How to Measure Digital Marketing Success? Understanding KPIs and Metrics

With so many digital marketing channels available, tracking the success of your marketing efforts can be difficult. Fortunately, there are many key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that can measure the success of your marketing efforts. You can use these digital marketing KPIs and metrics to measure and enhance your performance.

Read on to know more about digital marketing KPIs and different tools that can measure your digital marketing efforts. 

What are Digital Marketing KPIs? 

Digital marketing KPIs are metrics that help companies understand the performance of an online marketing campaign. They can be used in digital and non-digital contexts and across different lines of business.

For example, KPIs for email marketing include click-through rates and conversion rates. By tracking these KPIs, businesses can identify the areas in the campaign that are performing better. They can also identify weaknesses and take corrective measures.   

Typically, KPIs represent the success or failure of any area of business, such as finance, marketing, and sales.  

What are Metrics? 

Metrics are numerical values that measure a marketing campaign’s performance. Metrics can be obtained from different sources, such as websites, social media platforms, and others. Simply put, metrics are the tools that track the success of a marketing campaign.  

For example, engagement rate is a metric that determines how much the audience has interacted with a piece of content. Here, the engagement rate acts as a tool to determine the effectiveness of a piece of content.  

Digital marketing KPIs vs Metrics 

Digital marketing KPIs and metrics are often used interchangeably. However, they are different from each other. Here’s how KPIs and metrics are different from each other.  

Top Digital Marketing KPIs You Must know 

 As discussed earlier, digital marketing KPIs are measurable values that determine the outcome of a campaign. Below we have listed the top digital marketing KPIs.  

1# Impressions  

Impressions evaluate the number of times an ad is displayed to a user and determine the reach of an ad. It doesn’t take into consideration if the user interacts with the ad.   

For example, if an ad is displayed on an online website and 50 people visit that site. Then, the impression is 50, i.e., the number of people who visited the website and presumably saw the ad.  

2# Clicks  

Clicks are an effective measurement tool that calculates the engagement and interaction of users with an ad. They are popular digital marketing KPIs that help companies identify the number of users who have expressed an interest in their ad by clicking on it. 

Furthermore, clicks help companies understand how well their ad appeals to people who see it.  

Click-through rate or CTR is a branch of click that helps determine a campaign’s effectiveness. They quantify the number of people who have seen and clicked on your ad.  

3# Cost Per Click (CPC) 

Cost per click or CPC refers to how much an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on a paid ad. CPC is a branch of pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.  

Measuring your CPC helps you understand the outcome of your advertising campaign. It determines the cost per lead and informs you about how much you have spent on converting a lead into a potential customer. This can be used to measure the effectiveness of your campaign in terms of digital spending.  

The CPC model is commonly used in search engine advertising, where ads are displayed alongside search results on search engines like Google and Yahoo. It is also used in social media advertising, display advertising, and other forms of online advertising. 

4# Conversion Rate (CR)  

Conversion rate refers to the number of users who take action on a display ad or other digital assets. The action can be filling out a form, clicking on an ad, or enquiring about a product or service on a website or landing page.  

CR is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total visitors and multiplying it by 100.  

For instance, if your website receives 2,000 visitors monthly and 100 of them make a purchase, the conversion rate would be 5%.  

The higher your conversion, the more successful your online marketing campaign. 

5# Engagement Rate  

The engagement rate measures the number of users actively engaging with your content on social media or other online platforms. There are different ways to calculate the engagement rate, namely: 

• Engagement rate by reach calculates the percentage of people interacting with your ad immediately after seeing it.  
• Engagement rate by posts measures the engagement on a specific post.  
• Engagement rate by impression evaluates the effectiveness of an ad based on the impression.  
• Daily engagement rate helps you understand how often your followers interact with your account daily.  
• Engagement rate by views measures the engagement percentage on your videos or social media reels.  

A high engagement rate indicates that the content resonates with the audience and is more likely to be seen by others. A high engagement rate can lead to increased reach and visibility and stronger relationships with the audience. 

6# Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)  

Customer lifetime value evaluates the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer throughout their business relationship. It considers the customer’s buying pattern, purchase history, the value of purchases, and the cost of acquiring and retaining the customer.  

It is a digital marketing metric that estimates the total value of a customer to a business. CLV is important as it helps companies increase customer loyalty among their regular customers.  

The CLV can be calculated by multiplying customer value by the average customer lifespan. Customer value can be determined by multiplying the average purchase value by the average number of purchases.  

CLV = Customer Value x Average of years the customer will continue to buy your products  

Customer Value = Average Purchase Value x Average Number of Purchases 

A high CLV indicates that a customer is highly valuable to the business. A low CLV, on the other hand, indicates that the business is not effectively engaging with the customer.  

CLV is an important metric for businesses because it helps them make strategic decisions about customer acquisition and retention. 

7# Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) 

Cost per acquisition or CPA is a pricing model where advertisers pay for every acquisition, like a sale or form submission that their ad generates. For instance, CPA applies every time a customer fills out a form on a website.  

Cost per acquisition is an important metric. It informs the advertiser how much they have spent to convert one lead into a real customer. 

CPA is calculated by dividing marketing cost and the total number of conversions. For instance, a company runs a marketing campaign on social media with a budget of 10,000. Once the campaign ends, the company acquires a total of 100 new leads. Thus, the CPA for the marketing activity will be: 

CPA= 10,000/1000= INR 10 for each new customer.  

8# Website Traffic  

Website traffic refers to the number of visitors or users that access a website. Thus, it can be measured by metrics like page views, unique visitors, time spent on the site, and bounce rate.  

You can drive website traffic from different sources, such as search engines, social media, email marketing, and online advertising. Henceforth, analyzing web traffic can provide deep insights into user behavior and help businesses optimize their content and marketing strategies. 

Top Tools To Measure Digital Marketing KPIs And Metrics  

There are many programs that companies can use to measure digital marketing KPIs and metrics. Below, are the top tools to measure digital marketing KPIs and metrics.  

1. Google Analytics 

It is a free tool that tracks website traffic and provides insights about user behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates.  

2. Google Search Console  

This tool helps companies understand how their website is performing on the search engine. It also helps them identify the weak areas that are affecting their website’s performance.  

Search Console provides information on how Google crawlers and indexes work. This information can be used by companies to monitor and optimize their website. Moreover, they can further use it to increase their search engine ranking.

3. Hootsuite  

Hootsuite is a social media management tool that allows companies to manage and monitor their social media platforms effectively. With the free version of the app, you can schedule posts, reply to users, and track the performance of paid ads. Meanwhile, you can perform advanced social media analytics and audience engagement with the premium version. You can use this tool to measure social media KPIs and metrics. Also, connect and improve your KPIs.  

By now, you must have understood all the possible digital marketing KPIs and metrics you could use to track and monitor your ad’s performance.  

Build Your Career in Digital Marketing  

If you are interested in learning more about digital marketing metrics or digital marketing in general, take up Emeritus’ digital marketing courses offered in association with renowned institutes like IIM and IIT.  

These learning programs will help you gain a deeper understanding of digital marketing and how to develop capable digital marketing strategies. Furthermore, joining these courses will equip you with the skills and knowledge required to execute and measure a digital marketing strategy.