How to Track The Performance of Content On a Website

What "Content Performance" Really Means

If you’re publishing content but not sure whether it’s working, you’re not alone.

A lot of marketers and business owners assume that if something gets traffic, it must be successful. But traffic is just one part of the picture.

Here’s the real question: Is your content actually helping you achieve your business goals? That’s what content performance is all about.

It’s not about chasing pageviews for the sake of it. It’s about understanding whether your content is doing what it’s supposed to do — whether that’s driving leads, educating customers, bringing in search traffic, or simply building authority in your space.

Think of it like this:

• If you wrote a blog post to generate email signups, but it’s getting views and no signups, that’s a problem.
• If you created a product page to rank in Google and it’s not even showing up in search results, that’s a problem.
• If you published a guide to educate your audience and it’s bouncing readers in under ten seconds, that’s a signal something might be off.

Each piece of content should have a clear purpose. Once you know what that purpose is, you can track whether it’s hitting the mark.

The key is this: define what success looks like before you start measuring. Without that clarity, you’ll end up chasing metrics that don’t move the needle.

The Core Metrics You Should Actually Care About

Once you’re clear on the purpose of your content, the next step is to focus on the metrics that tell you whether it’s doing its job.

This is where most beginners get overwhelmed. There are dozens of possible metrics in tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs.

But you don’t need to track everything. You only need to track the numbers that align with your content’s goal.

Let’s break down the four essential categories of metrics in plain English.

1. Traffic Metrics

These answer a basic question: Are people even seeing your content?

• Pageviews: How many times your content was viewed
• Unique visitors: How many individual people saw the page
• Traffic sources: Where those people came from (Google, social, email, etc.)

If your goal is visibility or awareness, these numbers matter. But views alone don’t tell the whole story.

2. SEO Metrics

If your content is designed to rank in Google, these metrics will show how visible it is in search.

• Impressions: How often your page shows up in search results
• Clicks: How many people actually click through to your page
• Average position: Your average ranking for search terms
• Backlinks: How many other websites link to your content

Pro tip: If you’re getting lots of impressions but very few clicks, your title or meta description probably needs work.

3. Engagement Metrics

These show how people interact with your content once they land on it.

• Engagement time (in GA4): How long users are actively engaged with the page
• Bounce rate (now called "unengaged sessions" in GA4): The percentage of people who leave quickly
• Scroll depth: How far down the page users actually read

One important thing here: a high bounce rate is not always a bad thing. If your content answers a question quickly and clearly, some users will leave satisfied. That’s not failure — that’s success.

4. Conversion Metrics

This is where things get real. If your content is supposed to drive action — like signups, downloads, or purchases — you need to track those outcomes.

• Conversion rate: What percent of visitors take the action you want
• Number of conversions: Raw totals, like “14 signups this month from this blog post”
• Assisted conversions: When content plays a role early in the customer journey but the conversion happens later

This is how you connect your content to actual business results. Without these metrics, it’s easy to waste time producing content that “looks good” but doesn’t move the needle.

In short, forget the flashy dashboards for now. Focus on these four categories and only track what relates to your content’s job.

What Tools You Really Need [& How to Use Them]

You don’t need enterprise-level software to track how your content is performing. In fact, most of the essential tools are either free or offer free versions that are perfect for beginners.

What matters more than the number of tools you use is knowing what each one is for and how to use it effectively without getting overwhelmed.

1. Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 helps you understand how users behave once they’re on your site.

It tracks things like how many people visit a specific page, how long they stay, and whether they take actions that matter — like signing up for a newsletter, clicking a product link, or downloading a resource.

To start, open the Pages and Screens report.

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This shows traffic to individual URLs so you can see which pages are attracting attention.

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From there, check Average Engagement Time, which gives you a sense of how long people are actually interacting with each page — not just how long they left it open.

If a page has low engagement time and it’s supposed to be an in-depth guide, that might signal a problem.

You should also configure conversion events to track specific actions that align with your content goals.

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For example, if you’re trying to generate leads, track form submissions or email signups. GA4 lets you define these as events, so you can measure how well each piece of content drives results.

GA4 replaced Universal Analytics in 2023, and although the reporting system is different, it gives you a more accurate view of user behavior. If you’re just getting started, this is the platform to learn.

2. Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console helps you understand how your content performs in Google’s search results.

While GA4 focuses on what happens on your site, GSC tells you how people are finding it in the first place.

It shows you how many times your pages appear in search, how often they get clicked, and what search queries are bringing people in.

Start by going to the Performance report and filtering by page.

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This shows how each individual piece of content is ranking in search and how that has changed over time.

Then check the Queries section to see the exact terms users are typing into Google that lead them to your content.

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Keep an eye on metrics like:

• Impressions, to see how often your content shows up
• Click-through rate (CTR), which tells you how compelling your search listing is
• Average position, which shows your ranking across keywords

If impressions are holding steady but clicks are low, your title or meta description might need improvement. If impressions are falling, your rankings could be slipping.

GSC is often the first place you’ll notice content decay or algorithm-related drops.

3. Ahrefs (or a Free Alternative)

Ahrefs is a robust SEO tool that gives you insight into things Google doesn’t show in its free platforms.

It estimates organic search traffic to your content, tracks how your keywords perform over time, and shows which sites link back to your pages.

It’s especially useful for analyzing SEO visibility at both the page and site level.

The Site Explorer tool provides a full snapshot of how a specific URL is performing.

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You can see which keywords it ranks for, how much traffic those rankings are estimated to drive, and what backlinks are pointing to it.

If your rankings are slipping, this is often where you’ll confirm the cause.

Ahrefs also offers a Rank Tracker, which monitors the movement of your target keywords over time, and a Content Gap tool that helps you identify search terms your competitors are ranking for that you aren’t.

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While Ahrefs is a paid tool, they offer Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free, which covers many of the basics for your own site.

If that’s still out of reach, tools like Ubersuggest or Moz’s free suite can help fill the gap. These alternatives may offer fewer features but are still valuable for tracking keywords and backlink profiles.

Optional Extras (Use if Needed)

Once you’ve covered the basics with GA4, GSC, and an SEO tool, there are a few additional tools worth considering if you want to go deeper.

• Heatmaps, such as those offered by Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity, let you visualize how users interact with your content. You can see how far people scroll, where they click, and whether key parts of your content are being ignored. This is helpful when diagnosing engagement issues that numbers alone can’t explain.
• Google Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) allows you to create custom dashboards that combine data from GA4 and Search Console. If you want to see everything in one place or build reports to share with your team, this tool can save you time.
• Social analytics tools like Twitter Analytics or Facebook Insights can help you measure how content performs when it’s shared. This is especially useful if social media is a significant part of your traffic strategy.

You don’t need to use every tool on this list from day one. Start with GA4 and GSC to learn what they show and how to interpret the metrics.

Once you're comfortable, add in Ahrefs or a similar tool to gain insight into your SEO performance. From there, explore the optional tools based on your content goals and workflow.

How to Track Content Performance [Step-By-Step]

This is where everything comes together.

If you’re new to content performance tracking, you don’t need a complicated setup. You just need a simple system that helps you understand what’s working and what’s not.

Here’s the framework I’ve used for years — it works whether you’re running a solo blog or managing content for a business.

Step 1: Define the Goal for Each Piece of Content

Before you even look at a single number, figure out the purpose of your content.

Ask yourself:

• Is this content supposed to attract organic traffic?
• Is it meant to convert visitors into leads or sales?
• Is it built to educate or retain existing customers?

Every page should have one primary goal. That goal will determine which metrics matter.

Step 2: Pick the Right Metrics to Match That Goal

Once you’ve defined the goal, pick 2 to 3 metrics that reflect that goal.

Some examples:

• If the goal is traffic, track pageviews, impressions, and keyword rankings
• If the goal is conversions, track form submissions, downloads, or sales
• If the goal is engagement, track engagement time and scroll depth

Don’t fall into the trap of tracking everything. Focus on what actually signals progress toward your goal.

Step 3: Set Up Google Analytics and Google Search Console

These two free tools are your foundation.

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Tracks user behavior, engagement, and conversions
• Google Search Console (GSC): Tracks how your content performs in Google Search

Make sure both are installed and tracking correctly. In GA4, check the “Pages and Screens” report.

In GSC, look at the “Performance” tab and filter by page to see rankings and clicks.

Bonus tip: Set up conversion events in GA4 for actions like form fills or button clicks. That way you can track the outcomes, not just the traffic.

Step 4: Create a Simple Tracking Sheet

You don’t need fancy software. A Google Sheet works just fine.

At a minimum, include columns for:

• URL
• Content type or category
• Goal
• Primary metrics (traffic, ranking, conversions, etc.)
• Last updated
• Notes or actions to take

Update it monthly or quarterly, depending on how often you publish content. This gives you a bird’s-eye view of what’s performing and what’s slipping.

Step 5: Identify Underperforming Content

Even the most successful content can lose its impact over time.

Performance may decline due to factors like outdated information, evolving audience interests, or increased competition.

Regularly identifying which pieces of content are underperforming helps maintain your site's effectiveness and keeps traffic flowing steadily.

To pinpoint content that is slipping, start by examining your most valuable pages—those generating significant traffic or conversions.

Often, just 10 to 20 percent of your content drives most of your website’s success, making these pages a priority when checking for performance issues.

Next, turn to analytics tools.

Google Search Console can help highlight trouble spots by revealing decreased impressions or clicks, lower keyword rankings, or pages that have dropped from the first page of search results.

Similarly, Google Analytics provides clues about declining pageviews, reduced engagement time, increases in bounce rates, or drops in conversions.

Common signs your content may be underperforming include:

• Outdated or irrelevant information.
• New competitors providing fresher or more comprehensive resources.
• Lost backlinks from important external sources.
• Changes in Google's search algorithms that alter rankings.
• Poor user experience, such as slow loading times, confusing formatting, or difficult navigation.

Monitoring these indicators helps you catch performance issues early, ensuring your content remains valuable and aligned with your audience's expectations.

Step 6: Use What You Learn to Make Improvements

Tracking content performance isn’t about collecting data. It’s about using the data to improve.

Once you’ve identified underperforming content, ask:

• Does this need an update?
• Is the SEO targeting off?
• Can I improve engagement or make the page easier to read?
• Should I combine it with another piece or even remove it?

Every action you take should be tied to something you observed in the numbers.

The goal here is simple. You want a repeatable system that helps you understand which content deserves more attention and which content needs fixing.

With this framework in place, you’ll never be guessing when it comes to content performance.

Reporting Your Wins

Once you’ve started tracking and improving content performance, the next step is to actually show what’s working.

Whether you're reporting to a manager, a client, or just organizing your own insights, you need a way to communicate the results without overwhelming people with spreadsheets or noise.

The goal here isn’t to track everything. It’s to surface the data that clearly answers two questions: Is our content working? and What should we do next?

Start With a Simple Summary

Your report doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. A one-page summary or a quick dashboard can go a long way if it highlights the right things.

At a minimum, you should include:

• Top-performing content: Which pages drove the most traffic, engagement, or conversions
• Key wins: Specific improvements tied to your actions (for example, “Updated SEO Guide led to a 35 percent increase in clicks”)
• Pages to improve next: Content that’s showing signs of decay or slipping rankings

Instead of dumping data into a report, give it structure. Group the highlights into categories like traffic, engagement, and conversions.

This helps decision-makers understand the impact quickly, without getting stuck in the weeds.

Use Visuals That Actually Help

You don’t need fancy graphs for the sake of it, but a few smart visuals can make your report clearer.

For example, showing a before-and-after line graph of clicks from Google Search Console makes it easy to demonstrate progress.

Some simple visualizations worth including:

• A bar chart of top pages by traffic
• A line chart showing organic clicks over the past 90 days
• A table of conversion rates by content type

If you’re using Google Looker Studio, you can create these visuals automatically and update them with live data.

Tie Metrics to Outcomes

What really makes a report valuable is when you connect the numbers to real results.

Instead of just saying “Blog traffic increased,” add context like “Our post on [Topic] drove 50 email signups this quarter.”

That shows your content isn’t just getting seen — it’s doing what it’s supposed to do.

If you made changes to a piece of content, report on the impact of the change. For example:

• “After updating our product comparison page in February, the average engagement time increased by 40 seconds.”
• “Adding internal links to our guide on [Topic] improved its average position from 11.2 to 6.7.”

These kinds of insights close the loop and make the case for continued investment in content updates.

Keep It Actionable

Finally, every report should lead to next steps. End with 2 to 3 recommendations based on what you saw in the data.

These can be simple, like refreshing a specific blog post, adding more internal links to a top-converting page, or pruning old content that hasn’t seen traffic in over a year.

The best reports don’t just show what happened — they point clearly to what you should do next.

In the next section, we’ll look at how to keep your process flexible and sustainable over time so you’re not just tracking performance once and forgetting about it.

How to Stay Flexible and Keep Improving

Tracking content performance isn’t a one-time project. It’s a habit.

The landscape changes constantly — Google updates its algorithm, new competitors show up in search results, and audience behavior shifts over time.

If you want your content strategy to stay effective, you need to build in a system for adjusting as things change.

That doesn’t mean rebuilding your whole approach every quarter. It means being willing to tweak your process, revisit your goals, and experiment based on what the data is telling you.

Build in Regular Review Points

To stay ahead of problems and uncover new opportunities, create a routine for reviewing your metrics. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming.

Here’s a simple rhythm that works for most teams:

• Weekly: Spot-check your top-performing pages in GA4 and Search Console. Look for any sudden spikes or dips.
• Monthly: Identify winners and losers — what’s improving and what’s slipping — and decide what to optimize next.
• Quarterly: Revisit your KPIs, see how your benchmarks are holding up, and review your content goals against current business priorities.

If your process includes reporting, you can use that monthly or quarterly report to guide your reviews and action steps. The goal is to avoid surprises and always know what’s working, what’s not, and what to focus on next.

Be Ready to Adjust Your KPIs

As your content matures or your business shifts, your success metrics may need to evolve.

Maybe you start out measuring traffic, but over time you care more about leads or user retention.

Or maybe Google introduces a new report or data source that gives you better visibility into performance.

When that happens, don’t be afraid to adjust what you’re tracking. The metrics that mattered last year may not be the ones that will move the needle now.

What matters is that you’re always aligning your tracking to your current goals — not just measuring for the sake of it.

Stay Informed, But Keep It Practical

There’s always something new in SEO and analytics — a new algorithm update, a new Google ranking factor, or a new tool feature.

It helps to stay informed, but you don’t need to chase every headline.

Here’s how to stay current without burning out:

• Follow one or two trusted sources (Google Search Central Blog, Ahrefs Blog, Search Engine Land)
• Set aside a little time each month to skim for updates that actually affect your process
• Watch for changes inside your own data first — that’s usually the best indicator something has shifted

Staying agile doesn’t mean reacting to every trend. It means keeping your system tight, being open to change when it makes sense, and always learning from what the data tells you.

Next up, we’ll wrap it all together with a final recap and a checklist you can use to keep your tracking on track.

Wrapping It All Together

Tracking content performance can seem overwhelming at first — especially if you're new to analytics or SEO.

But once you strip away the noise and focus on what really matters, it becomes a simple, repeatable process.

You’re not trying to track everything. You’re tracking the things that tell you whether your content is doing its job.

That means aligning your metrics with your goals, reviewing performance consistently, and taking action when something’s off.

Over time, this approach helps you catch problems early, double down on what’s working, and build a content strategy that actually drives results — not just traffic.