In this informative webinar, experts from Seer Interactive and WP Engine will teach you how to develop sound content strategy using metrics as your guideposts. Watch on-demand recording now: https://wpengine.com/resources/demand-webinar-using-google-analytics-build-content-strategy/

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October 4, 2017
#wpewebinar

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CROP IMAGE
TO GRAY BOX
We’ll answer as many questions as we can after
the presentation
ASK QUESTIONS AS WE GO
Slides and recording will be made available shortly after
the webinar
Use the “Questions” pane
throughout the webinar

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
● Common Google Analytics Metrics Explained
● Finding Google Analytics Data
● How to Make Metrics Actionable
● Site Structure (Using Categories & Tags Effectively)
● How to Integrate GA Reporting into Workflows
● How to Operationalize GA Data for WordPress
● Q&A

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Sr. Account Manager
Seer Interactive
Chris Berkley
● Ran 803 miles in 2016
● Designed & built a mtn bike
● Likes cheesesteaks
Sr. Product Manager
WP Engine
Caroline Gorman
● My dog recently survived rattlesnake bite
● Hobby is ‘fixer-uppers’
● Dallas Mavericks fan

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Google Analytics Metrics: Definitions

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Common Google Analytics Metrics & Definitions
EXAMPLEDEFINITIONMETRIC
Users
New Users
Session
Pageviews
Unique
Pageviews
The number of people that have visited the site.
Percentage of visitors that have not been to the site
before. Useful for trying to reach new audiences.
A single visit to a website, starting when visitor enters the
site and ending when visitor leaves the site.
The count of all pages viewed. May be multiple
pageviews within a single session.
The number of unique pages viewed. Does not include
multiple views of the same page.
Lets you know how many unique people come to
the site compared to total sessions.
Helpful if you want to focus on reaching new
audiences, or evaluating returning visitors.
Total visits to the site. The most commonly used
all-around metric.
Helpful to understand what pages are being
viewed after the initial landing page.
Helpful to know how much visibility content is
getting on a per session basis.

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Common Google Analytics Metrics & Definitions (cont’d)
EXAMPLEDEFINITIONMETRIC
Pageviews per
Session
Bounce Rate
Avg Session
Duration
Average Time
on Page
The average number of pages viewed per session.
The percentage of people that visit a single page before
leaving. Useful for evaluating content performance.
The average length of time that visitors spend on the site
during their session.
The average length of time a visitor spends on a
particular page.
Helpful for ad-based sites to improve
engagement, showing more ads.
High bounce rates can be bad for sites based on
ad-revenue, or totally fine for local businesses.
Helpful to understand how long visitors typically
spend on the site overall.
Most helpful to evaluate page content on an
individual basis.

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Google Analytics Definitions
John Smith
(new user)
Jane Smith
Session #1
(4 minutes)
Session #2
(1 minute)
Pageview #1
Pageview #2
Pageview #1
Session #1
(2 minutes)
Session #2
(5 minutes)
Pageview #1
Pageview #2
Pageview #1
Session #3
(2:30 minutes)
Pageview #1
Pageview #2Pageview #2
Pageview #3
Session
Duration
Bounce
Users: 2
Sessions: 5
Pageviews: 10
New Users: 50%
Bounce Rate: 20%
Average Session Duration: 2:54

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Finding & Analyzing Google Analytics Data

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Finding GA Data
Pick a channel to analyze.
Visitors behave differently on
social media vs. email vs.
conducting Google searches.
Don’t compare apples to
oranges!
In Google Analytics, select
Acquisition > Channels and
select the channel of your
choice.
Tip: Which channel has been
most successful for you?
Select a channel

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Finding GA Data
Set your date range. The
default range is the past week.
Not long enough.
You might select:
● The previous month
● The year to date
● Q1 (or three months)
● The previous year
Tip: Larger date ranges allow
for better analysis. When in
doubt, pick the last 3-6
months.
Apply a date range

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Finding GA Data
Analyzing data at the page
level is the most helpful to see
which pages are doing well
and which pages aren’t.
Select Landing Page as the
primary dimension.
Tip: If you’ve selected social
media as the channel you
wish to analyze, you’ll need to
select a social network first.
Users behave very differently
on different social networks.
Select Landing Page

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Analyzing
Content
Landing Pages: Which pages are
the most successful?
Looking at content quantitatively.
Criteria for success:
● Pages with more sessions.
● Higher session duration
than average.
● Lower bounce rate than
average.

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WordPress
Dimensions
Access Posts, Pages, Categories,
Tags, and Author performance via
WP Engine Content Performance
Implementation:
● Promote popular posts to
drive conversion
● Re-purpose trending tags
and categories into
whitepapers and tutorials
● Improve posts with high
page views but low
engagement
● Assess author
performance to manage
resources and assignments

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Analyzing
Content
Landing Pages: What makes
these landing pages successful?
Looking at content qualitatively.
Content features:
● Instructional, “how-to”
content
● Colloquial, informative
tone
● Long form content
● Images and screenshots
used
● Video content embedded
on-page
Video content
Images
Long form
content

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Top Performing Pages
● Evaluate what’s working quantitatively.
● Examine why it’s working qualitatively.
● Do more of that!
● Double down on successful pages with
more pages on related topics.
OR
● If certain topics are already doing well,
refocus on areas that aren’t doing well.
Poorly Performing Pages
● Take the criteria applied to successful pages
and flip it, reverse it.
● What pages aren’t doing well?
● How do they differ from the pages that ARE
doing well?
● Can the tactics from successful pages be
applied to less successful pages to improve
them?
Content Analysis: Key Takeaways

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Using Categories & Tags Effectively

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“Keyword Stuffing
Categories & Tags will NOT
help with SEO.”

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At left: Good Category/Tag
usage. Clean, organized and
methodical.
At right: Poor tag usage with
keyword-stuffed tags.
Keyword stuffing: When
keywords are unnaturally
over-used in an attempt to
improve on-page SEO.
Good vs. Bad

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Categories are for broad
topics.
Tags are for more specific
topics within a category.
Don’t duplicate the same
category & tag.
Consistency is key: Develop a
list of predetermined
categories/tags and stick to
those, adding as you go.
WP Engine’s Content
Performance tool can help
analyze site performance by
category/tag, assuming a clear
structure is in place.
Sample Category/Tag Structure
Tips
Category & Tag Usage Guidelines
SEO Digital
Technical SEO
Video SEO
Local SEO
Strategy
Technology
Conferences
2017
Category:
Tag:
Tag:
Tag:

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See aggregate of all Categories
and Tags in a single view
Use Categories and Tags
reporting to inform site
structure
Check that you’re not over or
under-indexing on Categories
Drill down to understand which
articles are contributing to top
performing Categories and Tags
Tips
WP Engine Content Performance

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Integrating Google Analytics Data &
Reporting into Workflows

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Develop a
Process
Content Creation Process
1. Perform research using Google
Analytics. Look at your most
successful content. Think about
what your site visitors want to
see.
2. Develop a strategy based on
available data and using a clear
structure.
3. Execute the strategy. Create,
write and publish content!
4. Measure, analyze and
re-evaluate. How often should
you be analyzing this data?
Regularly.
Perform
Research
Develop
Strategy
Execute
Strategy
Measure
& Analyze

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Content Strategy
Content Hierarchy Example
Analyze data, build a strategy &
execute.
Example Content Criteria:
● Length: 500 - 1,500 words.
● Must contain rich media.
● Must be written
colloquially.
● Include internal links to
similar pages.
Content Hierarchy
● Pick a category.
● Build out tags &
sub-topics.
● Internally link those pages
to each other.
SEO
Technical SEO Video SEO Local SEO
Technical SEO Topic #1 Video SEO Topic #1 Local SEO Topic #1
Technical SEO Topic #2 Video SEO Topic #2 Local SEO Topic #2
Digital
Strategy Technology Conferences 2017
Strategy Topic #1 Technology Topic #1 Conference Topic #1
Strategy Topic #2 Technology Topic #2 Conference Topic #2

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Creating a
Workflow
Content Roadmap
Get tactical: Use a spreadsheet or
similar to plan out future
content. Include relevant
categories, tags and topics.
Optional:
● Include titles and meta
descriptions.
● Add dates for publishing
(content calendar).
Tip: Use Google Sheets if you’re
collaborating with other people.

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Measure/AnalyzeExecute StrategyDevelop StrategyPerform Research
Key Takeaways & Process
Know Google
Analytics definitions
Analyze your Google
Analytics data
Evaluate content
quantitatively
Plan to develop
similar content
Develop content
criteria
Map out structured
Categories & Tags
Start creating content
based on your
strategy
Stick to the content
criteria you developed
Adapt as needed
Evaluate the success
of implemented
strategies
What worked best?
Adapt strategies
based on results
Evaluate content
qualitatively
Develop a content
roadmap
Keep at it!
Begin next round of
research

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WP Engine Content Performance Demo

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Slides and recording will be made available shortly after the webinar
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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Resources
DESCRIPTIONRESOURCETACTIC
Perform
Research
Perform
Research
Perform
Research
Develop
Strategy
Develop
Strategy
Answer The Public
KeywordTool.io
AdWords Keyword Planner
Free tool for finding questions related to specific topics.
Free tool for finding keywords and topic ideation.
Tool to evaluate keywords and topics based on volume in a
specific region or country.
Creating a Content Calendar
Editorial Calendar Templates
Hootsuite’s guide to creating a content calendar includes
templates that you can download & use.
HubSpot also offers a number of editorial calendar templates
to help you stay organized.

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Resources
DESCRIPTIONRESOURCETACTIC
Execute
Strategy
Execute
Strategy
Measure &
Analyze
On-Page SEO Factors
Yoast’s SEO Plugin
WP Engine Content Performance
Moz’s guide to on-page SEO factors outlines criteria for
creating SEO-friendly content.
Yoast’s WordPress SEO plugin adds critical functionality and
makes it easy to optimize posts and pages.
WP Engine’s Content Performance tool brings critical Google
Analytics data into the WP Engine/WordPress interface.
Measure &
Analyze
Google Analytics Academy
Analytics Academy Courses are offered by Google and help
get people educated and certified about how to use GA data.
Develop
Strategy
Velocitize
Velocitize is a WP Engine publication with helpful articles on
marketing and industry trends.

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CROP IMAGE
TO GRAY BOX
AND THEN...
Register Now:
http://wpeng.in/dev
Wednesday, Oct 18
2 sessions!
Session 1:
9:00 a.m. CDT,
14:00 UTC/GMT
Session 2:
2:00 p.m. CDT,
19:00 UTC/GMT

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HELP US IMPROVE

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THANK YOU
#wpewebinar
@wpengine