Measuring the value of online blogs: a descriptive indirect blog development instrument

Blog articles are written by web shops with the idea that the value of time spent in writing the article is less than the overall value the article gives in return. At some point, relevant data is starting to lack and articles are written with less relevant content; indirect blog articles. Yet, there is little evidence on how much value is created with these articles. To measure this value, a blog value model was created making use of Google Analytics. This model shows the valuable click-through sessions of each article. Results of a previous study showed six factors increasing the performance of blog articles. More in depth research into these six factors found 44 performance indicators practicable for better blog writing. This research was carried out using an expert analysis among ten digital marketing experts. For more accessibility the indicators have been combined in a periodic table. Basically, all articles getting organic sessions are generating value, however optimizing indirect articles with the blog writing periodic table to generate more CTR (click-through ratio) is where the real added value lies in this study.