Let’s face it. Google Analytics is a bare essential to tracking the progress of any website or blog. But wouldn’t be even better if the bare essential had a supplement which made tracking the progress of your website, blog or post even more packed full of useful raw data? A sort of add-on to the Megazord (yes, I just made a Power Rangers reference and realize I’m dating myself). That’s where Post Rank comes in. I first was introduced to Post Rank through my daily digest of Social Media Examiner. Ahh, the gift that keeps on giving.
Post Rank, “monitors and collects social engagement events correlated with online content in real-time across the web.” Founded in 2007 in Waterloo, Ontario, Post Rank offers a slew of services to help you get the most out of your online content producing endeavors. There are four main layers to Post Rank:
- Connect: Sometimes finding your key influencers and audience to leverage your expertise is like finding a needle in a haystack. However, with Connect (still in beta) Post Rank users can be easily directed to who exactly they need to be in touch with.
- Data Services: For all those data hungry analytical types, Data Services provides real-time content and engagement access for media monitoring, analysis and aggregation.
- Analytics: The core foundation of engagement analysis lies here, where one can see the who, what, when and where of content that is published on your website or blog, plus a chance to see where improvement can take place.
- Consumer: A plethora of free tools for publishers to find the best blogs, websites and other online hot spots to further seek out potential visitors to one’s website or blog. Help visitors cut through the clutter with the Consumer feature and find the content they really need.
Now, Post Rank Analytics does cost a pretty penny if you are not signed up wit their Connect service. Otherwise it is free. If you are not signed up with their Connect service, then below is their basic pricing:
Influencer:
- 5 sites
- 20 custom pages
- Free!
Business:
- 20 sites
- 40 custom pages
- $49/month
Agency:
- 200 sites
- 40 custom pages
- $500/month
Everyday you’ll be sent an email that gives you brief overview of how many pageviews you received and engagement points. It looks a little something in the screen shot above:
Another nice free feature of Post Rank is their PR + Google Reader add-on. Pump up the robust-ability of your existing Google Reader by allowing Post Rank to help you find the richest content Google Reader already assists you in finding. With some much content on the web, people need all the straightforwardness they can get.
Lastly, Post Rank (Analytics) will track every social media outlet known to man. No joke. When I looked over this feature of their Analytics component I was introduced to social media outlets I didn’t even know could exist.
Ultimately, Post Rank makes sense for getting the most potential of getting your content out there. If your online budget is tight (wink wink), then definitely take advantage of the standard/free Post Rank Analytics feature Post Rank offers. Read even more about Post Rank by visiting their site. I only touched on the basics of what they have to offer. And please leave a comment on your thoughts about Post Rank.
Thanks for the write-up, Ryan. Though I am scratching my head over the assertion that free costs “a pretty penny”. 🙂 A small correction there — for those who register for our Connect service, Analytics is free. Otherwise, the Personal account is $15/month.
And don’t forget, too, that while you can use PostRank to find out more about your content’s performance, your reach, and to develop relationships with your readers, you can also use it to learn those things about your competitors, too. 🙂
Melanie Baker
Community Manager, PostRank
Thanks Melanie for the comment and for the clarification. I went ahead and inserted what you mentioned about Post Rank Analytics being free if you sign up with Connect. Appreciate it! 😀