7 Marketing KPIs Every Business Owner Should Watch
If you’ve logged into any website analytics tool lately, you’ve probably known the feeling of pure overwhelm that comes with staring at a dashboard full of numbers with no idea where to start. The data is all there, but how can you use it to make informed decisions about your marketing strategy?
In this article, we’ll highlight a few of the most important key performance indicators (KPIs) every business owner should be aware of.
Conversion Rate
Conversions happen when visitors take meaningful actions on your website—think e-commerce purchases, form submissions, and free trial signups. Conversion rate, therefore, is a fundamental metric that tells you what percentage of visitors completed the desired action on your website, directly measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
Why it matters:
Conversion rate helps you understand the effectiveness of your messaging and evaluate your return on ad spend.
Where to find it:
You can find your conversion rate in your website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, under the Events section. Setting up specific goals in these tools helps you track different conversion actions tailored to your business needs.
Traffic Sources
Knowing where your website visitors are coming from helps you understand which channels are most effective in driving traffic and where you should focus your marketing efforts.
Why it matters:
Your time is valuable and your marketing dollars are likely not infinite. Knowing what channels are getting you the most traffic and value for your efforts helps you make the most of your time and your marketing budget.
Where to find it:
Traffic source data can be found in website analytics tools like Google Analytics, under the “Acquisition” section. This will show you the breakdown of traffic from different channels, such as organic search, paid ads, social media, and direct visits.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of people who click on a link or call to action within your ad, email, or web page, relative to the number of impressions or reach. This metric helps you understand how effective your content is at driving visitors to take the next step.
Why it matters:
A high CTR indicates that your audience finds your content compelling and relevant enough to click through to learn more or take action. A low CTR may indicate opportunities for improvement.
Where to find it:
CTR can be tracked in various platforms depending on the context—email marketing tools like Mailchimp for email campaigns, Google Ads and Facebook Ads Manager for paid campaigns, and website analytics tools for web pages.
Impressions/Reach
Impressions and reach are metrics that show how many times your content is displayed and how many unique users see it, respectively. Impressions refer to the total number of times your content is viewed, while reach indicates the number of unique users who have seen it.
Why it matters:
Understanding impressions and reach helps you gauge the visibility of your content and brand awareness. High impressions with low engagement might indicate that your content is not resonating with your audience, while high reach can show the effectiveness of your distribution channels.
Where to find it:
These metrics can be found in social media analytics tools like Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights, and Twitter Analytics, as well as in ad platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads Manager.
Bounce Rate
Your website’s bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. For blogs, this might mean readers leaving after viewing a single post, while ecommerce sites might see potential customers exit without exploring products.
Why it matters:
A high bounce rate can indicate that your landing page(s) are not engaging or relevant to visitors—or that something is not loading/working properly on your website. This highlights areas for improvement in content and/or user experience.
Where to find it:
Bounce rate can be found in website analytics tools such as Google Analytics, under the “Audience” section.
Branded Searches
Branded searches refer to the number of times users search for your brand name or specific products and services associated with your brand. This KPI indicates the level of brand awareness and interest among your target audience.
Why it matters:
An increase in branded searches shows that your marketing efforts are successfully building brand awareness, recognition, and loyalty. It indicates that more people are actively seeking out your brand, which can lead to higher direct traffic and conversions.
Where to find it:
Branded search data can be found in tools like Google Search Console, where you can see the search queries that lead users to your website. Additionally, tools like Google Ads provide insights into search terms for your paid campaigns.
Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Customer Lifetime Value
While it’s not something you’ll find in your website analytics, it’s important to understand the total amount of revenue your business can expect from each customer throughout the customer’s relationship with the business.
Why it matters:
Understanding your customer lifetime value will help you gauge how much you can/should afford to spend to get new customers.
Where to find it:
Customer lifetime value can be calculated using customer purchase history data, typically found in your CRM system or sales records.
Watch Trends Over Time
When looking at any data, it’s important to make sure you’re looking at general trends over time, rather than a small subset of information. Focusing on long-term trends helps you understand the bigger picture and make informed decisions based on consistent data patterns rather than anomalies. This approach helps in setting realistic goals and adjusting strategies for sustainable growth.
Remember, the right KPIs for your business may vary slightly based on your industry and specific goals. But these core metrics provide a solid foundation for measuring performance and driving growth.
If you need help understanding the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, get in touch! Our marketing team loves to craft custom strategies for businesses of all types.
