Web Content Is Like Quidditch: Keeping Score

We’ve reached the end of our Web Content is Like Quidditch series with today’s post. If you’ve missed out on any of the posts, you can take a quick moment to catch up.  Go ahead. We’ll wait.

Post 1: Quidditch overview and a look at bludgers/obstacles

Post 2: A look at Web content chasers (creators) and keepers (curators)

Post 3: Catching the “golden snitch” of content

Post 4: The structure of the game of Quidditch, and how it’s like the game of content

Now, we’re going to talk about a key element of any game – keeping score. The game of Quidditch ends when the seeker catches the golden snitch, scoring 150 points. While the seeker is looking for the snitch, the chasers are trying to put the Quaffle through the hoops to score 10 points each time. (And yes, it’s possible to lose the game even if you catch the snitch, depending on the length of the game and how good your chasers are.)

It’s important to keep score in Web content as well. How else would you know you’re winning? That is to say, providing the right content to the right users at the right time. Is your content working? The way we keep score in content = METRICS! Here are some important metrics to consider in content scorekeeping.

• Page views per visit – are you presenting content in a way that allows for discovery? Are people interested not only in the article they clicked on, but also other content?
• Time spent – Are people clicking to read content and then clicking right back out? That means that either you’re presenting the content ineffectively in the teaser to get them there, or you’re not delivering on the content promised.
• Where are they clicking next? Funnel tracking.  Are people downloading? Following on Facebook, clicking through to ebedded links? Watching a video? Etc.
• Most viewed/most clicked/most shared – what content is working?

How do you keep score in content? Should we be watching any other metrics?

Thanks for reading the Web Content Is Like Quidditch series. Hope you enjoyed it!