Analyse Content Tracking reports

Not only does the Content Tracking feature allow you to track different types of content, it also offers multiple tracking methods so the specific metrics will vary depending on how you have configured it. For this reason, it is important that anyone working with your analytics understands how it has been set up. There can be a significant difference between the number of times a banner is loaded on a page, and how many times it has actually been seen, so you should note which method of tracking you use. With that in mind, you can start looking at your reports.

Where to find Content Tracking Reports

Content Tracking reports can be found on the Contents page within the Behaviour section. This is accessed via the main navigation shown down the left-hand side of Matomo analytics.

Behaviour Menu Item

There are two Content Tracking reports available within Matomo:

  • Content Name Report – This shows you the top level content blocks so you can review aggregate reports of how many impressions and how many interactions each type of content (banners, listings, thumbnails, etc.) is getting. Each Content Name can be clicked to view the list of Content pieces with this name.
    Matomo Analytics (formerly Piwik Analytics) tracking impressions Clicks Click-Rate on banners and any page elements

  • Content Piece Report – This report provides granular details on the specific pieces of content that get the most impressions and also the most interaction. Each content piece can be clicked to view the list of Content Names for this piece.
    Matomo Contents Tracking Content Piece report

Note: You won’t actually be able to see the content target within these reports, which is why it is important to set descriptive Content Name and Content Piece labels.

Flat vs Hierarchical Reports

By default, your reports will be rolled up and hierarchical so you can review at the Content Name level and then expand to see the pieces that have contributed to the score. Alternatively, you can flatten the entire table to rank each individual Content Piece. You can find more information on hierarchical tables in the Matomo Tour.

Hierarchical Report
Content Tracking - Hierarchical Report

Flattened Report

Content Tracking - Flattened Report

Easily Analyse Related Content Pieces

If you’d like to review similarly themed content within your reports it can be helpful to give them similar names with consistent wording that can be searched for. This means you can filter the table to only see a specific name via search. To do this, hover your mouse over the table and then click on the search icon Search Icon in the bottom left. This reveals a search bar where you can enter what you are searching for, e.g. banner if you want to see all banners.

Identifying your best and worst performing content with content tracking

If you are tracking a lot of content pieces on your website and you want to know which have the most or least impressions and interactions, then one way to do this is by utilising the sort feature on the content tracking tables. To do this, visit either of the content reports and then click on the title of the metric that you’d like to sort by. You click on the title again to toggle between sorting from the highest to lowest Descending or the lowest to highest Ascending Icon.