When you publish a new piece of online content—whether a video, a blog post, or a simple tweet—it can be exciting. It can also be very uncertain. You have big aspirations for how your content will impact your brand, but no way of knowing, in the moment, whether those lofty plans will pan out.

That’s what makes data so important, of course; by digging into website analytics, you can get some sense of how well your content is (or isn’t) working.

 
But even armed with numbers from, say, Google Analytics, it can be a little bit challenging to determine just how well your content is working out. As you take an inventory, consider these seven questions. Your honest answers may reveal much about the quality and efficacy of your content marketing endeavors.

Ask the Right Questions About Your Content Marketing
What keywords do people use to locate my content? Hopefully, you have a list of keywords you’re using on blog posts as well as PPC ads. And ideally, your Google Analytics show you that these keywords are indeed relevant to your website traffic. But if you don’t even know your keywords, it probably means you haven’t laid a good foundation for content marketing success.

What types of content do my readers engage with the most? Do you have a sense of which topics and channels get the most traction—and do you have data to back that up? Again, if you don’t know the answers, it suggests that you’re flying blind.

How long do readers stay on my website? A high bounce rate means the content on your site isn’t doing its job, plain and simple—and that it’s time to make your online presence more valuable and appealing.

Is your social engagement increasing? Using your social media dashboard of choice (say, Hootsuite) or simply the internal data provided by Facebook and other channels, you should have a good idea of whether your social engagement is growing, shrinking, or remaining static. Hopefully, your likes and shares are becoming more numerous over time.

Is your content creating website traffic? Are your social media pages primary traffic referrers for your company website? It’s always a good sign when they are!

Is your email list growing? If more people are signing up for your company email list, it bodes well for the kind of content you’re producing.

How is my online reputation? Do a quick Google search for your brand, and see what comes up. If it’s positive reviews, favorable mentions, and your own digital assets, that’s definitely a good sign.