Your blog gets 10,000 views, but you can't prove it drives revenue. Here's how to measure content marketing ROI and show its real value.

Moving Beyond Pageviews

Pageviews don't pay bills. Track what matters:

What NOT to Measure

Pageviews (vanity metric)
Time on page (doesn't equal value)
Bounce rate (misleading)
Social shares (nice but not revenue)

What TO Measure

Leads generated from content
Revenue from content-attributed customers
Assisted conversions (content helped but didn't directly convert)
Pipeline created from content

Assisted Conversions: The Content Assist

Content rarely converts directly, but it assists:

What Are Assisted Conversions?

Conversions where content was part of the journey but not the final touchpoint:

User reads blog post → Later searches brand → Converts
Content created awareness, search closed the deal
Both get credit (assisted + last-click)

How to Track

Google Analytics 4: Multi-channel funnels
HubSpot: Content performance report
Custom tracking: UTM parameters on content links

Attribution Models for Content

Use the right model for content:

First-Click Attribution

Gives content credit for awareness
Good for: Understanding what creates interest
Shows: Content's role in top of funnel

Linear Attribution

Gives content partial credit
Good for: Fair distribution
Shows: Content's role across journey

Time-Decay Attribution

Gives more credit to recent touchpoints
Good for: Valuing recency
Shows: Content's role in consideration

Setting Up Goal Values in Analytics

Assign revenue values to content actions:

How to Set Goal Values

Newsletter signup: $10 (average lead value)
Resource download: $25 (qualified lead)
Demo request: $100 (hot lead)
Form submission: $50 (warm lead)

Calculating Content Value

If a blog post generates:

10 newsletter signups × $10 = $100
5 resource downloads × $25 = $125
2 demo requests × $100 = $200
Total content value: $425

Reporting Content Value to Stakeholders

Show executives content's real impact:

The Executive Report

Top line: "Content generated $50K in pipeline this quarter"
Breakdown: By content type, by topic, by stage
ROI: Content cost vs. pipeline/revenue generated
Trends: Growing or declining?

Conclusion

Content marketing ROI isn't about pageviews—it's about revenue. Track assisted conversions, use proper attribution models, set goal values, and report pipeline and revenue, not just traffic. The result? Content that's accountable to revenue, not just activity.