Use Data to Discover Your Top Converting Content

Creating content that gets clicks, likes, and shares might feel like success—but if it doesn’t lead to conversions, it’s not doing its job.

In today’s content-saturated world, surface metrics can be deceiving. What truly matters is which blog posts, social media updates, or videos drive real business results—sign-ups, purchases, downloads.

The solution? Google Analytics 4 (GA4). With proper conversion tracking and UTM-tagged links, you can uncover exactly which content converts—and why.

🔍 Why You Need to Track Conversions, Not Just Clicks

Likes don’t equal leads. Shares don’t guarantee sales.

Vanity metrics are helpful for visibility, but they don’t tell you what’s moving the needle in your business. Instead, track:

• Newsletter sign-ups
• Product purchases
• Lead magnet downloads
• Demo bookings or contact form submissions

Once you know what’s working, you can:

• Double down on high-performing content
• Improve or retire underperforming posts
• Make data-driven marketing decisions

📊 Step 1: Set Up Conversion Tracking in GA4

A. Install Google Analytics 4

If you haven’t yet:

1. Create a GA4 property in your Google Analytics account
2. Install the tracking code on your website via Tag Manager or directly in your site’s code

B. Set Up Conversion Events

Go beyond pageviews. Track meaningful actions like:

• Form submissions
• Purchases
• Video views
• Button clicks

How to create an event in GA4:

• Go to Admin > Events > Create Event
• Set your trigger (e.g., button click or form submission)
• Mark the event as a Conversion

🌐 Step 2: Track Off-Site Content with UTM Parameters

If you’re sharing links across platforms—social media, email, YouTube—you need to track those clicks accurately.

A. Use UTM Parameters on External Links

UTMs help GA4 understand where your traffic is coming from.

Example:
https://yourwebsite.com/ebook?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=lead_magnet

Key parameters:

• utm_source = Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram
• utm_medium = social, email, CPC
• utm_campaign = internal campaign label

Tool tip: Use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to generate UTM-tagged links.

B. Analyze Referral Performance

In GA4, go to:
Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition

Filter by:

• Session source / medium
• Campaign name

This shows which external content drives the most (and best) traffic.

✅ Step 3: Identify High-Converting Content

A. Analyze Landing Pages

Go to:
Reports > Engagement > Landing Pages

Look for:

• Pages with high traffic and strong conversion rates
• Pages where visitors completed your set conversion events

Example:

• A blog post with 1,000 visits and 80 sign-ups (8% conversion) is a high performer
• A video with 10,000 views but zero purchases? It might need a stronger call-to-action

B. Study Event-Based Behavior

Go to:
Reports > Engagement > Events

Filter by:

• Your key conversions (e.g., form_submit, purchase)
• Use Secondary dimension: Session source/medium to connect the conversion to a specific traffic source

🔁 Step 4: Replicate and Optimize

Once you’ve found your high-converting content, use those insights to improve your entire content strategy.

A. Create More of What Works

If listicles or tutorials perform best, make more of them.
If case study videos lead to purchases, prioritize those formats.

B. Optimize Underperforming Content

• Add stronger CTAs
• Refresh old posts with new stats, examples, or visuals
• Improve user flow from landing pages to conversions

C. Amplify Top Performers

• Promote high-converting content with paid ads
• Repurpose blog posts into email sequences, short videos, or infographics
• Update top posts with new internal links to drive even more conversions

🚀 Final Thoughts: Let Data Guide Your Content Strategy

Stop guessing which content is working. Start tracking what actually drives results.
With Google Analytics, you can:

• Monitor conversions with clarity
• Attribute revenue to specific blog posts or campaigns
• Build smarter, data-backed strategies

Action Steps for This Week:

Use what you learn to create better, higher-impact content

Set up GA4 and define your top conversion events

Add UTM parameters to off-site links

Analyze your top-performing content