Your last campaign looked promising, but the results fell short. If you’ve experienced this, it’s time to rethink the marketing metrics you track.
In this post, we’ll show you the key metrics that matter to measure your business’s success, spotting improvement areas, and boosting your ROI.
By the end, you’ll know how to enhance the most important metrics to make informed decisions that drive growth, profits, and a stronger market position.
15 Must-Track Marketing Metrics For Your Business
If you’re wondering where to start, start with these 5 crucial metrics.
| Metric | What This Metric Is For | Where to Find Data | How to Calculate |
| Conversion Rate | Seeing how well visitors turn into customers | Google Analytics (Conversions > Goals) | (Number of conversions / Total visitors) * 100 |
| Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) | Knowing how much it costs to get a new customer | Marketing and sales expense records | Total marketing and sales costs / Number of new customers acquired |
| Return on Investment (ROI) | Checking if your marketing is making money | Financial statements and marketing reports | (Net profit from marketing / Cost of marketing) * 100 |
| Traffic Sources | Finding out where your visitors come from | Google Analytics (Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium) | N/A (usually provided by the analytics tool as a report) |
| Click-Through Rate (CTR) | Seeing how often people click on your ads or emails | Google Ads (Campaigns > CTR column), Facebook Ads (Ads Manager > Performance and Clicks) | (Number of clicks / Number of impressions) * 100 |
Getting Visitors
Here are 4 metrics to know where website traffic comes from.
1. Traffic Sources
Traffic sources tell you where your web traffic is coming from (website visits through the search engine, AdWords, social networks, direct traffic). In fact, you should use it to determine where you should focus your resources to generate the highest ROIs.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce store: Deciding whether to spend more on Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
- Blog: Identifying if SEO efforts are driving SERP impressions and organic traffic.
How To Track
- Google Analytics: Go to Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium.
- Google Search Console: Check the Performance report.
- Social Media Insights: Use platforms’ native analytics tools (Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights).
- Referral Traffic: In Google Analytics, go to Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Traffic from a Specific Source:
Invest in this channel more. For example, if organic search is bringing in a lot of visitors, expand your SEO efforts by creating more content targeting relevant keywords.
Here’s a great example to look at: Prosple’s Google organic search traffic. They found that they were earning top spots in Google SERPs for ‘internship programs’ or ‘graduate jobs’, so they invested more in SEO strategies.
Low Traffic from a Specific Source:
Your strategy needs adjustment. Re-evaluate your approach for this channel. For example, if the campaign does not have high conversions from paid ads, change the ad, pay attention to keywords, or adjust the budget for targeting.
Sudden Traffic Spike:
This could be because of a recent successful campaign or an external factor. Investigate the cause of this surge, like a viral social media post or a feature in a popular blog, so you can replicate the successful strategies in future campaigns.
Decline in Traffic from a Source:
This indicates issues with your strategy or external changes like search engine algorithm updates. In truth, you should identify and address potential problems, which could be technical SEO issues or changes in user behavior, and adjust to regain lost traffic.
2. Cost Per Click (CPC)
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- Start-up business: Evaluating how cost-effective various ad platforms are (e.g., Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads).
- Non-profit organization: Ensuring ad spend is optimized to attract donations without exceeding budget limits.
- Freelancer or consultant: Determining the most affordable way to promote services online and attract new clients.
How To Track
- Google Ads: Go to the Keywords tab. Look at the CPC column for each keyword.
- Facebook Ads Manager: Open the Ads Manager. Go to the performance and click report to find CPC data.
- Bing Ads: Go to the Campaigns tab. Check the CPC metrics for each campaign.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CPC:
This means the competition for the keyword is fierce. Indeed, to improve your quality score, target less competitive keywords or tweak your ad copy.
Low CPC:
This is a good sign. You are getting clicks at a lower cost. In fact, we recommend to continue your current strategies to maintain or even lower the CPC.
Fluctuating CPC:
Keep an eye on trends and adjust bids accordingly. If CPC is rising, review your ad relevance and landing page quality.
3. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)
CPM tells you how much it costs to show your ad 1,000 times. In summary, use this metric for campaigns where you want as many eyes on your ad as possible, like brand awareness campaigns.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- New product launch: Making sure your ad gets seen by a lot of people to generate excitement.
- Event promotion: Getting the word out to as many people as possible to boost attendance.
How to Track:
- Google Ads: Go to your campaign, then navigate to the Display Network report. Look for the CPM column to see your costs.
- Facebook Ads Manager: Go to the Ads Manager, select your campaign, and check the Performance and Delivery reports to find the CPM data.
- LinkedIn Campaign Manager: Open your campaign, go to the Ad Performance tab, and find the CPM metrics.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CPM:
This means your ads are expensive per view. In fact, your targeting to make sure you’re reaching the right people, or try different ad formats to cut costs.
Low CPM:
You are getting lots of views for less cost. In fact, keep doing what you’re doing and see if you can make it even better.
Fluctuating CPM:
If CPM suddenly goes up, look into what might be causing it, like more competition or seasonal trends.
4. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is how much you spend to get a new customer. Use this metric to understand if your marketing efforts are cost-effective.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce store: Determining if the money you spend on ads is bringing in enough new customers.
- Subscription service: Ensuring that the cost to acquire a customer is lower than the revenue you get from them over time.
How to Track
- Google Analytics: Navigate to the Conversions tab. Select Multi-Channel Funnels and then Assisted Conversions to see the full customer journey and associated costs.
- HubSpot: Open your Marketing Dashboard. Look at the Customer Acquisition report which summarizes the cost spent and new customers gained.
- Salesforce: Go to the Campaigns tab. Review the Campaign Influence report to see the cost per campaign and how many new customers you generate.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CAC:
This means that getting new customers is expensive. In reality, you should tweak your marketing strategies or find cheaper ways to attract customers.
Low CAC:
Your marketing is working well and bringing in customers for less money. In fact, you should invest more in these strategies more.
Fluctuating CAC:
If costs suddenly jump, take a closer look to see what’s going on and fix any issues with underperforming campaigns.
Engaging Visitors
This tells you how well your content is capturing and holding your audience’s attention. Use these metrics to actively identify what works best in engaging your audience.
5. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on your ad or link. This metric will show how effective your ads or content are at capturing attention.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With:
- Online retailer: Seeing which product ads grab the most attention.
- Software product: Measuring how effective different call-to-action buttons are.
How To Track
- Google Ads: Go to the Keywords tab. Look at the CTR column.
- Facebook Ads Manager: Open Ads Manager. Navigate to the Performance and Clicks report.
- Mailchimp: Open the Campaign Report for your email. Look at the CTR data to see how many recipients clicked on links.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CTR:
Your content is engaging and relevant. Keep using similar strategies and try to replicate them.
Low CTR:
This indicates your strategy may need improvement. Consider changing your headlines, ad copy, or call-to-action buttons to make them more compelling. Additionally, A/B tests different elements (one at a time) to see what resonates better with your audience.
Fluctuating CTR:
Monitor trends and make adjustments like updating content or changing your ad targeting.
6. Social Media Engagement
This measures how people interact with your social media posts (likes, comments, shares). Use it to understand what content types and topics resonate with your audience.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- Local business: Gauging how effective community-related posts are.
- Influencer: Understanding which types of content and influencers generate the most interaction.
- Non-profit: Measuring the impact of awareness campaigns.
How to Track
- Facebook Insights: Go to your Page Insights. Check the engagement metrics for each post.
- Instagram Insights: Open the Insights tab. Look at the engagement section to see likes, comments, and shares.
- Twitter Analytics: Go to the Analytics tab. Review the engagement data for each tweet.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Engagement:
Your audience loves your content. Keep creating similar posts. Also, analyze the specific types of posts that get high engagement and produce more of that content.
Low Engagement:
Try different types of content. Experiment with new formats, topics, or posting times to see what your audience prefers. Also, engage with your audience more by responding to comments and messages.
Fluctuating Engagement:
Engagement could vary because of the timing or content type. Seasonal trends or current events can also impact engagement levels. Learn social media techniques and keep a close eye on trends.
7. Email Open Rate
The Email Open Rate is the percentage of recipients who open your email. Use this to understand the best subject lines and sending times.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Checking if promotional emails are getting noticed.
- Newsletters: Seeing if your content updates are interesting enough.
- Event organizers: Making sure event announcements are seen.
How to Track
- Mailchimp: Open your Campaign Report. Check the Open Rate percentage.
- Constant Contact: Go to the Email Performance report. Look at the Open Rate data.
- HubSpot: Navigate to Email Analytics. View the Open Rate for each email campaign.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Open Rate:
Your subject lines are effective. Keep using similar strategies and experiment with different sending times. You can also personalize your emails better to improve the open rate.
Low Open Rate:
Improve your subject lines to make them more enticing. Test different send times to find what works best for your audience. Make sure your sender name and email are easy to recognize and credible.
Fluctuating Open Rate:
Holidays or current events can also affect open rates. Check how steady the rate is after these events.
8. Email Click-Through Rate (CTR)
This is the percentage of recipients who click on a link in your email which shows how engaging and relevant your email content is.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Measuring how effective product promotions are.
- Content creators: Understanding which articles or resources are most appealing.
- Event organizers: Checking if people are interested in registering for events.
How to Track
- Mailchimp: Open the Campaign Report. Check the CTR for each email.
- Constant Contact: Go to the Email Performance report. Look at the Click Rate data.
- HubSpot: Navigate to Email Analytics. View the CTR for each campaign.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CTR:
Your email content is engaging and relevant. Continue creating similar content and experimenting with different types of links. Also, analyze which types of links and calls-to-action work best.
Low CTR:
Improve your email content. Make your calls-to-action more compelling and make sure your links are very visible. Segment your email list to send more targeted content to the right audience groups.
Fluctuating CTR:
Test different email formats, designs, and link placements one at a time to see what builds steady progress.
9. Bounce Rate
Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing just 1 page.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Ensuring product pages are engaging enough to keep visitors exploring.
- Blog: Checking if readers find your articles valuable and actionable.
- Service-based business: Making sure landing pages effectively highlight what you can help the customer with.
How to Track
- Google Analytics: Go to the Audience Overview. Check the Bounce Rate for your site.
- Hotjar: Use the Heatmaps feature. Look for areas where users are dropping off.
- Crazy Egg: Go to the Behavior Reports. Check the Bounce Rate for different pages.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Bounce Rate:
Indicates visitors are leaving quickly. Improve your content, navigation, and user experience to keep visitors engaged. You should also work on your page load speed, clearer calls-to-action, and mobile-friendliness.
Low Bounce Rate:
Your site is engaging and keeps visitors interested.
Fluctuating Bounce Rate:
This can be due to changes in content, user experience, or external factors like traffic sources. Seasonal trends, promotions, or changes in user behavior can also affect bounce rates.
Converting Visitors
Is your audience’s interest moving them to take action? Monitor these 2 metrics to answer this question.
10. Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate is the percentage of visitors who take a desired action on your site–purchasing or signing up for a newsletter. This metric shows how effective your site is at turning visitors into customers or leads.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Understanding how many visitors are making purchases.
- SaaS company: Measuring how many trial users convert to paying customers.
- Service-based business: Tracking how many visitors fill out a contact form or request a quote.
How to Track
- Google Analytics: Go to the Conversions tab. Set up Goals to track specific actions, like purchases or form submissions.
- Shopify Analytics: Go to the Analytics section. Check the Conversion Rate in your sales reports.
- Hotjar: Use the Funnels feature. Analyze where users drop off in the conversion process.
Pro Tip:
Use Hotjar’s heatmap to see which products visitors are most interested in. You can tell by how often they click on the product thumbnails. Then, use this information to highlight these popular items as ‘Featured Products’ at the top of the page just like what Green Supply did here on their product page.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Conversion Rate:
This is a good sign. Continue the marketing strategies you currently apply.
Low Conversion Rate:
Suggests that visitors aren’t taking the desired actions. Improve your website design, calls-to-action, and user experience to increase conversions. A/B test different elements one at a time on your site to see what works best.
Fluctuating Conversion Rate:
Seasonal changes, marketing campaigns, or website updates affect conversion rates. Keep testing until after the event is over and see if the fluctuation declines.
11. Lead-to-Customer Ratio
Lead-to-Customer Ratio is the percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. This metric helps you understand how effective your sales process is at converting leads.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- B2B company: Measuring how many leads convert into clients.
- Real estate agency: Tracking how effective your follow-ups are with potential buyers.
- Consulting firm: Evaluating how many consultation inquiries turn into actual clients.
How to Track
- Salesforce: Use the Sales Cloud. Track leads through the sales pipeline and monitor conversion rates.
- HubSpot: Open the Sales Dashboard. Look at the lead-to-customer conversion metrics.
- Zoho CRM: Go to the Lead Conversion reports. Track the percentage of leads that become customers.
How To Interpret Data And What To Do Based On The Results
High Lead-to-Customer Ratio:
Your sales process is effective. Keep refining your lead nurturing strategies in this direction to maintain or improve this ratio. Analyze the steps that successfully convert leads to replicate them.
Low Lead-to-Customer Ratio:
Shows issues in your sales process. Improve your follow-up strategies, provide better sales training, or refine your lead qualification process. Consider using lead scoring to prioritize high-quality leads.
Fluctuating Lead-to-Customer Ratio:
External factors like market conditions or seasonal trends can affect this ratio.
Keeping Customers
Retaining customers is just as important as acquiring them. Here are 4 metrics you need to track.
12. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total amount of revenue you can expect from 1 customer throughout their relationship with your business. This metric helps you understand the long-term value of your customers.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Identifying which customer segments are the most valuable.
- Subscription service: Calculating the expected revenue from subscribers.
- SaaS company: Evaluating the profitability of customer relationships.
How to Track
- HubSpot: Open the Marketing Dashboard. Use the CLV calculator to input your revenue data and get CLV insights.
- Salesforce: Go to Customer Insights. Review the CLV calculations based on your sales data.
- Kissmetrics: Access the Customer Lifetime Value report. Analyze the revenue generated from each customer over time.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High CLV:
Indicates that your customers are valuable and loyal. Focus on maintaining and enhancing your customer relationships with personalized marketing and exceptional customer service.
Low CLV:
Suggests that customers may not be staying long enough or spending enough. Improve your customer retention strategies: loyalty programs or regular engagement using personalized offers.
Fluctuating CLV:
Monitor changes and adjust your strategies as needed. A high fluctuation indicates poor customer experiences, so focus on providing a consistently positive experience.
13. Churn Rate
Churn Rate is the percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a given period. This metric helps you understand how well you are retaining customers.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- Subscription service: Measuring how many subscribers cancel their subscriptions.
- SaaS company: Tracking the loss of software users.
- Telecommunications: Monitoring the number of customers switching to competitors.
Tools and Specific Features to Use
- Stripe: Use the Subscriptions Dashboard to track the churn rate.
- Zendesk: Check the Customer Retention reports.
- Baremetrics: Analyze the Churn Rate in the Revenue Analytics section.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High Churn Rate:
Indicates that many customers are leaving. Investigate the reasons behind customer attrition. It could be poor service or better offers from competitors.
Low Churn Rate:
Shows that you’re retaining most of your customers. Keep your current strategies.
Fluctuating Churn Rate:
Address any spikes in churn rate immediately by engaging with customers to understand their issues and improve their experience.
14. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how satisfied and loyal your customers are. You do this by asking how likely they are to recommend your business to others so you can gauge overall customer sentiment.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- Retail business: Understanding customer satisfaction levels.
- Hospitality industry: Measuring guest satisfaction and chances of recommending your service.
- Healthcare providers: Gauging patient satisfaction and loyalty.
How to Track
- SurveyMonkey: Create an NPS survey using the template. Distribute the survey and collect responses.
- Qualtrics: Open the NPS dashboard. Analyze the feedback and NPS score.
- HubSpot: Go to Feedback Surveys. Set up an NPS survey and review the results.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High NPS:
Indicates strong customer satisfaction and loyalty. Encourage satisfied customers to become advocates and share their positive experiences.
Low NPS:
Suggests that customers may not be happy with your service. Identify common complaints and work on improving those areas to boost customer satisfaction.
Fluctuating NPS:
Monitor changes and address issues promptly. Engage with customers to understand their concerns and make adjustments based on those.
Measuring Success
To understand the overall effectiveness of your marketing efforts, measure the return on investment (ROI) to help you evaluate if the money you spend on your campaigns and strategies is worth it.
15. Return on Investment (ROI)
Return on Investment (ROI) measures how profitable your marketing efforts are by comparing the revenue generated to the costs incurred. This metric helps you determine if your marketing strategies are paying off.
Real-World Scenarios This Can Help With
- eCommerce: Assessing how profitable specific marketing campaigns are.
- B2B company: Evaluating the return from trade shows and other events.
- Start-ups: Determining if initial marketing investments are generating sufficient returns.
How to Track
- Google Analytics: Go to Conversions > E-commerce > Product Performance. Calculate ROI by comparing revenue generated to the costs incurred for each product or campaign.
- HubSpot: Open Campaign Analytics. Check the ROI section to see the profitability of your marketing campaigns.
- Kissmetrics: Access the Revenue Performance report. Compare the revenue generated to the marketing costs to determine ROI.
How To Interpret Data & What To Do Based On The Results
High ROI:
Indicates that your marketing efforts are very profitable. Continue investing in these strategies and exploring ways to scale them up.
Low ROI:
Your marketing campaigns may not be cost-effective. Re-evaluate your strategies, reduce unnecessary expenses, and focus on more profitable channels.
Fluctuating ROI:
Seasonal changes, market conditions, or shifts in consumer behavior affect ROI. Keep testing and see what currently works, what worked last month might not do so today.
Pro Tip:
Handling these metrics yourself eats up time that you could spend on more urgent matters. Hire a marketing assistant to monitor and interpret the data for you, so you only need to decide on strategy A or B. They’ll take care of the rest.
4 Best Practices To Make The Most of Your Marketing Metrics
You can apply the strategies one way or another, but to make sure you aren’t aiming your blows in the wind, follow these best practices.
1. Partner With A Marketing Agency
If you’re new to marketing, understanding and using marketing metrics can be overwhelming. Work with a time-tested marketing agency that has the know-how and resources to improve your metrics. They can handle:
- Review your marketing data to see what’s working and what’s not.
- Create strategies tailored to your business goals and track important metrics.
- Provide you detailed reports on how your campaigns are doing, focusing on key metrics like conversion rates and click-through rates.
- Keep an eye on your campaigns and adjust them in real-time to get the best results.
2. Use Trusted AI & Machine Learning Tools
Companies that use AI for analytics report a 40% improvement in their marketing ROI. AI can help you analyze vast amounts of data quickly, identify patterns, and predict future trends. You can use:
- Salesforce Einstein: Predict which leads are most likely to convert so your sales team can prioritize them.
- HubSpot’s AI Tools: Automate tasks like lead scoring and email personalization to improve engagement rates.
- Google Cloud AI: Understand customer sentiment by analyzing social media comments and reviews.
3. Integrate Metrics Across All Marketing Channels
Integrating metrics from all your marketing channels gives you a full picture of your performance. Here’s how you can do it:
3.1 Link your social media, email, PPC, SEO, and other marketing data into Google Analytics 360 to collect data from your website, social media, and email campaigns in one place or HubSpot centralizes your data from various marketing tools and channels.
3.2 Set up unified tracking. Add UTM Parameters to track where your traffic is coming from. You should also track Facebook and Google pixels to monitor user interactions and conversions.
3.3 Create a personalized dashboard that helps you monitor and compare your performance easily. You can use Google Data Studio which pulls data from Google Analytics and Google Ads.
4. Regularly Update Your Data
Conduct monthly or quarterly data audits to check for duplicates, correct errors, and remove outdated information.
You can also set up data validation rules to prevent incorrect data from entering your system in the first place. Define validation rules for format requirements and mandatory fields.
What’s Next?
Tracking and interpreting metrics don’t have to be complicated, start with the 5 we mentioned at the outset. As you master interpreting the 5, add 1-2 more metrics to track.
Need more expert help? K6 Strategy is ready to lend a hand. Whether it’s paid ads or organic campaigns, we can help you do your initial audit and teach you how to make the most out of the marketing metrics. We will help you understand the best campaigns to implement to get more visitors and conversations. Get your free proposal today.