I like to do content material analysis — what’s extra satisfying than falling down just a few Google rabbit holes? (Do not reply that.)
After all, nice advertising and marketing content material is constructed on extra than simply Google search outcomes. I’ve put collectively a six-step information to how I do my very own content material analysis for HubSpot weblog posts utilizing a real-life instance.
Desk of Contents
What’s content material analysis?
Content material analysis is the systematic technique of gathering data to create useful content material that meets your readers’ wants, furthers your small business targets, and ranks in search outcomes.
On the one hand, content material analysis is strictly what it seems like — researching content material. But it surely’s a deceptively easy time period for a course of that’s much more complicated than just a few Google searches.
Put into advertising and marketing phrases, content material analysis is the systematic technique of gathering data to create useful content material that meets your readers’ wants, furthers your small business targets, and ranks in search outcomes.
Why is content material analysis necessary?
Considerate and thorough analysis will reward you with compelling, participating, and genuinely useful content material. You’re in all probability already doing key phrase analysis (if not, study the fundamentals!), and also you in all probability already know subject-matter consultants in your organization or community. Content material analysis will join all these factors collectively.
And “genuinely useful” can’t be understated. For those who perceive search intent and may reply your customers’ questions, you’re establishing your model as an authority, setting your self up for return guests, and exhibiting Google that you already know your stuff.
Having a structured analysis plan will assist with different points of your content material workflow, like a advertising and marketing calendar or editorial calendar, content material intelligence, and every other instruments you and your crew use to take care of a well-oiled advertising and marketing machine.
Elements of Content material Analysis
Though the sub-steps of content material advertising and marketing analysis might look a bit of completely different relying in your venture and area — we’ll get into that within the subsequent part — there are just a few fundamentals which can be foundational to nice content material.
Key phrase Analysis
Start at first, as they are saying. Key phrase analysis is the gateway to analyzing search intent that solutions not simply your customers’ preliminary questions, but in addition their follow-up questions (and possibly even questions they didn’t know they’d).
You’ll be able to take a look at our newbie’s information to key phrase analysis, however listed below are the principle parts to bear in mind:
- Relevance: Your content material will solely rank for a key phrase if it meets the searchers’ wants.
- Authority: Google supplies extra weight to sources it deems authoritative.
- Quantity: Quantity is measured by MSV (month-to-month search quantity), which suggests the variety of instances the key phrase is searched per 30 days throughout all audiences.
Viewers Analysis
You in all probability already know who your target market is, and you could even have buyer or purchaser personas. Additionally contemplate search intent and follow-up questions.
If I’m writing advertising and marketing content material about bedding, let’s say, there’ll be a considerable distinction within the viewers for price range bedding versus luxurious bedding. For the previous, I is perhaps in search of subject-matter consultants on completely different sorts of supplies, together with cheaper choices. If I’m advertising and marketing luxurious bedding, I would search for consultants on the highest-quality supplies and development strategies.
Whoever your viewers is, maintain these personas in entrance of you as you conduct the remainder of your analysis so that you don’t end up down the fallacious rabbit gap.
For a deeper dive into market analysis, together with a how-to information, take a look at our market analysis information and templates.
Competitor Analysis
You’ll probably flip up some rivals as you do your key phrase analysis. I just like the Ahrefs instrument that compares two websites so you may see what one has that the opposite doesn’t — this may be tremendous helpful if you happen to’re evaluating a top-ranking competitor with one which ranks a bit decrease. What units the primary aside from the remainder?
Persevering with with luxurious bedding, right here’s what Ahrefs’ key phrase explorer appears to be like like:
I need to see what the top-ranked end result has that the Tenth end result doesn’t. Within the Aggressive Evaluation tab, I can enter each of these URLs, like so:
Once I hit “Present key phrase alternatives,” I can see what the top-ranked hyperlink has that the Tenth-ranked hyperlink doesn’t:
I confess I don’t know precisely what “coastal bedding” is, however the top-ranked hyperlink has lots of it. Understanding the place my rivals are killing it should assist me take into consideration the search intent of my target market.
Begin fascinated by what you deliver to the desk when it comes to your personal expertise, data, and community. What holes in search intent would possibly you have the ability to fill?
Topical Analysis
Whether or not you begin on Google or an AI-powered search engine, just remember to’re cautious about your sources. Are they web sites or publications that you already know and belief? What data can you discover in regards to the creator of their bio or on LinkedIn?
(Random professional tip that hopefully you’ll by no means want, however: If one thing appears too good to be true, verify and ensure it’s not dated April 1. I do know a couple of sensible author who’s fallen for a model’s April Fools’ joke.)
A number of beginning factors I’ve relied on in my very own analysis:
- Search LinkedIn on your key phrases. Oftentimes, I’ll discover consultants and thought leaders speaking about precisely what I’m writing about. Simply make sure that you cite and hyperlink to them if you happen to use their writing as a supply.
Professional tip: Do your due diligence — learn the particular person’s LinkedIn profile and be sure to can belief their experience.
- Search Google Scholar. Despite the fact that the outcomes is perhaps too educational on your viewers, this has helped me find consultants and discover the latest analysis, particularly when AI is concerned.
Professional tip: Test the publication date or limit your search to the final couple years, until you’re in search of historic data. For research, be sure to perceive the pattern measurement and the geographical location — they is perhaps fairly completely different to your personal target market, so proceed with warning.
- Publish by yourself LinkedIn. If in case you have a large following and/or a robust community in your business, letting different content material managers know that you just’re engaged on a bit can floor some consultants you could already know. Your community may also have solutions for different individuals or sources.
- Use major sources. If in case you have a subscription to Statista or the same service, you may normally discover a treasure trove of research which can be immediately related to your subject.
Professional tip: Don’t depend on different articles that cite research — I’ve discovered that these are sometimes outdated research, even when the article has a current date.
- Use social media. Even if you happen to don’t have entry to social media listening instruments, you may nonetheless dig into locations like Reddit, Quora, Substack, or area of interest on-line boards the place individuals in your business collect and discuss.
- Use your co-workers. For those who don’t have already got a Slack or Groups channel the place your fellow entrepreneurs can bounce concepts off one another or ask questions, contemplate this an indication to start out one. Your colleagues could also be consultants themselves, or they can join you with any individual from their community.
Topic-matter Specialists
Not every thing you write requires a subject-matter knowledgeable, however getting an out of doors perspective on a subject may give you concepts and inventive inspiration, and knowledgeable quotes are good on your readers and good for search algorithms that prioritize private expertise.
Quotes and background data from the individuals within the trenches may also distinguish your closing product from AI-written content material. I prefer to maintain these informational interviews to only quarter-hour — it’s lengthy sufficient to get some stable background data and quotes, and brief sufficient that it’s simple for even busy individuals to say “sure” to.
Efficiency Evaluation
You’re not fairly accomplished whenever you hit “publish.” Take a while to assessment your KPIs to see how the content material resonated along with your viewers, and whether or not there’s something it is best to contemplate enhancing now or revising sooner or later.
KPIs that you just would possibly embody in your evaluation:
- Engagement metrics like scroll depth, click-through charges, and bounce charges
- Visitors metrics like web page views, distinctive guests, and return guests
- Conversion metrics like lead era charges, product purchases, and e mail signups
If in case you have the sources to do at the very least a light-weight month-to-month efficiency evaluation of all of your content material, patterns will emerge, and also you’ll have the ability to additional refine search engine optimisation, E-E-A-T, voice and tone, and different parts that make your content material distinct.
How one can Do Content material Analysis
Let’s use a bit I wrote just lately about B2B newsletters for example. It’s a subject I’ve expertise with, however I wouldn’t contemplate myself an knowledgeable, per se.
Right here’s how I performed my content material analysis:
1. Analysis key phrases and viewers intent.
Because of our crack search engine optimisation crew, I do know that the first key phrase for this text is “B2B publication advertising and marketing,” so my first step is to make use of Ahrefs’ key phrase explorer:
I may slender my search by consumer intent by deciding on the dropdown menu and ticking the “intent” field.
A number of issues I’m noticing in these outcomes: methods, examples, and greatest practices. This offers me an concept of what customers are in search of, and it’ll assist me construction my article to ensure it delivers actual worth.
Individuals Additionally Ask
On Google, I looked for “B2B publication advertising and marketing” and scrolled all the way down to the Individuals Additionally Ask part.
It’s extra of the identical — customers need an summary of what B2B publication advertising and marketing is and what greatest practices are.
Ahrefs additionally has a helpful SERPs overview with the identical data:
AI Search Engines
I personally don’t like to make use of AI for outlines or first drafts, however I do prefer it for content material analysis. I typically use Perplexity for analysis and Claude for evaluation; collectively they can assist me establish a perspective I hadn’t thought of or uncover extra sources.
Once I search Perplexity for “B2B publication advertising and marketing,” I can scroll all the way down to the Associated Questions part:
No surprises right here — extra affirmation that customers are trying to find an summary, greatest practices, and examples.
2. Analysis the competitors.
I take advantage of each Ahrefs and Perplexity to establish rivals.
Perplexity synthesizes data from its prime sources, so I need to see what it’s recognized as a supply. I simply use a easy search time period for this relatively than a fancy engineered immediate:
This exhibits me three sources; click on on the field that claims “Present all” to see all of the sources it’s pulling from.
This reveals all of the sources and its hyperlinks, which supplies me an concept of the competitors.
In Ahrefs, I can skim by the checklist of the top-ranking articles that rank for a similar key phrase I’m focusing on.
One necessary observe at this step: It may be very simple to inadvertently plagiarize from a competitor — possibly a definition, the construction of the publish, or perhaps a flip of phrase. You’ll learn one thing, it will get caught in your head, and a day later, you write it down with out realizing it’s from one other supply.
My technique for avoiding that is to not spend a ton of time studying the competitors — I actually do exactly skim — however your mileage might range, so do no matter works for you.
3. Take into account your personal expertise.
I took down some notes in regards to the newsletters I’ve written for over the previous few years — questions I had, questions I didn’t know I had till I used to be knee-deep in an e mail publication platform, and classes realized.
As an illustration, at a earlier job with a really small crew, I discovered myself head to head with a few of the extra technical points of working a publication. I had no clue what “DKIM” or “DMARC” meant, and so far as I knew, “SPF” referred to sunscreen.
So once I began engaged on a completely different weblog publish about B2B newsletters for HubSpot, I knew I needed to incorporate one thing in regards to the technical facet of newsletters with out going into an excessive amount of element.
I reached out to a HubSpotter on our MarTech crew who was capable of give me some high-level recommendation on what entrepreneurs new to newsletters ought to contemplate from a technical perspective.
That is only a fraction of the knowledge I acquired from a 15-minute Zoom name:
Generally you don’t know what you don’t know, and reaching into your personal expertise can assist uncover questions your viewers may have as they dive additional into the subject at hand.
4. Analysis the subject and any tendencies.
If in case you have entry to a knowledge and analysis instrument like Statista, IBISWorld, or related, get within the behavior of working just a few searches. This didn’t become a significant supply for this specific subject, however I did discover some information on personalization, which was one of many subtopics I touched on within the weblog publish.
I additionally searched Google Scholar for “e mail newsletters in advertising and marketing,” proscribing outcomes to something from 2023 or later. I got here throughout a December 2023 paper entitled “Personalization (In)effectiveness in e mail advertising and marketing” from a journal referred to as Digital Enterprise.
This ended up being a background useful resource for me relatively than one thing I quoted in my article, however for my part, it’s price taking a couple of minutes to verify scholarly journals — you by no means know whenever you’ll come throughout any individual doing one thing model new within the area.
5. Interview subject-matter consultants.
This step might be intimidating if you happen to don’t know subject-matter consultants. Right here’s just a few of my methods I used to seek out individuals to speak to about B2B newsletters:
- I began by asking the HubSpot #advertising and marketing Slack channel: What are your favourite e mail newsletters? Lia Haberman’s ICYMI and Alexis Grant’s They Bought Acquired have been each talked about a number of instances, in order that they went on my checklist.
- I searched LinkedIn for “B2B e mail advertising and marketing” and located different consultants and prime voices.
- I went by my very own community and located that I knew just a few individuals on the technical facet. I requested them if they’d any solutions and proposals.
- I requested different publication writers at HubSpot if I may discuss to them, and in the event that they knew anyone they might introduce me to.
6. Analyze the efficiency.
It’s good to verify the efficiency of your piece after a month, although I’ve additionally labored in locations the place we monitored every day efficiency — so let your business and KPIs information you. For those who’re writing well timed (versus evergreen) content material, your pageviews will in all probability peak throughout the first week and even sooner.
For those who use HubSpot CMS, clicking “view publish particulars” will allow you to monitor metrics like lead conversion charges, income attributed, and different metrics. HubSpot additionally exhibits you the breakdown of site visitors sources, which can assist you fine-tune your distribution sooner or later. (Google Analytics, a generally used instrument, has related metrics.)
Analysis With Confidence
There are numerous approaches to content material analysis, and never every thing I’ve outlined might apply to you. However it is best to now have a stable basis for content material analysis, the numerous paths it may well take, and easy methods to successfully and effectively begin researching nice content material.
