In organizations that publish content, metrics and key performance indicators are used to prove the worth of content strategy practices and solutions to management teams and decision makers. But ROI is not just about more products being sold, conversions of customers or operational efficiencies gained. This presentation will show that by using solid, hard metrics, content creators and managers can improve their content. Metrics necessary for the following optimized content experiences will all be addressed: content personalization, taxonomy and metadata, production and content lifecycle, content effectiveness, governance and, mobile.

1. AZZARD
CONSULTING
Positioning Content for Success:
A Metrics Driven Strategy
REBECCA SCHNEIDER, PRESIDENT, AZZARD
CONSULTING
KEVIN P NICHOLS, DIRECTOR AND GLOBAL
PRATICE LEAD OF CONTENT STRATEGY
@ SAPIENTNITRO
© COPYRIGHT 2013 SAPIENT CORPORATION & AZZARD CONSULTING

2. Today’s Agenda
1. Introduction
2. Definitions
3. Content Personalization
4. Taxonomy and Metadata
5. Production and Content Lifecycle
6. Content Effectiveness
7. Governance
8. Mobile
9. Pitfalls
10. Feedback and Contact Info
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3. 1. Introduction
3

4. Introduction
Rebecca Schneider
President, Azzard Consulting
18 Years experience in Information Management
Industries: Retail, Auto Manufacturing, Financial Services, Technology
Kevin Nichols
Director, Global Practice Lead, Content Strategy, Sapient/Nitro
17 Years experience in the Web Development Industry
Key Clients: MIT Open Courseware, Hewlett Packard, Sprint, Intel
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5. Why do this presentation?
ROI for Content Strategy is one thing. . .
But, how do we leverage metrics for content development??
We will answer which metrics are necessary to:
Measure content efficacy
Refine personalized content experiences and ensure future success
Develop useful metadata and taxonomies
Measure what‟s important for publishing and content lifecycle
Ensure effective content governance
Capture the important information specific to mobile
And, avoid metrics and analytics pitfalls
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6. 2. Definitions
6

7. Metrics Definitions
Metrics
Tangible measures of inputs and outputs.
Key Performance Indicators
A set of metrics used to quantify success of an organization‟s activities.
Analytics
Conclusions drawn from metrics.
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8. Hard Metrics
Quantitative measurements: numbers, facts. It‟s the “What.”
Examples:
Web & Mobile
Conversions
# Visits
Time on Site
Media
Click-through Performance on Advertisements/Banners
Search
Internal, Organic, Paid – keyword usage
When to use
There is a need to demonstrate a quantifiable return on investment.
Too much anecdotal information is being used to make decisions.
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9. Soft Metrics
Qualitative: stories, feelings/motivation. It‟s the “why.”
Examples
Primary Research
Focus Groups
Secondary Research
Marketing Trends
Social Listening – Digital Anthropology
Online Behavioral Analysis
Surveys
Customer Satisfaction
When to use
Trying to understand customer behavior (needs, motivations, perceptions).
Further understand the hard metrics data.
Warning: do not use qualitative measurements to the exclusion of all else.
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10. 3. Content Personalization
10

11. Content Personalization
Tailoring the online experience to a specific user:
Terms to describe aspects of personalization:
Customer
Intelligent segments
Targeted offers Business Rules
Ad Server
Dynamic Pages
Contextual Ads Intent-Based search Guided Selling
Up-Sell
Need Based Shopping Relevant
Social Marketing User Types Behavioral Targeting
Targeted Messaging
Recommendations
Personas Cross-Sell
Targeted Content
Counter Offer
User Generated Content
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12. Content Personalization
Where does the customer go? Where can content be personalized?
Favorite Metric:
Click stream (customer journey through site)
Clearance Page > Men‟s Coats > Shearling Coat > Add to Cart >
Purchase Completion
Other Metrics:
Length of Visit Per Page
Decision/Compare: Snow-blower Comparison
Depth of Visit
Research: Samsung 50” Flat Screen TV (Product
Specifications)
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13. Content Personalization
What is the customer interested in? Their reason for coming to site?
Favorite Metric:
Customer Interaction History (profile or cookie-based)
Accessories for previously purchased item: bracelet charm
Similar products (artist, genre): music, books
Other Metric:
Photo from Pandora
Top Keyword Searches
“Clearance”
“Earphones for iPod”
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14. Content Personalization
Where and when does the customer convert (e.g. filling out user profile,
adding item to shopping cart, purchasing product)?
Favorite Metric:
Purchased Product
Product as part of series: Game of Thrones Season 1,
Season 2 to be released, etc.
Other Metrics:
Site registration
Register for special content: Whitepaper
Viewed Product Information
Product/Brand Blitz: Car Promotion Microsite
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15. 4. Taxonomy and Metadata
15

16. Taxonomy & Metadata
Improving taxonomy (navigation, search) metadata (filters/facets) and to further enable
findability.
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17. Taxonomy & Metadata
What’s working for users? Are they finding what they need?
Favorite Metric:
Top successful searches
My Little Pony, iPad Cover
Other Metrics:
Organic, Paid search keyword ranking versus
conversion (which keywords yield higher
conversion rates)
Notebook vs. Laptop Photo from puuikibeach.
Click-stream to specific product category. Are
users going down the right path?
Homepage > Furniture > Children‟s
Homepage > Children‟s > Furniture
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18. Taxonomy & Metadata
What’s not working for users? Where’s the breakdown?
Favorite Metrics:
Bounce rates (entered a page from outside the site,
then immediately left)
More useful than exit rates.
Luxury hotel page, but looking for a B&B (“breakfast in bed”)
Other Metrics:
Exit rates (looked around the site, then left from a
particular page)
Exit rate can be considered successful (when leaving
after accomplishing a task) Photo from Valencia Bed & Breakfast
Product purchase: iPad Cover
Product non-purchase: Wrong item? Wrong size? Stock
availability?
Previous page prior to search (potential navigation
problems)
In home décor page, but then search for floor lamp
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19. Taxonomy & Metadata
What terms should be added to taxonomy or metadata to enable better
findability?
Favorite Metric:
Search terms used frequently that return no
results
Bathroom plunger (toilet plunger)
Other Metric:
Search terms used often in ad hoc description
fields
Mutual fund distribution, Roll-over
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20. Taxonomy & Metadata
What terms do users employ in search? Have they been leveraged?
Favorite Metric:
Refined searches
kitty toy > cat toy
Other Metrics:
Search terms that are variants of a preferred term
soda vs. pop; bubbler vs. water fountain
Terms used in taxonomy, but not in SEO metadata.
Photo from taiyofj
Does the SEO metadata need to be updated?
bed lifters, bed risers, bed storage
Organic, Paid keyword rankings
manila file folders, green hanging folders
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21. 5. Production and Content
Lifecycle
21

22. Publishing & Content Lifecycle
Entire end-to-end process in which content is acquired, created, managed, published
and optimized or retired.
Manage
Acquire/Create
Content
Content
Governance
Enhance Publish
Content Content
Evaluate
Content
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23. Publishing & Content Lifecycle
What is the benefit to improved content lifecycle processes?
Favorite Metric:
Time (cost) saved in optimizing (refining content)
Revision pushed to web.
Other Metrics:
Time (cost) saved in all other steps of the
content lifecycle
Acquiring
Third party content. Image from FreeDigitalPhotos
Creating
Original content
Maintaining (content review cycle)
Current , Redundant, Outdated Content
Publishing
Push to web.
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24. Publishing & Content Lifecycle
What is the benefit to new product introduction?
Time reduced to take product to market (due to content bottlenecks)
New Surface Windows 8 Pro to purchase website.
Photo from SpicaGames.
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25. Publishing & Content Lifecycle
How can content quality be improved?
Favorite Metric:
Drop in number of errors in content.
Tagging: outfit vs. welding kit
Other Metrics:
Decrease in content redundancy (also reduces
cost)
Sales vs. Marketing
Decrease in time necessary to respond to user
feedback, errors in content and/or changes to
published content.
Alert to correction (spelling errors, etc.)
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26. Publishing & Content Lifecycle
How can internal user satisfaction increase?
Favorite Metric:
Increase in internal organizational satisfaction due
to better findability, ease of content creation,
maintenance, etc.
Survey Tool (Foresee)
Other Metric:
Number of users in organization using CMS.
Ratio of users vs. total number
What is the ROI of robust localization processes?
Reduction in localization costs due to streamlined
CMS processes
Cost per word reduced for localized content.
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27. 6. Content Effectiveness
27

28. Content Effectiveness
Focus on the content journey, content quality and overall fit for the user.
TRIGGER WWW.COMPANY.COM IN-STORE
1 As she approaches
her local store, she
receives a push
SMS
notification on her
Michelle, an
phone, letting her know
existing She clicks the e-spot to about new accessories.
customer, receives view more She clicks on
a text message the product to view more As she adds to her
Mobile
details. Entering the store,
Web from retailer. “favorites”, 7
Michelle is greeted by
recommended
Ken, a sales associate.
products become
He has Michelle’s
even more
Mobile “favorites” ready for her to
relevant.
App view, which he pulled up
on his tablet.
2 3 4 5 6
Tablet
Web 8 9
Michelle saves
product to her Michelle has saved 6
Using her iPad, Michelle Using the sales
“favorites” and products to her
Tablet visits .com to “favorites.” Michelle associate tablet, Ken
continues to browse
App look for new products. updates her customer is able to pull up
the product catalog.
She notices an e-spot on sends her “favorites” to Michelle’s profile,
the homepage for a the nearest retail where he accesses
featured product that is location. her store loyalty
Desktop her favorite brand. coupons.
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29. Content Effectiveness
How is content relevance measured to determine the most effective messages?
Favorite Metric:
A-B Test of one message versus another.
Test two different value propositions, headlines or product images to see which performs the best.
Shopping Cart Icon vs. Shopping Bag Icon
vs.
Image from BizzBuzzMedia. Image from Pixabay.
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30. Content Effectiveness
How is content relevance measured to determine the most effective messages?
(cont.)
Other Metrics:
Rate at which content is viewed (frequency and duration)
Product specifications vs. Product “quick look” – which results in a conversion?
Multivariate testing of content on high-priority pages.
Test placement of various items on a page, various messaging and/or several different labels or headings.
Should filters be listed at the left or on top?
Determine the most popular content: Content that is „trending‟ with traffic and engagement time:
Use a trends app to measure which content is most used.
Popular whitepapers, Investor relations information, Cat videos!
Know the most successful content– in the eyes of the customer:
Rate at which a specific piece of content will result in a conversion.
Product videos that generate a high rate of purchase.
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31. Content Effectiveness
How do you determine an effective content journey and if the customer
arrived at a desired destination?
Favorite Metric:
Number of visits to convert (E.g.: purchase a
product) and time to convert
Customer returns after completing research
Awareness
Other Metrics:
Consideration
Actual browsing path versus assumed (pre-defined
browsing path)
Preference
Home > Support > Drivers
Home > Product > Support > Drivers
Where and when a customer exits prior to Purchase
conversion
When forced to register on news site after viewing Retension
several articles, is conversion completed?
Bounce rates
Where and when a customer jumps to search from
navigation and key terms used in search
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32. Content Effectiveness
How do you determine user satisfaction with site or experience?
Favorite Metric:
Rate at which content is being shared via social
email, post to facebook
Other Metrics:
Rate at which content is downloaded
User Manual/Instructions
Survey the user on site or page performance with user
feedback tools
Foresee
Determine problematic areas through bounce rates and
exit rates
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33. 7. Content Governance
33

34. Content Governance
Operational and organizational models needed to manage and ensure the continued success
of content.
Executive Sponsor
Governance Committee
Strategy Brand Accessibility Legal Taxonomy Content
Working Groups
Strategy Operations Technology Marketing Publishing Taxonomy
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35. Content Governance
Is there governance structure in place, with defined governance workflows?
Is it effective and successful?
Favorite Metric:
Time to implement content changes based on governance
decisions.
Major taxonomy change (structural shift) vs. minor taxonomy change
(label change)
Addition of information to support new product set
Other Metrics:
Time for governance committee to review content requests.
Time to complete a content review cycle.
ROT (Redundant, Outdated, Trivial)
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36. Content Governance
Is the content up to governance standards?
Favorite Metrics:
Accuracy/Error rates
http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracy.htm
Other Metrics:
Currency
Effectiveness – based on testing, web statistics, surveys.
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37. 8. Mobile
37

38. Mobile (Smartphone)
Metrics captured for mobile can be very similar to those captured for other form factors.
However, the analytical perspectives will differ because of the physical nature and practical
constraints when dealing with smaller form factors. Also user tasks are different from Web
behavior. For example*:
68 percent mobile searches result in a map look up
61 percent of local mobile searches result in a phone call
59 percent of mobile users interact with businesses via social media regularly.
*Source: http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/4-myths-of-mobile-metrics
Image from William Hook.
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39. Mobile (Smartphone)
Is the content experience delivered effectively?
Favorite Metric:
How long does a user spend on page?
Time spent on pages optimized for mobile
More time may indicate user cannot achieve or find information.
Image from thebarrowboy
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40. Mobile (Smartphone)
Is the content experience delivered effectively? (cont.)
Other Metrics:
How is search used?
Taxonomy/metadata related metrics – with a focus on mobile OS.
Low search utilization may indicate user cannot find search functionality.
How do users interact with form fields?
Track interaction with Form fields
On mobile sites, one field is recommended per page
How often does the phone orientation change (switching from vertical to horizontal)?
Generally, higher rates will correlated to higher exit rates. Exception: functionality requires orientation change (e.g. viewing a
video)
How is social media being used?
Survey amount of traffic entering from social media.
How are Smart Phones being used in-store?
Track user behavior – bar code scanning
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41. 9. Pitfalls
41

42. Pitfalls
Avoiding metrics and analytics pitfalls:
Statistics and damn statistics
Not all data is good data
More data does not equal better data
Ignoring common sense
Ignoring indicators (you can‟t pick your favorite)
Image from Robbie1
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43. 10. Feedback and Contact
Information
43

44. Questions
What did you want to learn that you still have questions about?
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45. Keep the conversation going.
Rebecca Schneider
rschneider@azzardconsulting.com
azzardconsulting.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaschneider
Kevin P Nichols
knichols@sapient.com
kevinpnichols.com
Twitter: #kpnichols
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-nichols/0/b50/160
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46. THANK YOU !