PTC BLOG CONTENT AUDIT AND STRATEGY

Problem

Global software company PTC provides cutting-edge technological solutions across a number of industries and applications. In addition to their product line, the company generates a significant amount of content in the form of blog posts. Through a consistent approach to the creation, distribution, promotion, and measurement of ROI for content, there is the opportunity to guide and inform future marketing strategies. These include definition of and the development of an action plan that address the following considerations:

  • What content is performing best?

  • What topics does the audience most connect with and identify as valuable?

  • Which content needs to be maintained, revisited, revised, or removed?

  • What is the optimal publication schedule?

  • What are the optimal publication and promotional channels?

 

Approach

The Content Audit:

The content and performance of the PTC blog posts have been analyzed through a content audit. Fundamental KPI (Key Performance Indicator) metrics of blog posts and search queries were collected within the scope of:

  • Audience Acquisition

  • Total Users

  • New Users

  • Sessions

  • Audience Behavior

  • Bounce Rate

  • Pages per Session

  • Average Session Duration

  • Audience Conversion

  • Topic/Content Analysis

  • Publication Cadence

  • Search Engine Optimization and Increased Site Traffic from Organic Searches and Social Network Visibility

The resulting content audit catalogued the existing PTC blog posts and organized relevant data for each including:

Content Audit of the PTC blog site

Visual and Quantitative Results of Blog Topic Analysis Represented in a Tag Cloud

  • URL

  • Title

  • Author

  • Publication Date

  • Product/Platform

  • Headline Type

  • Asset Type

  • Content Format

  • Blog Length/Word Count

  • Recommended Editorial Action

  • Page views

  • Average Time on Page

  • Bounce Rate

  • Comments

 

Results

The results of the content audit have allowed for qualitative editorial recommendations and generation of an editorial calendar that ensures a consistent schedule of balanced content delivery. Publication and promotion cycles through social media channels have been created to ensure maximum impact of new content and an extended, viable life-cycle for previous blog posts and webinars.  This process has laid the foundation for an ongoing process of overview that will advise and optimize the topics of content produced and the resonant impact rates of interest and interaction with the target audience.

Lessons Learned

Key Terms/Tags: Blog titles, tags and content should include the terms most searched for and to-date most successful with users in terms of interaction and engagement.

Editorial Voice: The most successful blog posts include a strong editorial voice and unique perspective or application of technological solutions.

Rich, Sharable Content: Blogs that includes valuable, engaging content in the form of images, videos, and infographics offer users something other than just a post to share and multiple ways to engage with the posts. Blog posts should include content items that fulfill informational, visual, and audio criteria.

 

Focus on the Channels that Work Best: The best conversions from user to dedicated customer come from individuals that have taken the next step to engage with the content by signing up for blog and product updates. All posts should include opportunities for the user to further engage with the blog, the company, and the product line.

PTC Content Audit and Strategy Final Report Excerpt