Do we need a new Content Quality Metric?
I am glad to learn there is a new kid in town that is meant to help us understand our web content better. It is called "Attention Minutes" which explains how to measure the actual attention time given to a piece of content by our web visitor.
When you get a new "Pageview", "Click", "Like", or "Share", I want to add a question after you jumped for joy:
"Are you sure these new numbers add up to meeting the objective of your content? Or simply in the case of conversion, do they contribute positively towards your traffic-to-sales conversion?"
I do wonder about mine. It's good to know if the number of "clicks" actually mean the same number of "reads" to your content. Similarly, the number of "shares" equals to the number of "quality time spent" reading your content. And how about the "Likes"? How would you like to quantify them to know that your content has reached the hearts of your readers?
There is a correlation of what transpired between your new "Clicks" and "Shares" - you probably won't know if the visitor who "Clicks" did spend time reading your content, before he/she "Likes" or "Shares" it. No one would know if go by what we understood correctly how the Pageviews and Unique Clicks are working behind the scene.
We need a more precise and thorough measurement of that "Attention Minutes" or "Engagement Time". You may check out Upworthy and Chartbeat to find out more about your content quality.
I will continue to feel elated seeing more Pageviews and Unique Clicks from my Webmaster Report. However, I do harbor some doubts if the current metrics are actually flawed. How about you?
Recent Comments
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Very deep and detailed thinking, Fred. It makes perfect sense, though, you have definitely struck upon a very important point!
Jack :)
Good blog as yet I have not looked to much into this as I am still mastering the google stuff and trying to get good content on the go
Yet another great blog, Fred. I have not come to that stage where it concerns me yet. But I suppose very soon it will! Another holiday. soon? :-)
Great post Fred. Very detailed, yet simple. And I too would uncomfortable and unsatisfied if my results weren't how they should be. Keep them coming Fred! You take it easy...
Each one, teaches one,
Keane
Have you tried a campaign in GA? All of what you are doing is good, but to set a goal in GA may give you other measurements to evaluate.
Just saying. Thank you for making me think, Fred. ^_~