A Step-by-Step Information to How I Do Content material Analysis

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 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

On the one hand, content material analysis is strictly what it appears like — researching content material. However it’s a deceptively easy time period for a course of that’s much more advanced than just a few Google searches.

Put into advertising phrases, content material analysis is the systematic strategy of gathering info to create invaluable content material that meets your readers’ wants, furthers what you are promoting 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 most likely already doing key phrase analysis (if not, study the fundamentals!), and also you most likely 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. In the event you perceive search intent and might 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 calendar or editorial calendar, content material intelligence, and every other instruments you and your workforce use to take care of a well-oiled advertising machine. 

Parts of Content material Analysis

Though the sub-steps of content material advertising analysis might look just a little completely different relying in your challenge and subject — 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 firstly, 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 perhaps even questions they didn’t know they’d).

You possibly can try our newbie’s information to key phrase analysis, however listed below are the primary components to remember:

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 implies the variety of instances the key phrase is searched per thirty days throughout all audiences.

Viewers Analysis

You most likely already know who your target market is, and you could even have buyer or purchaser personas. Additionally think about search intent and follow-up questions.

If I’m writing advertising 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 may be on the lookout for subject-matter consultants on completely different sorts of supplies, together with cheaper choices. If I’m advertising luxurious bedding, I would search for consultants on the highest-quality supplies and building strategies.

Whoever your viewers is, preserve these personas in entrance of you as you conduct the remainder of your analysis so that you don’t end up down the mistaken rabbit gap.

For a deeper dive into market analysis, together with a how-to information, try our market analysis information and templates.

Competitor Analysis

You’ll probably flip up some opponents as you do your key phrase analysis. I just like the Ahrefs software that compares two websites so you possibly can see what one has that the opposite doesn’t — this may be tremendous helpful should you’re evaluating a top-ranking competitor with one which ranks a bit decrease. What units the primary aside from the remaining?

Persevering with with luxurious bedding, right here’s what Ahrefs’ key phrase explorer appears like:

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I wish to see what the top-ranked consequence has that the Tenth consequence doesn’t. Within the Aggressive Evaluation tab, I can enter each of these URLs, like so:

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After I hit “Present key phrase alternatives,” I can see what the top-ranked hyperlink has that the Tenth-ranked hyperlink doesn’t:

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I confess I don’t know precisely what “coastal bedding” is, however the top-ranked hyperlink has a number of it. Figuring out the place my opponents are killing it should assist me take into consideration the search intent of my target market.

Begin serious about what you deliver to the desk when it comes to your individual 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 be sure you’re cautious about your sources. Are they web sites or publications that you already know and belief? What information can you discover concerning the writer 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, test and ensure it’s not dated April 1. I do know multiple good author who’s fallen for a model’s April Fools’ joke.)

Just a few beginning factors I’ve relied on in my very own analysis:

Search LinkedIn in your key phrases. Oftentimes, I’ll discover consultants and thought leaders speaking about precisely what I’m writing about. Simply ensure that you cite and hyperlink to them should you use their writing as a supply.

Professional tip: Do your due diligence — learn the individual’s LinkedIn profile and be sure you can belief their experience.

Search Google Scholar. Regardless that the outcomes may be too educational in your viewers, this has helped me find consultants and discover the most recent analysis, particularly when AI is concerned.

Professional tip: Examine the publication date or limit your search to the final couple years, except you’re on the lookout for historic data. For research, be sure you perceive the pattern dimension and the geographical location — they may be fairly completely different to your individual target market, so proceed with warning.

Publish by yourself LinkedIn. You probably have a large following and/or a robust community in your trade, letting different content material managers know that you just’re engaged on a chunk can floor some consultants you could already know. Your community may also have strategies for different folks or sources.
Use major sources. You probably have a subscription to Statista or an analogous service, you possibly can normally discover a treasure trove of research which can be straight related to your matter.

Professional tip: Don’t depend on different articles that cite research — I’ve discovered that these are sometimes previous research, even when the article has a latest date.

Use social media. Even should you don’t have entry to social media listening instruments, you possibly can nonetheless dig into locations like Reddit, Quora, Substack, or area of interest on-line boards the place folks in your trade collect and speak.
Use your co-workers. In the event you don’t have already got a Slack or Groups channel the place your fellow entrepreneurs can bounce concepts off one another or ask questions, think about this an indication to start out one. Your colleagues could also be consultants themselves, or they can join you with anyone from their community.

Topic-matter Consultants

Not all the pieces you write requires a subject-matter knowledgeable, however getting an out of doors perspective on a subject may give you concepts and artistic inspiration, and knowledgeable quotes are good in your readers and good for search algorithms that prioritize private expertise.

Quotes and background info from the folks within the trenches will even distinguish your last product from AI-written content material. I wish to preserve these informational interviews to only quarter-hour — it’s lengthy sufficient to get some stable background information and quotes, and quick sufficient that it’s simple for even busy folks to say “sure” to.

Efficiency Evaluation

You’re not fairly achieved once you hit “publish.” Take a while to overview your KPIs to see how the content material resonated together with your viewers, and whether or not there’s something it’s best to think about 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
Site visitors metrics like web page views, distinctive guests, and return guests
Conversion metrics like lead technology charges, product purchases, and e mail signups

You probably have the sources to do at the very least a lightweight 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 components that make your content material distinct.

Do Content material Analysis

Let’s use a chunk I wrote not too long ago about B2B newsletters for example. It’s a subject I’ve expertise with, however I wouldn’t think about myself an knowledgeable, per se.

Right here’s how I carried out my content material analysis:

1. Analysis key phrases and viewers intent.

Due to our crack search engine optimisation workforce, I do know that the first key phrase for this text is “B2B publication advertising,” so my first step is to make use of Ahrefs’ key phrase explorer:

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I may slender my search by consumer intent by deciding on the dropdown menu and ticking the “intent” field.

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Just a few issues I’m noticing in these outcomes: methods, examples, and greatest practices. This provides me an thought of what customers are on the lookout for, and it’ll assist me construction my article to verify it delivers actual worth.

Folks Additionally Ask

On Google, I looked for “B2B publication advertising” and scrolled all the way down to the Folks Additionally Ask part.

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It’s extra of the identical — customers need an summary of what B2B publication advertising is and what greatest practices are.

Ahrefs additionally has a helpful SERPs overview with the identical information:

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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 usually use Perplexity for analysis and Claude for evaluation; collectively they will help me determine a perspective I hadn’t thought of or uncover extra sources.

After I search Perplexity for “B2B publication advertising,” I can scroll all the way down to the Associated Questions part:

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No surprises right here — extra affirmation that customers are trying to find an summary, greatest practices, and examples.

2. Analysis the competitors.

I exploit each Ahrefs and Perplexity to determine opponents.

Perplexity synthesizes information from its prime sources, so I wish to see what it’s recognized as a supply. I simply use a easy search time period for this relatively than a posh engineered immediate:

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This exhibits me three sources; click on on the field that claims “Present all” to see all of the sources it’s pulling from.

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This reveals all of the sources and its hyperlinks, which provides me an thought of the competitors.

In Ahrefs, I can skim by means of the record of the top-ranking articles that rank for a similar key phrase I’m focusing on.

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One necessary observe at this step: It may be very simple to inadvertently plagiarize from a competitor — perhaps 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 just do skim — however your mileage might differ, so do no matter works for you.

3. Take into account your individual expertise.

I took down some notes concerning 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.

For example, at a earlier job with a really small workforce, I discovered myself nose to nose with among the extra technical points of operating 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 unique weblog publish about B2B newsletters for HubSpot, I knew I needed to incorporate one thing concerning the technical facet of newsletters with out going into an excessive amount of element.

I reached out to a HubSpotter on our MarTech workforce who was in a position to give me some high-level recommendation on what entrepreneurs new to newsletters ought to think about from a technical perspective.

That is only a fraction of the data I bought from a 15-minute Zoom name:

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Generally you don’t know what you don’t know, and reaching into your individual expertise will help uncover questions your viewers could have as they dive additional into the subject at hand.

4. Analysis the subject and any developments.

You probably have entry to an information and analysis software like Statista, IBISWorld, or comparable, get within the behavior of operating just a few searches. This didn’t develop into a significant supply for this specific matter, however I did discover some knowledge on personalization, which was one of many subtopics I touched on within the weblog publish.

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I additionally searched Google Scholar for “e mail newsletters in advertising,” limiting outcomes to something from 2023 or later. I got here throughout a December 2023 paper entitled “Personalization (In)effectiveness in e mail advertising” from a journal known 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 test scholarly journals — you by no means know once you’ll come throughout anyone doing one thing model new within the subject.

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5. Interview subject-matter consultants.

This step may be intimidating should you don’t know subject-matter consultants. Right here’s just a few of my methods I used to seek out folks to speak to about B2B newsletters:

I began by asking the HubSpot #advertising Slack channel: What are your favourite e mail newsletters? Lia Haberman’s ICYMI and Alexis Grant’s They Acquired Acquired had been each talked about a number of instances, in order that they went on my record.
I searched LinkedIn for “B2B e mail advertising” and located different consultants and prime voices.
I went by means of my very own community and located that I knew just a few folks on the technical facet. I requested them if they’d any strategies and suggestions.
I requested different publication writers at HubSpot if I may speak to them, and in the event that they knew anyone they may introduce me to.

6. Analyze the efficiency.

It’s good to test 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 trade and KPIs information you. In the event you’re writing well timed (versus evergreen) content material, your pageviews will most likely peak inside the first week and even sooner.

In the event you 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 visitors sources, which will help you fine-tune your distribution sooner or later. (Google Analytics, a generally used software, has comparable metrics.)

Analysis With Confidence

There are various approaches to content material analysis, and never all the pieces I’ve outlined might apply to you. However it’s best to now have a stable basis for content material analysis, the various paths it may well take, and how one can successfully and effectively begin researching nice content material.