traffic from different marketing mediums
• Tracks email, social, paid ads, and other campaign types
• Essential for marketing ROI analysis

Visits by Campaign Source

• Stacked bar chart showing specific campaign sources
• Breaks down traffic by individual campaigns or platforms
• Requires UTM parameter implementation

Engagement

Publications

• Bar chart showing article views by publication
• Compares performance across different publication properties
• Useful for multi-brand publishers

Categories

• Bar chart showing article views by content category
• Identifies most popular content verticals
• Helps inform editorial focus and resource allocation

On-site Searches

• Bar chart showing internal search query volume
• Indicates what readers are looking for
• Can reveal content gaps

Comments

• Multi-line graph showing comment activity over time
• Different colors may represent different comment states or sources
• Tracks community engagement levels

Content Ranking

Access the content ranking report at Analytics → Content. This report shows your top-performing content based on various metrics.

Understanding the Rankings

The content ranking table displays individual articles with the following columns:

Rank

• Numerical position based on the selected sorting metric
• Updates based on which column is used for sorting

Views

• Total number of article views (pageviews)
• Most common metric for content performance
• Click the column header to sort by views

Visits

• Number of unique sessions that included this article
• Lower than views if articles are read multiple times per visit

Orders

• Number of purchases or subscriptions attributed to this article
• Shows revenue-driving content
• Zero indicates content didn’t directly drive transactions

Title

• Article headline or URL
• Click to view the full article
• URLs displayed for pages without titles

Additional dimensions

• Based on your setup, you will see additional available properties for each content.

Using the Ranking Report

Identify Top Performers

• Sort by Views to find most-read content
• Analyze what makes these articles successful
• Replicate winning formats and topics

Find Conversion Drivers

• Sort by Orders to identify revenue-generating content
• Prioritize similar content types
• Use as entry points in marketing funnels

Analyze Traffic Quality

• Compare Views vs. Visits ratio
• High ratio suggests strong reader engagement
• Low ratio may indicate bounce or single-page consumption

Export for Further Analysis

• Convert table to CSV using the export function
• Perform deeper analysis in spreadsheet applications
• Create custom reports and presentations

Search Performance

Access search analytics at Analytics → Search. This report provides insights into how your content performs in search engines (Google, Bing, etc.).

Search Performance Overview

Search Performance of Top 5000 Keywords

• Line graph showing aggregate click performance over time
• Tracks overall search visibility trends
• Helps identify seasonality and growth patterns

Web Keywords

The primary search performance table showing keywords that drive traffic from web search results.

Columns:

Keyword

• The search query that led users to your content
• Exact match of what users typed in search engines

Clicks

• Number of times users clicked your result from search pages
• Direct measure of search traffic volume

Impressions

• Number of times your content appeared in search results
• Indicates search visibility and reach

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

• Percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks
• Formula: (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
• Higher CTR indicates compelling titles and descriptions
• Industry average typically 2-5% for most positions

Avg. Position

• Average ranking position in search results
• Lower numbers are better (1.0 = top position)
• Positions 1-3 typically capture most clicks
• Positions 11+ are on second page or lower

News Keywords

Separate table for keywords that trigger Google News or news-specific search results.

Same Column Structure:

• Keyword, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Avg. Position
• Typically shows higher CTR due to news-specific prominence
• Time-sensitive traffic patterns

Image Keywords

Tracks keywords driving traffic through Google Images and image search.

Same Column Structure:

• Keyword, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Avg. Position
• Shows which images attract traffic
• Important for visual content strategy

Using Search Analytics

Identify Opportunity Keywords

• High impressions + low CTR = optimize titles and descriptions
• Positions 4-10 with good CTR = opportunity to improve to top 3
• Rising impressions = growing search interest

Content Optimization

• Target keywords with high impressions but low rankings
• Create or improve content around these topics
• Optimize existing articles to capture more traffic

Track Performance

• Monitor ranking changes over time
• Measure impact of SEO improvements
• Identify seasonal trends

Competitive Analysis

• Keywords with declining CTR may indicate increased competition
• Lost rankings require content refreshes or new approaches

Content Production

Access production analytics at Analytics → Production. This report tracks your editorial team’s output and publishing patterns.

Key Production Metrics

Published Articles

• Total count of articles published during the selected period
• Displayed as a large metric card

Average per Day

• Mean number of articles published per day
• Helps set realistic editorial goals
• Useful for capacity planning

Publishing Patterns

Content Published by Date

• Area chart showing daily publication volume
• Identifies publishing frequency trends
• Reveals workload distribution and planning patterns

Average Published Content by Day of Week

• Area chart showing which days have highest publication volumes
• Monday through Sunday distribution
• Helps optimize editorial schedules and identify gaps

Average Published Content by Time of Day

• Area chart showing hourly publication patterns
• 24-hour distribution (00:00 to 23:00)
• Often shows spikes at start of business hours
• Useful for coordinating with audience activity patterns

Average Logged In Customers by Time of Day

• Area chart showing when subscribers are most active
• Helps align publishing schedule with reader availability
• Optimize timing for premium content releases

Content Distribution Analysis

Published Content by Publication

• Bar chart comparing output across different publications
• Identifies which properties receive most editorial focus
• Useful for resource allocation decisions

Published Content by Category

• Bar chart showing article distribution across categories
• Reveals editorial priorities and coverage balance
• Helps identify underserved categories

Published Content by Keyword

• Bar chart showing most frequently used keywords/tags
• Indicates topic focus and editorial themes
• Useful for content strategy reviews

Published Content by Author

• Bar chart ranking authors by article count
• Shows individual contributor productivity
• Helps with performance reviews and workload balancing

Published Content by User

• Similar to author chart, may include editors and other roles
• Tracks who creates content in the system
• Useful for workflow analysis

Published Content by Paywall

• Bar chart comparing free vs. paywalled content volume
• Categories: Not paywalled, Paywalled, Free (marked free despite being in premium category)
• Ensures proper balance in subscription strategy
• Tracks premium content production

Using Production Analytics

Optimize Publishing Schedule

• Align publication times with audience activity
• Distribute content throughout the week
• Avoid content clustering or gaps

Balance Content Strategy

• Ensure all categories receive appropriate coverage
• Monitor free vs. premium content ratios
• Track topic diversity through keyword distribution

Team Management

• Identify top performers and training opportunities
• Balance workload across team members
• Set data-driven performance goals

Capacity Planning

• Use average-per-day metrics to set realistic targets
• Identify periods of over/under capacity
• Plan for seasonal content needs

Social Performance

Access social and distribution analytics at Analytics → Social. This report provides insights into how your content performs across different distribution channels including social media platforms and email newsletters.

Overview Metrics

The social performance dashboard compares reach and engagement across all your distribution channels, helping you understand which platforms are most effective for your content.

Reach Comparison Across Channels

Channel Performance Overview

• Comparative analysis of reach across all active channels
• Identifies which channels deliver the most audience exposure
• Helps prioritize social media and distribution efforts

Channel Types Comparison

• Groups channels by type (Social Media, Email, RSS, etc.)
• Compares performance across different distribution methods
• Useful for strategic resource allocation

Number of Publisher Posts

• Tracks posting frequency across channels
• Shows content distribution volume
• Helps ensure consistent posting schedules

Channel-Specific Analytics

Each distribution channel provides its own detailed analytics based on the channel type. Access individual channel reports by selecting a specific channel from the dashboard.

Email Channel Metrics

For email newsletter and distribution channels:

Open Rate

• Percentage of recipients who opened the email
• Formula: (Opens ÷ Delivered) × 100
• Industry average typically 15-25% for news publishers
• Higher rates indicate strong subject lines and sender reputation

Click Rate

• Percentage of recipients who clicked links in the email
• Formula: (Clicks ÷ Delivered) × 100
• Measures content relevance and call-to-action effectiveness
• Typical range: 2-5% for news content

Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)

• Percentage of email opens that resulted in clicks
• Formula: (Clicks ÷ Opens) × 100
• Measures content quality for engaged readers
• Good benchmark: 20-30%

Delivery Rate

• Percentage of emails successfully delivered
• Should be above 95% for healthy lists
• Low rates indicate list quality issues

Bounce Rate

• Percentage of emails that failed to deliver
• Hard bounces (invalid addresses) vs. soft bounces (temporary issues)
• High bounce rates harm sender reputation

Unsubscribe Rate

• Percentage of recipients who opted out
• Typical: 0.1-0.5% per send
• Spikes indicate content or frequency issues

Spam Complaint Rate

• Percentage marked as spam by recipients
• Should be below 0.1%
• High rates can lead to deliverability problems

Total Sends

• Number of emails sent during the period
• Tracks list growth and sending volume

Engagement Over Time

• Graphs showing opens and clicks by day/time
• Identifies best sending times
• Tracks campaign performance trends

Social Media Channel Metrics

For social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.):

Reach

• Total number of unique users who saw your content
• Organic reach vs. paid reach
• Key metric for brand awareness

Impressions

• Total number of times your content was displayed
• Includes multiple views by the same user
• Higher than reach if users see content multiple times

Clicks

• Number of clicks on links in your posts
• Direct traffic driven to your website
• Measures call-to-action effectiveness

Engagement Rate

• Percentage of reach that resulted in interactions
• Formula: (Likes + Comments + Shares + Clicks) ÷ Reach × 100
• Indicates content resonance

Likes/Reactions

• Number of positive interactions
• Quick engagement indicator

Comments

• Number of comments on posts
• Indicates deeper engagement and discussion

Shares/Retweets

• Number of times content was shared by users
• Amplifies reach beyond your direct followers
• High-value engagement metric

Follower Growth

• Net change in followers during the period
• Tracks audience building progress

Post Frequency

• Number of posts published
• Helps maintain consistent presence

Best Performing Posts

• Table of top posts by reach or engagement
• Identifies successful content formats and topics

Platform-Specific Metrics

Different platforms may provide additional unique metrics:

Facebook:

• Page likes
• Video views
• Post reach (organic vs. paid)
• Page engagement rate

Twitter/X:

• Retweets and quote tweets
• Profile visits
• Mention count
• Hashtag performance

Instagram:

• Story views
• Profile visits
• Saved posts
• Hashtag reach

LinkedIn:

• Post impressions
• Engagement rate by follower count
• Click-through rate
• Follower demographics

Using Social Performance Analytics

Identify Top Channels

• Compare reach and engagement across platforms
• Focus resources on highest-performing channels
• Consider deprecating underperforming channels

Optimize Posting Strategy

• Analyze posting frequency vs. performance
• Identify best times to post on each platform
• Test different content formats

Email Campaign Optimization

• A/B test subject lines to improve open rates
• Experiment with sending times
• Segment lists for targeted content
• Clean lists to maintain deliverability

Content Strategy

• Identify which content types perform best on each channel
• Tailor content formats to platform strengths
• Repurpose top-performing content across channels

Cross-Channel Analysis

• Compare email vs. social media effectiveness
• Identify complementary channel strategies
• Balance resources across distribution methods

Audience Growth

• Track follower/subscriber growth trends
• Measure impact of promotion campaigns
• Set realistic growth targets

Best Practices by Channel Type

Email Best Practices

Subject Lines:

• Keep under 50 characters
• Use personalization when possible
• Create urgency without clickbait
• A/B test regularly

Send Timing:

• Test different days and times
• Consider your audience’s schedule
• Avoid holidays and weekends (unless data supports)
• Maintain consistent frequency

List Management:

• Remove hard bounces immediately
• Re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers
• Segment by engagement level
• Respect unsubscribe requests promptly

Social Media Best Practices

Consistency:

• Post regularly on each platform
• Maintain brand voice across channels
• Use scheduling tools for efficiency

Engagement:

• Respond to comments and messages
• Ask questions to encourage interaction
• Share user-generated content
• Join relevant conversations

Platform Optimization:

• Use native features (Stories, Reels, Threads)
• Optimize image/video formats per platform
• Include relevant hashtags (but don’t overdo it)
• Tag relevant accounts when appropriate

Content Mix:

• Follow the 80/20 rule (80% value, 20% promotion)
• Mix content types (links, images, videos, polls)
• Share behind-the-scenes content
• Curate relevant industry content

Tracking ROI

Website Traffic Attribution

• Track clicks from each channel to your site
• Use UTM parameters for detailed tracking
• Monitor bounce rate by source

Conversion Tracking

• Measure subscriptions from email campaigns
• Track social media conversion rates
• Calculate cost per acquisition by channel

Engagement Value

• Assign value to different engagement types
• Calculate engagement rate ROI
• Measure brand awareness impact