I got one of the best holiday gifts so far this year when I took some time to look the results of my Google search engine optimization efforts.
That may sound pretty lame (yeah, I’m geeky that way), but since my number one focus is content marketing, it was truly gratifying to see the rewards of my work in beautiful full-color reports.
You may remember me talking about my content marketing results back in the post, “How to Get Site Traffic”. That post detailed the ins-and-outs of how I build website traffic by creating great web content.
But in this post, I wanted to share the latest results of using this tactic for my own blog. My goal is to show you a case study that demonstrates how well content marketing works in the real world.
Below, you’re going to see that content marketing:
- Will result in ever-increasing traffic from search engines;
- This is primarily due to the fact that many of my posts are listed on the front page of Google’s search results for highly sought-for terms. In fact, some of them are still there 2 years after they were published (talk about long-term ROI!)
- Will keep people on your site for longer periods of time;
- Because they’re reading relevant and useful content
The bottom-line is that more people visit my site and, when they do, they stay there for a long time reading (and being exposed to my marketing messages).
What’s Next?
- If you’re as excited about the results below as I am, then read the “How to Get Site Traffic” post to learn how to use content marketing to benefit your own business.
- If you want a hand getting started with, or managing, a content marketing campaign, or if you just need some great content to use on your site, take a look at how I can help.
Selected 2012 Content Marketing Results for mattaboutbusiness.com
Notes:
- All Google searches results numbers were calculated using the “hiding personal results” setting.
- Numbers do not reflect additional traffic from search engines other than Google or traffic from social media networks however, much of that traffic was also the result of my content marketing efforts.
Overall Site Numbers
In 2012, I set myself the modest goal of attracting 1,500 unique, targeted visitors to my site each month. That was up 500 per month from 2011.
Using content marketing, I blew past that goal easily with an average of 2,500 visitors per month!
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
|---|---|
| 2012 Unique Site Visitors | 30,010 people |
| 2012 Average Site Visit Duration | 4 minutes, 20 seconds |
| 2012 Unique Site Visitors from Google | 22,455 people |
| 2012 Average Site Visit Duration from Google | 4 minutes, 31 seconds |
Conclusion: Google accounted for just about 75% of my site traffic and that’s all thanks to content!
Selected Individual Content Post Numbers
| Post: 2 Simple Steps to Find a Manufacturer for Your Product Online | |
|---|---|
| Published: November 18, 2010 – (over 2 years ago!) | |
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
| Unique Visitors Overall | 3,965 people |
| Average Time on Page Overall | 50 minutes, 33 seconds |
| Unique Visitors from Google | 3,408 people |
| Average Time on Page for Google Visitors | 55 minutes, 47 seconds |
| Google Search Term | Ranking on Google Search Results |
| how to find a manufacturer | 5th out of 719,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| Post: Where to Sell Your Products and Services Online – and How | |
|---|---|
| Published: April 5, 2012 | |
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
| Unique Visitors Overall | 3,449 people |
| Average Time on Page Overall | 34 minutes, 54 seconds |
| Unique Visitors from Google | 2,823 people |
| Average Time on Page for Google Visitors | 44 minutes, 8 seconds |
| Google Search Term | Ranking on Google Search Results |
| where to sell online | 1st out of 1,210,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| best place to sell online | 7th out of 874,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| Post: How to Launch a New Website | |
|---|---|
| Published: April 27, 2012 | |
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
| Unique Visitors Overall | 1,845 people |
| Average Time on Page Overall | 1 hour, 5 minutes, 10 seconds |
| Unique Visitors from Google | 1,483 people |
| Average Time on Page for Google Visitors | 1 hour, 21 minutes, 16 seconds |
| Google Search Term | Ranking on Google Search Results |
| how to launch a website | 5th out of 1,330,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| Post: 1000+ Content Ideas for Your Blog or Newsletter | |
|---|---|
| Published: November 18, 2011 – (over 1 year ago!) | |
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
| Unique Visitors Overall | 1,695 people |
| Average Time on Page Overall | 25 minutes, 46 seconds |
| Unique Visitors from Google | 1,348 people |
| Average Time on Page for Google Visitors | 34 minutes, 43 seconds |
| Google Search Term | Ranking on Google Search Results |
| business newsletter ideas | 4th out of 710,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| newsletter content ideas | 4th out of 230,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| Post: Creating a Website Content Plan for Your Small Business | |
|---|---|
| Published: February 17, 2012 | |
| Statistic | 2012 Number |
| Unique Visitors Overall | 1,292 people |
| Average Time on Page Overall | 44 minutes, 2 seconds |
| Unique Visitors from Google | 1,007 people |
| Average Time on Page for Google Visitors | 1 hour, 4 minutes, 55 seconds |
| Google Search Term | Ranking on Google Search Results |
| content plan | 4th out of 2,960,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
| website content plan | 2nd out of 465,000,000 results (view Google search results) |
Weekly Link Roundup
Each week, I collect the 10 best posts that I’ve read and share them with you here.
These posts focus on web-based solutions, online resources and up-to-date news for small businesses.
Enjoy!
These Jeans Will Update Facebook for You: What will they think of next? Technology and our lives just keep merging…
Is Your Writing Nailing These 3 Stages?: Great look at the content marketing lifecycle!
A Quick Guide to Better YouTube Video Search Rankings: Some great tips and tricks you should know.
Why B2B marketers suck at video (and how to fix that): Actionable steps for getting over objections to using a great marketing tool, video.
Does your small business need a mobile app to stay competitive?: There are alternatives to mobile apps (check one out here: Video: How to Build a Mobile Website)
3 Awesome Places To Share Your Blog Content: These tips fit into my content marketing strategy well as I always share my content in spots where it will be most effective.
15 Link-Building Strategies that Google Will Love: Great info on one tactic to make your content marketing efforts more effective.
How B2B Marketers Are Successfully Using Facebook: Think Facebook is more B2C than B2B? This post may change your mind.
What Does the Raven Tools Announcement Mean for SEO and Content Marketing?: Yet another great case demonstrating the need for content marketing.
How to Promote Your Business Events on Facebook: A quick and straightforward guide for getting most out of Facebook when promoting events.
Hey Matt!
Impressive stats right here! I could only imagine what that number of visitors per those posts would do for my business! My highest viewed post has 185 views as of writing this, and that one post brought me quite a few subscribers.
In fact, that piece of content is linked in this post, which I thank you for!
I’m really liking the way you put the site together, especially your opt-in boxes!
Thanks for the sweet post,
-Gabe Johansson
Thanks for the kind words Gabe!
Yep, conversion is the next step, but increasing your traffic sure makes that step easier. 🙂
Keep turning out posts like the one I linked to above and you’ll be fine. Content marketing is a slow and steady thing, but the return on investment is well worth the effort.
-Matt
hard to find a good seo company
True, but one thing you should definitely confirm before hiring one is that they do content marketing.
Almost all the changes in search, especially at Google, focus on content so make sure it’s part of your program.
Matt,
Another nice artice. Honestly, given your content caliber, I would have thought your visitor numbers would be far higher. On the other hand, taking into account that the average on page time is less than 10 seconds, yours are very impresive, to say the least. Over an hour? I’d think even free porn sites would be hard pressed to reach anywhere close to this. It goes to show how compelling informative information retains visitors.
One question; how are your bounce rates? I’ve found that search derived visitors that come to sites for specific information, then spend a long time on page, have fairly high bounce rates. I can only deduce from this that they found exactly what they needed on the entry page, and found no need to go any deeper.
This is less true for informative pages with lower times on page. Search derived visitors on those pages seem to get some of what they came to the site for, then dig deeper to find the rest. I have decreased bounce rates (and consequently increased page views) by employing strategic cross linking throughout posts and pages.
Thanks,
Steve
Steve,
Thanks for your kinds words!
I’m pretty happy with my traffic given that once a post goes live and I distribute it via my different communications channels, I do absolutely nothing to promote it ever again. All the work is front-loaded and the traffic continues to pour in at just the right amount. 🙂
As to bounce rates, it’s true that I see a higher-than average bounce rate on search traffic. That’s because the traffic is very targeted and folks are getting what they need on the page to which they are brought.
The next task is to monetize that traffic by offering something that helps folks who searched for a particular topic. I am definitely working on more of that as time with my clients allows.
-Matt
Nice numbers! Just goes to show the power of a good content strategy.
Can’t agree with you more – content rules the online marketing world.