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Key KPIs for Marketing everyone should know

20/12/2023

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Jennifer Szczepaniak Sloane
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When it comes to measuring the success of your marketing efforts, selecting the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is of utmost importance. Efficient marketing KPIs provide valuable insights and help gauge the effectiveness of your strategies in achieving your business goals. But how do you select marketing KPIs that truly matter?

Firstly, you need to determine your core business elements and growth objectives. Ask yourself questions such as:

  • What are my primary business goals?
  • What do I want to accomplish with my marketing efforts?

Identifying these objectives will help guide you in selecting relevant KPIs.

Next, consider what outcomes you want to achieve.

  • Are you looking to increase brand visibility?
  • Generate leads?
  • Drive sales?

Based on your desired outcomes, you need to choose KPIs that align with these objectives. For example, if your aim is to drive sales, KPIs such as conversion rates, customer acquisition cost, or customer lifetime value would be relevant.

It’s also important to assess the specific metrics and data that can measure progress towards your goals. Using tools like Google Analytics to analyse organic traffic, bounce rate and click-through rates will help you make data-informed decisions and determine which marketing strategies are performing well or need improvement.

 

Top 10 Marketing KPIs that matter

Tracking KPIs allow businesses to gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to drive growth. Here are 10 key marketing KPIs that every business should be tracking:

  1. Marketing revenue attribution: Measures the revenue generated from each marketing channel to determine the return on investment (ROI) for different marketing activities
  2. Customer acquisition cost (CAC): CAC helps businesses measure the cost incurred in acquiring a new customer. This metric is crucial in evaluating the efficiency of marketing campaigns and optimising marketing budgets
  3. Customer lifetime value (CLTV): Quantifies the total value a customer brings to a company over their entire relationship. By tracking CLTV, businesses can assess the long-term profitability of their customer base
  4. Digital marketing ROI: Evaluates the return on investment from digital marketing activities, such as online advertising campaigns, email marketing and social media promotions
  5. Traffic-to-lead ratio (or new contact rate): Measures the percentage of website visitors who convert into leads or new contacts. It indicates the conversion effectiveness of a website and the quality of traffic driven by marketing efforts
  6. Lead-to-customer ratio: This KPI tracks the percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. It helps businesses assess the effectiveness of their lead nurturing and sales processes
  7. Landing page conversion rates: Measures the percentage of visitors who take a desired action on a specific landing page. Optimising these rates can significantly improve marketing campaign results
  8. Organic traffic and top 5 entry pages: Tracks the number of website visitors coming from organic search and identifies the top-performing entry pages. It helps measure the effectiveness of the overall SEO strategy
  9. Social media traffic and conversion rates: Measures the number of visitors and the conversion rates from different social media platforms. It allows businesses to evaluate the impact of their social media marketing efforts
  10. Mobile traffic, leads, and conversion rates: With the rise in mobile usage, tracking engagement and conversion rates on mobile devices is crucial in understanding the effectiveness of marketing activities targeting this demographic of users

Now to explore them in more detail and how to set these KPIs up.

Marketing revenue attribution

This is an essential metric for businesses to determine the return on investment (ROI) for different marketing activities. By tracking the revenue generated from each channel, businesses can identify which marketing efforts are most effective in driving sales and generating revenue. This KPI helps businesses optimise their marketing budgets by allocating resources to the channels that yield the highest ROI. Additionally, marketing revenue attribution provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns and strategies, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions to maximise their marketing efforts and drive revenue growth.

What to do

Firstly, it is crucial to understand the impact of mobile traffic on your marketing strategy. With the increasing use of mobile devices, it is imperative to ensure that your website and marketing activities are well-suited for mobile users.

Next, you should focus on lead conversions, specifically analysing the conversion rates from mobile devices. This will help you identify any areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments to enhance the user experience on mobile.

Additionally, it is important to keep a close eye on bounce rates. High bounce rates from mobile traffic can indicate that your website may not be mobile-friendly or lacks engaging content. By addressing these issues, you can improve the overall user experience and increase the chances of users staying on your site.

Furthermore, conversion rates from mobile devices should also be closely monitored. Understanding the percentage of mobile users who convert can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your mobile marketing strategies.

To enhance the mobile experience and optimise mobile conversions, consider technical SEO actions such as creating mobile-optimised landing pages, improving page load speeds, implementing responsive design and ensuring ease of navigation for mobile users. By prioritising these actions, you can effectively cater to the growing number of mobile users and maximise your marketing efforts.

 

Customer acquisition cost

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is a crucial key performance indicator (KPI) that every marketer should closely monitor. CAC refers to the amount of money a company spends to acquire a new customer. By calculating the CAC, marketers can determine the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing strategies and campaigns. To calculate the CAC, divide the total costs associated with acquiring customers (such as advertising expenses, marketing campaigns, and sales team salaries) by the number of new customers acquired during a specific time period. A high CAC can indicate that the marketing efforts are not generating enough return on investment, while a low CAC signifies that the marketing strategies are effective in acquiring new customers at a reasonable cost. By tracking and analysing the CAC, marketers can make informed decisions about budget allocation and optimise their marketing efforts to achieve better results and higher ROI.

What to do

  1. Implement tracking: First and foremost, it is crucial to set up proper tracking mechanisms to monitor mobile traffic and conversion rates. Use tools like Google Analytics or other analytics platforms to track and measure the performance of your marketing efforts specifically on mobile devices.
  2. Analyse bounce rates: Pay close attention to the bounce rates of mobile traffic. High bounce rates indicate that visitors are leaving the website without taking any further action. By analysing these rates, you can identify any issues with mobile optimisation or user experience that may be hindering conversions.
  3. Monitor conversion rates: Track the conversion rates specifically for mobile traffic. Understanding how many visitors actually convert into leads of customers on mobile devices can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your mobile marketing strategies.
  4. Optimise your landing pages: Make sure your website’s landing pages are mobile-friendly and optimised for the best user experience on smaller screens. Responsive design, fast loading times, clear calls-to-action and simplified forms are all key elements to consider when creating mobile-optimised landing pages.
  5. Analyse visitor behaviour: Dive deep into visitor behaviour on mobile devices. Examine which pages they visit, how long they spend on each page, and any specific actions or interactions they take. This data can help uncover any bottlenecks or improvements that need to be made to enhance mobile conversions.

Understanding visitor behaviour on mobile devices is vital because of the increasing dominance of mobile traffic in today’s digital landscape. Mobile devices have become the primary means of accessing the internet for many users, and marketers need to adapt accordingly. By analysing visitor behaviour, you can identify conversion barriers and optimise your website for better mobile conversions.

Optimising for mobile traffic not only enhances the user experience, but it also directly impacts conversion rates and overall business success. By making your website mobile-friendly and employing mobile-specific strategies, you can achieve improved lead conversions and maximise the return on your marketing efforts. Remember, with mobile traffic on the rise, understanding and optimising for mobile behaviour is a crucial aspect of any successful digital marketing strategy.

 

Customer lifetime value

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a key performance indicator that measures the total profit a business can expect to generate from their average customer over the entire duration of their relationship. It provides insights into the long-term profitability and value of individual customers, allowing companies to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, customer acquisition, and retention strategies. By calculating the CLV, businesses can determine the return on investment for acquiring and retaining customers, identify high-value customers, and allocate marketing resources effectively. Furthermore, CLV helps businesses understand the monetary worth of their customer base and guides decision-making in terms of setting marketing budgets, pricing strategies, and customer support initiatives. By focusing on optimising CLV, companies can foster customer loyalty, increase customer satisfaction and drive revenue growth in the long run.

What to do

In order to measure the success of your marketing efforts, it is crucial to monitor certain key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and help you make informed decisions. Here are some key KPIs to consider:

  1. Mobile traffic: With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, monitoring mobile traffic is essential. This metric indicates the number of visitors accessing your website from mobile devices. As mobile usage continues to rise, it is crucial to optimise your marketing campaigns and website for mobile users.
  2. Lead conversions: The ultimate goal of any marketing activity is to generate leads. Monitoring lead conversions allows you to assess how effective your marketing efforts are in acquiring potential customers. This KPI helps you understand how successful your marketing strategies are in converting leads into customers.
  3. Bounce rates: A high bounce rate could indicate that visitors are not finding your website engaging or relevant. Monitoring bounce rates helps you identify any issues with your website or marketing campaigns that may be causing visitors to leave without exploring further. It allows you to make necessary improvements to enhance user experience and engagement.
  4. Conversion rates from Mobile-optimised landing pages: These are specifically designed to provide a seamless user experience on mobile devices. Monitoring conversion rates from these landing pages helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your mobile marketing efforts. It helps you identify any barriers or difficulties users may be experiencing during the conversion process on mobile devices.

Understanding the significance of each of these KPIs will enable you to make data-driven decisions and optimise your marketing strategies for better results. Regularly monitoring and analysing these metrics allows you to identify strengths and weaknesses in your marketing campaigns and make necessary adjustments to achieve your business goals.

 

Digital marketing ROI

Digital marketing ROI (Return on Investment) is a crucial metric for measuring the success and profitability of your digital marketing efforts. It allows you to assess the effectiveness of your marketing strategies in generating revenue and achieving your business goals.

What to do

To measure digital marketing ROI, you need to track and analyse the financial performance of your marketing campaigns. Start by setting clear goals and establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business objectives. These KPIs can include metrics such as website traffic, lead conversions, customer acquisition cost and revenue generated.

Next, use analytics tools like Google Analytics to measure the impact of your digital marketing activities. Track the performance of your campaigns, including click-through rates, conversion rates and the average value of each conversion. This data will help you calculate the return on your marketing investment.

To improve digital marketing ROI, focus on optimising your marketing strategies. Continuously monitor and analyse your campaigns to identify areas of improvement. Test different approaches, such as adjusting targeting criteria, refining ad copy, or optimising landing pages. Experimentation and data-driven decision-making are key to maximising the ROI of your digital marketing efforts.

Remember that tracking ROI is not only important for measuring success but also for planning future strategies and budgets. By understanding the ROI of different marketing channels and campaigns, you can allocate resources effectively and invest in the most profitable areas.

 

Traffic-to-lead ratio (or new contact rate)

Traffic-to-lead ratio is a key performance indicator that measures the effectiveness of your marketing efforts in converting website traffic into qualified leads. This metric helps you assess how well your marketing strategies are driving potential customers to engage with your brand and take action. By tracking and analysing the Traffic-to-lead ratio, you can identify areas for improvement in your lead generation process and optimise your marketing efforts to increase conversion rates.

To calculate the Traffic-to-lead ratio, divide the total number of leads generated from website traffic by the total number of website visitors. This will give you a percentage that represents the conversion rate of your website traffic into leads. A higher ratio indicates that more of your website visitors are converting into leads, while a lower ratio may suggest that your marketing strategies need adjustment to better engage potential customers.

To improve your Traffic-to-lead ratio, focus on optimising your website and marketing campaigns to attract and capture the attention of your target audience. Optimise your landing pages with compelling calls-to-action and lead capture forms, and ensure your website content is relevant, valuable, and engaging. Additionally, consider implementing lead nurturing strategies to cultivate and convert leads over time, such as email marketing campaigns or remarketing efforts. Continuously monitor and analyse your Traffic-to-lead ratio to identify trends and make data-driven decisions to enhance your lead generation efforts.

What to do

To ensure the success of your marketing efforts, it is crucial to analyse and take action on the data related to mobile traffic. With the significant growth in smartphone usage, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how your website performs on mobile devices. Here are some actions you should take:

  1. Analyse mobile traffic: Gain insights into the volume of mobile traffic your website receives. By understanding the proportion of visitors who access your site through mobile devices, you can tailor your marketing strategies to suit their needs.
  2. Measure lead conversions from mobile devices: It’s not enough to just drive traffic to your website; you need to convert those visitors into leads. By tracking the number of leads generated specifically from mobile devices, you can identify any potential gaps in your mobile marketing strategy.
  3. Monitor bounce rates from mobile devices: High bounce rates from mobile devices indicate that visitors are leaving your site without engaging further. By reducing bounce rates, you can improve the user experience and increase the chances of converting mobile visitors into leads.
  4. Optimise conversion rates on mobile-optimised landing pages: Ensure that your landing pages are fully optimised for mobile devices. By tracking conversion rates specifically on mobile-optimised landing pages, you can determine if there are any obstacles preventing visitors from taking the desired action.

By focusing on these key metrics and optimising your website for mobile conversions, you can effectively engage with potential customers and maximise the impact of your marketing efforts.

 

Lead-to-customer ratio

This metric measures the percentage of leads that ultimately convert into paying customers. By analysing and tracking this ratio, marketing teams can assess the effectiveness of their lead generation and nurturing efforts. A low lead-to-customer ratio may indicate that the leads being generated are not of high quality or that there are gaps in the lead nurturing process. On the other hand, a high lead-to-customer ratio suggests that the marketing strategies and campaigns are successfully attracting and converting qualified leads. By closely monitoring and optimising this KPI, marketers can make data-driven decisions to improve their overall conversion rates and drive business growth.

What to do

Understanding and monitoring mobile traffic, lead conversions from mobile devices, bounce rates from mobile devices and conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages are key performance indicators (KPIs) that marketers should prioritise. As the world becomes increasingly mobile-centric, it’s crucial to adapt marketing efforts to meet mobile users’ needs.

Monitoring mobile traffic helps marketers gauge the effectiveness of their mobile marketing campaigns and determine if they are reaching their target audience effectively. It enables them to identify which marketing channels and strategies are driving the most traffic from mobile devices, allowing for informed decisions and optimisations.

Lead conversions from mobile devices provide insights into the effectiveness of the mobile marketing funnel. By tracking conversion rates specifically from mobile users, marketers can not only identify areas for improvement in their sales process but also tailor their mobile marketing efforts to maximise lead generation and conversions.

Bounce rates from mobile devices indicate the percentage of visitors who leave a website without taking any action. Monitoring bounce rates from mobile devices helps marketers identify any issues with their mobile-optimised landing pages, such as slow loading times or poor user experience. This KPI is vital for optimising mobile pages to ensure visitors stay engaged, reducing the number of potential customers lost.

Conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages directly measure the efficacy of these pages in driving conversions. By keeping a close eye on conversion rates, marketers can identify any barriers to conversion on mobile devices and make necessary adjustments. Optimising mobile-optimised landing pages can result in increased conversions and ultimately improve marketing ROI.

Furthermore, understanding popular mobile devices is essential for crafting effective mobile marketing strategies. Knowing which specific devices users are accessing content on gives marketers insights into user preferences, screen sizes, and operating systems. This understanding enables them to optimise websites, landing pages and designs for the most prevalent devices, ensuring a seamless and tailored mobile experience for potential customers.

 

Landing page conversion rates

Landing page conversion rates are a key performance indicator (KPI) that marketers closely monitor to assess the success of their marketing efforts and overall website performance. This metric measures the percentage of visitors who land on a page and take a desired action, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter. A high conversion rate indicates that the landing page is effectively engaging and persuading visitors to take the desired action, while a low conversion rate suggests that there may be barriers or friction preventing visitors from converting. By analysing landing page conversion rates, marketers can identify areas for improvement, optimise their landing pages and ultimately increase conversions and achieve their marketing goals. Regularly monitoring and analysing this KPI allows marketers to make data-driven decisions and continuously enhance their marketing strategies to maximise their return on investment (ROI).

What to do

To effectively optimise mobile traffic and conversions, follow the instructions below:

  1. Analyse mobile traffic: Start by analysing your website’s mobile traffic using analytics tools like Google Analytics. This will help you understand how much traffic is coming from mobile devices and identify any patterns or trends.
  2. Assess lead conversions from mobile devices: Evaluate the number of lead conversions generated from mobile devices. This will enable you to determine the effectiveness of your mobile marketing efforts and identify areas for improvement.
  3. Monitor bounce rates: Bounce rates on mobile devices indicate how many visitors leave your site after viewing only one page. High bounce rates may imply that your website is not mobile-friendly or that the content does not meet the expectations of mobile users.
  4. Improve conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages: Ensure that your landing pages are mobile-optimised for seamless user experiences. Optimise page load times, use responsive design, simplify forms and make calls-to-action visible and clickable on mobile devices.

When optimising for mobile traffic and conversions, consider popular mobile devices such as iPhones, Android smartphones, iPads and various tablets. These devices have different screen sizes, operating systems, and user behaviours that need to be taken into account during the optimisation process.

By analysing metrics like mobile traffic, lead conversions, bounce rates and conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages, you can better understand the effectiveness of your mobile marketing strategies and make data-driven decisions to drive mobile conversions.

 

Organic traffic and your top 5 entry pages

Organic traffic is a key metric for marketers, as it measures the number of visitors that come to your website through search engine results without any paid advertising. It is an important indicator of your website’s visibility and can have a significant impact on your overall marketing efforts.

Organic traffic is vital for building brand awareness, gaining exposure and acquiring potential customers. It reflects the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and the relevance of your content to users’ search queries. Increasing organic traffic can lead to higher conversion rates, as these visitors are actively searching for products or services like yours.

Entry pages are the first pages that users land on when visiting your website. Analysing the top entry 5 pages can provide valuable insights into which pages are attracting the most organic traffic and how users are discovering your website. By understanding this information, you can optimise these pages further to improve user experiences and drive even more organic traffic.

What to do

To effectively understand how organic visitors are using their mobile devices to access your website and optimise conversions, follow these steps:

  1. Analyse mobile traffic: Use tools such as Google Analytics to track and analyse mobile traffic to your website. This will help you understand the percentage of visitors accessing your site via mobile devices and compare it to other sources of traffic.
  2. Monitor lead conversions from mobile devices: Keep track of lead conversions specifically from mobile devices to gauge the effectiveness of your mobile marketing efforts. This will give you insights into the impact of mobile interactions on the conversion rate and overall success of your marketing campaigns.
  3. Assess bounce rates: Bounce rates on mobile devices can indicate user dissatisfaction or unresponsiveness of your website’s mobile version. High bounce rates could suggest a need for mobile optimisation or improvements to the mobile user experience.
  4. Evaluate conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages: Determine the conversion rates specifically from landing pages that are optimised for mobile devices. This will highlight the effectiveness of your mobile design, content and call-to-action elements in driving conversions.

Understanding mobile traffic and its impact on conversions is crucial for modern marketers. With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring a seamless and optimised mobile experience can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates. By monitoring key metrics such as mobile traffic, lead conversions, bounce rates and conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages, you can make data-driven decisions to enhance your mobile marketing strategies and effectively reach your target audience.

 

Social media traffic and conversion rates

Social media has become an integral part of marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. It provides an opportunity to connect with potential customers, build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. However, it’s not enough to just focus on the number of followers or likes your social media posts receive. To effectively measure the impact of your social media efforts, it’s important to track and analyse social media traffic and conversion rates. By understanding how much traffic your website is receiving from social media platforms and how well that traffic is converting into leads or customers, you can make informed decisions about your social media strategies and optimise your marketing efforts. Monitoring social media traffic and conversion rates will help you assess the effectiveness of your social media campaigns, identify areas for improvement and ultimately, drive more meaningful results from your social media marketing.

What to do

Tracking mobile metrics and optimising for mobile conversions is crucial in today’s digital landscape.

  1. Analyse mobile traffic: By analysing mobile traffic, you can understand the percentage of website visitors that come from mobile devices. This information will help you gauge the importance of mobile optimisation and focus your efforts accordingly.
  2. Measure lead conversions: Tracking lead conversions from mobile devices will help you determine the effectiveness of your mobile marketing efforts. Are your mobile visitors converting into leads at a similar rate to desktop users? If not, it may be necessary to optimise your mobile landing pages and forms.
  3. Monitor bounce rates: Bounce rates indicate the percentage of visitors who leave your site without any interaction. High bounce rates on mobile devices may indicate that your website is not user-friendly and mobile-optimised. By reducing bounce rates, you can increase engagement and conversions.
  4. Track Conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages: If you have mobile-optimised landing pages, it is important to track the conversion rates specific to these pages. This will help you identify any areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

When optimising for mobile conversions, it is essential to pay attention to popular mobile devices. Some popular devices to consider are iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and iPad. By optimising for these devices, you can ensure a seamless user experience and increase the likelihood of conversions.

 

Mobile traffic, leads and conversion rates

Mobile traffic, leads and conversion rates are key performance indicators (KPIs) that every business should monitor when it comes to mobile optimisation. As mobile usage continues to rise, it is essential for businesses to understand and analyse their mobile traffic to determine the effectiveness of their mobile marketing efforts. Tracking lead conversions from mobile devices can provide insights into how well your mobile visitors are converting into leads compared to desktop users. Additionally, monitoring conversion rates specifically from mobile-optimised landing pages can help identify areas for improvement and guide data-driven decision-making. By paying attention to these KPIs and optimising for popular mobile devices, businesses can ensure a seamless user experience, increase engagement and drive higher conversion rates on mobile platforms.

What to do

Understanding and analysing mobile usage metrics is crucial for optimising the mobile experience and increasing conversions on your website. With the increasing number of users accessing websites through their mobile devices, it is essential to pay attention to specific mobile metrics and take necessary actions to improve performance.

One important metric to track is mobile traffic. Monitoring the amount of traffic coming from mobile devices can help you determine the effectiveness of your mobile marketing efforts. It allows you to identify potential customers who are accessing your website through mobile devices and tailor your marketing campaigns accordingly.

Lead conversions from mobile devices are another key metric to focus on. By tracking the number of leads generated through mobile devices, you can assess the effectiveness of your mobile strategies in capturing and nurturing potential customers.

Bounce rates and conversion rates from mobile-optimised landing pages are essential metrics to evaluate the mobile user experience. High bounce rates indicate that visitors are not finding your website engaging or user-friendly. By optimising your mobile landing pages, you can reduce bounce rates and improve conversions.

To ensure optimal mobile performance, it is crucial to preview new pages and emails on different screens. This helps identify any layout or functionality issues that could hinder the mobile user experience.

 

Marketing metrics always need context

When analysing marketing metrics, it is crucial to consider the broader context in which they exist. Metrics on their own may provide some insight, but it is the understanding of their context that enables us to make informed decisions.

For example, tracking the click-through rate (CTR) of a marketing campaign can give you an idea of its performance. However, without considering the target audience, the messaging, and the marketing channels used, the CTR alone may not accurately reflect the campaign’s effectiveness. Understanding the context allows you to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

Regularly tracking these key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential. This not only helps you monitor the success of your marketing efforts but also provides valuable insights for the sales and marketing teams. By making these metrics accessible to the teams, they can align their strategies and actions to improve performance.

The main goal of marketing is to increase company revenue through an increase in market share. By tracking and analysing marketing metrics in the right context, you can identify successful marketing strategies, understand customer behaviour and optimise campaigns to achieve this goal. Remember, metrics alone are not enough – they need context to reveal their true significance.

 

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