Hi, Lauren Kaye, with this week’s Content & Coffee. Today I wanted to talk about content analytics and how you can be doing more with what you already have. Click play below to watch the video, or read on for the full transcript. 

With all the technology at our fingertips, it makes sense to go big for fresh insights about what customers want, and how we can give it to them. Big data has the answer, doesn’t it? Maybe, but it turns out we’re not always ready for it.

Adobe and Razorfish just released a study showing that only a fraction of companies that think they’re effectively using big data for actionable information actually are.

Fortunately, we may not have to go that route at all. At ClickZ Live New York, Bill Hunt of Back Azimuth Consulting shared some data mining ideas that felt more like common sense than anything else.

He suggested carefully analyzing the terms people type into search engines, looking at word choice and specificity as clues for where they are in the purchase process. A yardwork novice might use the term “affordable lawn mower,” while a person with a true green thumb will probably enter more precise terms to hone in on what they know they like – a particular brand or a certain wheel size.

These differences should be taken into account when creating content, so websites have pieces that map to both groups.

Hunt also advised you look no further than your own website. On-site search data is a great way to learn what answers your website is still missing. If you see that visitors frequently look up “lawnmower models” after reading a related blog post, you should think about including a more direct call to action on that page, directing readers to top-selling models.

Your website and your customers are data goldmines if you’re willing to listen and ready to pay attention.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below, or Tweet @Brafton. Catch you next week and happy content marketing!

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.