Introduction
Content marketing takes time, creativity, and effort - but without tracking the right metrics, it's like driving without a dashboard. With multiple sales and marketing campaigns running in parallel, it's hard to tell where a lead came from or which piece of content actually pushed them toward conversion.
That's why tracking your content marketing metrics is necessary. These metrics help you find out what's really working and where you're falling short. Nevertheless, only 35% of marketers use data to gauge and enhance their marketing efforts and comprehend which content metrics are good and which need attention.
You might be aware of dozens of metrics already, but in this article, I have discussed six content marketing metrics that no one talks about but are crucial for B2B SaaS startups.
But before we dive into the metrics, let us understand the core reasons why tracking metrics is essential.
Why Do You Need To Track Content Marketing Metrics?
The primary purpose of a marketing metric is to gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. However, there are some other reasons why it is important for B2B SaaS startups to track content marketing metrics:
1. You Will Know Which Content Is Actually Driving Product Adoption
You might publish a product doc or technical blog explaining how to use your SaaS product, which is great for attracting the right audience. But without tracking clicks on your "Start Free Trial" or "View Docs" CTA, you won't know if that specific article is actually encouraging your target users towards product adoption.
2. You Get To Know Exactly What Your Audience Finds Valuable
For B2B SaaS startups, metrics like scroll depth and engagement time reveal which content truly holds attention. If users spend minutes on your integration guide but bounce from your thought leadership piece in seconds, you know exactly what to double down on and what to cut.
3. You Know Exactly Which Content Needs To Be Optimized
Content marketing metrics highlight underperforming pages, whether it's low engagement or weak CTA clicks. These SaaS performance metrics help you focus on improving what's not working instead of rewriting everything blindly.
These were some reasons for justifying the significance of measuring content marketing efforts. Now, let's quickly move on to the crucial content performance metrics & KPIs every B2B SaaS startup should consider in their B2B SaaS content strategy framework.
Key Content Marketing Metrics You Might Be Missing Out
You're probably already familiar with common content marketing metrics like impressions, bounce rate, and page views - they're helpful, but they only scratch the surface. For B2B SaaS startups, where every piece of content should contribute to pipeline or product adoption, it's important to go deeper.
In this section, I'll walk you through a few specific content metrics that can give you much better visibility into how your content is actually performing and where to optimize for real impact.
1. CTA Click-Through Rate
CTA Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures how many users clicked on a call-to-action, like "Book a Demo," "Start Free Trial," or "See Pricing," compared to how many saw it. It's one of the most direct ways to assess whether your content is doing more than just attracting views - it's converting interest into intent.
For B2B SaaS companies, this metric is a reality check. You might have blogs bringing in thousands of visitors, but if your "Request Demo" button is getting ignored, that traffic isn't translating into a pipeline. A low CTR might mean the CTA is placed too low, isn't compelling, or doesn't match user intent. A strong CTR, on the other hand, means your content is aligned and your audience is ready to take the next step.
You can track CTA CTR using tools like Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Google Analytics, where you can set up event tracking to log each click on specific buttons or links.
2. Average Engagement Time
Average engagement time is the average time period the visitors/target users actively engage with your content. If you're investing time and resources into content marketing, you need to know if your target audience is actually reading what you publish. The common average engagement time is 52 seconds.
Also, a high engagement time on a blog post or service page often correlates with content that has useful information, strong messaging, or an engaging structure. Low engagement time, on the other hand, could point to issues like poor intros, confusing layout, or irrelevant content for the target audience.
Google Analytics helps you identify the average engagement time for each web page. Below is a snapshot of how the tool has already calculated the average engagement time of our blog and service pages.
Monitoring engagement time helps you identify what's working, what needs rewriting, and where to focus your SEO and UX efforts. Because in SaaS, it's not just about traffic - it's about attention that converts.
3. Scroll Depth
Scroll depth is a content marketing metric that measures how far users scroll down a page, typically tracked in percentages like 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. It helps you understand whether visitors are actually consuming the full content or dropping off midway. For B2B SaaS startups investing in content marketing, this is a key signal of content engagement and layout effectiveness.
You can track scroll depth using Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Google Analytics. Both are free tools, but setting them up for scroll tracking requires a comprehensive configuration process, defining scroll triggers in GTM and linking them properly with Analytics events. Alternatively, there are some paid tools like Hotjar and Crazy Egg that offer scroll depth tracking and visual heatmaps with much less configuration.
This metric also helps with strategic CTA placement. If most users are only reaching the 50% mark, placing your SaaS product CTA below that point means many will never see it. By analyzing scroll depth, you can reposition CTAs at points of high visibility, ensuring more users engage with your offering and improving the likelihood of conversions.
4. Traffic Sources And Medium
Traffic sources and mediums tell you how visitors reach your website. A source is where the traffic comes from - like Google, LinkedIn, ChatGPT, or YouTube. A medium describes how they got there, such as organic, referral, or direct. For example, Google (organic) means someone found you through a search, while LinkedIn (referral) means they followed a link to your site from a post or profile on LinkedIn.
I have attached a screenshot of the graph on Google Analytics, depicting the traffic sources and mediums for the last 30 days. You can see that our website visitors came from mediums like organic, referral, and direct, as well as sources like Google, LinkedIn, ChatGPT, and YouTube. Additionally, you will see a detailed table below the main graph on the dashboard, and you can analyze sources and mediums separately for deeper insights.
This metric is essential because it shows you exactly which traffic sources and mediums are driving qualified traffic and which ones are underperforming. It shows you exactly which sources are driving high-quality traffic and which ones aren't. For example, if you're getting significant website traffic from Google or LinkedIn, it's a clear signal to invest more in SEO or double down on your social content strategy.
5. Keyword Ranking
Keyword ranking refers to the position your web page holds in Google's search results for a specific query. This content marketing metric can be analyzed using tools like SEMrush and Google Search Console.
For instance, we optimized one of our B2B SaaS Startup clients, Kubiya's article titled "Top 9 AI Tools for DevOps," to improve the SEO performance. In order to identify which keywords it is ranking for on top, we used Semrush and found that it holds Position 1 on Google for several keywords like "AI tools for devops," "devops AI tools," and "AI devops tools."
You can see here that this article is ranking in the first position on the search engine results page.
Keyword rankings determine how visible your content is and how likely it is to get clicks. Tracking them is essential for B2B SaaS startups because it shows whether your content is actually reaching the target audience it's intended for. Ranking high for the right keywords means your content is discoverable by users actively searching for solutions that your product solves.
6. Average Position
Average position refers to the typical spot your web page appears in Google's Search Engine Result Pages for a specific set of keywords. It's a content marketing metric that can be determined using Google Search Console that reflects the overall search visibility of your page. The lower the number, the better. For example, a position of 1 means you're the top organic result, while a position of 7 means you're near the bottom of page one.
Going back to the previous example with Kubiya's article on "Top 9 AI Tools for DevOps," we can see that it holds an average position of 1 for specific keywords like "AI tools for devops," "devops AI tools," and "free ai tools for devops."
Let me tell you briefly how to measure SaaS content marketing metric (average position) using Google Search Console:
- Go to the Performance section.
- Click on Search Results.
- Add a Page filter for the article's URL.
- You'll then see the Average Position metric calculated across all queries where the page appears in search engine results.
Tracking the average position of your web page is important because it tells you how your content is performing in competitive search spaces. A strong average position means your content is not only discoverable by your target users but also trusted by Google's algorithm.
Conclusion
Measuring the content performance KPIs is important, especially for B2B SaaS startups where every content should drive conversions. Instead of relying on surface-level stats, focus on key content marketing metrics like CTA Click-Through Rate, Average Engagement Time, Scroll Depth, Traffic Sources and Medium, Keyword Ranking, and Average Position. These metrics show you what's working, what's not, and where to improve so your content drives real results, not just traffic.
Not sure how to measure these content metrics? We'll analyze your content, identify what's working, and pinpoint exactly where to optimize for better results. Contact us for a Free Audit!
FAQs
1. What’s the Difference Between Average Position and Keyword Ranking?
Keyword ranking means which keyword your webpage is ranking for on Google, like "AI tools for DevOps." Average position is the average rank your web page holds across specific keywords or queries, such as 1st or 3rd position in the search engine result page. One shows performance per keyword; the other gives a broader visibility snapshot.
2. How Often Should I Monitor My Content Marketing Metrics?
Based on your goals, you can monitor your content marketing metrics monthly, quarterly, or annually.
3. What Is the Number One Content Marketing Metric?
All the content metrics are essential, but as a B2B SaaS startup, your core metric could be the CTA Click-Through Rate. It shows whether your content is not just being read but actually motivating users to take the next step toward conversion, like demo requests, signups, or product adoption.
4. What's a Good Scroll Depth?
A good scroll depth usually falls between 60% and 80%. This suggests that most visitors are actively engaging with your content and scrolling through a significant portion of the page, enough to reach key messaging or CTAs placed mid-way or lower on the page.
5. How Can I Use Traffic Source Data To Improve My Content Strategy?
It's crucial to understand where your audience is coming from and whether they align with your target users. Traffic source data helps you identify if you're reaching your buyer personas. Based on that, you can create more relevant content and refine existing pages to reach better and connect with your ideal customers.