What are Marketing Metrics? Top Most Important Indicators

For businesses of all sizes and industries, measuring the effectiveness of marketing activities is an extremely necessary task. To do this, businesses need to pay attention to analyzing marketing metrics - to be able to quantify the performance and impact of implemented marketing campaigns. In the article below, we will learn in detail about marketing effectiveness metrics - including definitions, selection methods, analysis and evaluation, etc.

What are Marketing Metrics?

Marketing effectiveness metrics (also known as Marketing Metrics/KPI Marketing) are metrics that act as quantitative measures - used by marketers to monitor, evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of communication campaigns. Depending on the goals and background of the campaign, these metrics will need to change to accurately reflect the impact of marketing activities on customer perceptions and purchasing decisions.

Why are Marketing indicators important for businesses?

Marketing effectiveness metrics are very important - giving businesses detailed information about the effectiveness of communication campaigns, thereby making necessary adjustments for future activities. Through analyzing marketing metrics, businesses will have the opportunity to optimize marketing methods and platforms, understanding the impact of current efforts on overall business goals.

Based on these indicators, the marketing department will have a basis to determine whether the set goals can be achieved (for example, attracting new customers, finding potential customers...). In addition to supporting decision making, marketing metrics also act as a "warning" system when current/expected future activities are not as effective as desired.

Ultimately, these metrics are the foundation that shows the importance of marketing and advertising activities for businesses. Thereby, businesses will be able to make better decisions about annual budgets and human resource plans.

Classification of Marketing indicators according to Customer Journey (Customer Journey)

Instead of just looking by channel, businesses should classify metrics according to each stage of the customer journey, because each stage needs a different group of metrics to properly evaluate effectiveness:

• Awareness: Reach, Impressions, Brand search volume, helps measure the level of brand recognition before customers intend to buy.
• Consideration: CTR, Time on page, Content engagement rate, reflect the degree to which customers interact more deeply with content and products.
• Decision: Conversion rate, Cost per Acquisition (CPA), Cart abandonment rate, directly measure the ability to convert into revenue.
• Retention & Loyalty: Customer Retention Rate, Repeat Purchase Rate, Net Promoter Score (NPS), evaluates the ability to retain customers after the first purchase.
  This classification helps marketers avoid a common mistake: using a single index (for example Conversion Rate) to evaluate the entire campaign, while a brand awareness campaign should be evaluated by Reach and Brand search volume, not Conversion Rate.

Common Marketing metrics to track

Traditional channelTraditional channels  include non-digital platforms such as: print, television, radio, billboards, etc. Analyzing marketing metrics will help marketers evaluate the impact, frequency of display, and impact of communication activities.

Some examples of indicators measuring marketing effectiveness on traditional channels include:

• Circulation: Number of printed copies released to readers.
• Readership: Estimated number of readers for a specific print publication/advertisement.
• Cost per thousand (CPM): Cost to reach 1,000 people through advertising in print or broadcast media.
• Gross rating point (GRP): Measures the total exposure of an advertising campaign on media – calculated by multiplying reach (the percentage of the target audience that sees the ad) by frequency (the average number of times the audience sees the ad).
• Cost per point (CPP): Cost to get one rating point (1% of target audience) on broadcast media.
• Direct response rate: The percentage of people who respond to a message or call-to-action (CTA) on an ad – by contacting the advertiser or taking the desired action.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Measures the revenue generated by an advertising campaign on a specific medium, divided by the total cost of running the campaign.

Digital marketing channel

Digital platforms include websites, social media, email, search engines, etc. Here are some marketing metrics that marketers can use to evaluate reach, engagement, conversions, and revenue.

Advertising (Ad)

• For branding goals: Impression, Reach & Frequency, CPM, CPV (Cost per view), CPE (Cost per engagement)…
• For conversion/revenue optimization goals: CR, CPS (Cost per session), CPC, CPO (Cost per order), ROAS...

Social Media* Brand engagement: How many fans interact online with the page and brand.

• Content performance: How many people like, share and comment on posts on the page.
• Facebook reach: Number of people who view Facebook posts and ads from different sources.
• Conversion rate: Rate of clicking on Facebook posts and ads/ performing actions on websites or applications.
• Cost per result (CPR): Cost to get specific results from Facebook posts and ads – for example: purchases, registrations, leads...
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Revenue from Facebook posts and ads compared to costs.
• Reactions, comments, shares: How many people share posts and ads on Facebook by liking, commenting or sharing.
• Facebook click-through rate (CTR): Click-through rate on Facebook posts and ads after seeing that post/ad.
• Traffic sources: What source do viewers come from?
• Impressions & click-through rate (CTR): Number of times video content is displayed and clicked.
• Watch time: Video viewing time.
• Watch time for subscribers: Time the subscriber watches the video.
• Average view duration: Average video viewing time.
• Key moments for audience retention: The degree to which the video retains the audience while playing.
• Likes, dislikes, comments: Number of people who reacted to the video.
• Demographics: Age, gender, location and language of the audience.
• Returning/unique viewers & subscribers: How many people have watched the channel's videos more than once/new views/subscribed.
• Number of videos published.
• Average engagement rate per post: Number of interactions per view (likes, comments, shares).
• Follower evolution: Number of followers increases/decreases over a period of time.
• Hashtag growth: Number of times a hashtag is used on TikTok over a period of time.
• Tag usage: Number of times the tag (@mention, #hashtag, sound) is used in the video.
• Impressions: Number of times users see content.
• Reach: How many unique users saw the content.
• Engagements per follower: How many likes, comments, saves and shares each post has for every follower.
• Follower growth: How the number of followers changes over time.
• Comments received: How many comments received from users.
• Most engaged hashtags: The most followed topic hashtags in the post.
• Referral traffic: Number of users who click on a link or Story to access the website.
• Instagram Stories metrics: stories performance, including views, reach, impressions, exits, replies, taps and swipes.

Email Marketing

• Open rate: Email open rate.
• Email click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of users who click on one or more links in the email.
• Unsubscribe rate: Number of people who unsubscribe from emails.
• Delivery rate: How many emails have been sent.
• Earnings per email/click: Revenue generated from the number of clicks on emails/links.

Website* Website traffic: Number of users accessing the website from digital marketing campaigns. This metric can help businesses gauge the overall popularity and visibility of their website.

• Traffic source: The means or platform that drives users to visit the website - for example: organic search, direct, referral, social network, paid search, etc. Based on these marketing metrics, businesses will have the opportunity to determine which channels are most effective to attract and retain audiences.
• Conversion rate (CR): Percentage of users completing the desired action on the business's website/landing page -  for example: buying a product, signing up for a newsletter, downloading documents... This metric can help businesses measure the effectiveness and impact of digital marketing campaigns.
• Bounce rate: Percentage of page visits in which users leave the website from the login page without viewing another page.
• Session: Total visits generated by users in a certain time.
• New & returning users: Number of new and returning users.
• Engagement: User behavior on the site (e.g. time per page, comments, shares, and clicks).

Marketing metrics examples

Shopify

• Website traffic: Shopify measures the number of visitors coming from different sources like organic search, paid search, social media, referrals, direct visits, etc. This metric reflects the influence and visibility of your Shopify brand and content. According to SimilarWeb, Shopify had 113 million monthly visits in November 2023.
• Conversion rate: Shopify measures the number of visitors who took desired actions on their website, such as signing up for a free trial, creating an account, opening a store, upgrading to a paid plan, etc. This metric reflects the effectiveness and persuasive power of your Shopify website design and copy. According to Growcode, Shopify has an average conversion rate of 1.6% in 2023.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Shopify calculates the average cost to acquire new customers through marketing efforts. This metric reflects the attention and curiosity of Shopify's email subscribers as well as the attractiveness and clarity of Shopify's email subject lines. According to Mailchimp, Shopify has an average email open rate of 18.7% in 2023.

Netflix

The case study for Netflix's tracking of marketing metrics is an in-depth analysis of how data is used to optimize marketing campaigns and strategies. Netflix is ​​known for its masterful use of big data, machine learning, and personalization to provide users with relevant and engaging content. Some of the marketing metrics Netflix tracks include:* User growth and retention: Netflix measures the number of new and existing users retained over a period of time. This metric reflects the overall performance and health of the business, as well as the effectiveness of its pricing, content, and customer service strategies. Netflix reported that its worldwide paid memberships were 208 million as of Q1 2023, up 14% year-over-year.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Netflix calculates the average revenue a subscriber generates across their entire relationship with the service. This metric helps Netflix determine how much it can spend to attract and retain customers, as well as how to segment and target based on value. According to estimates, Netflix's CLV is about $139 per subscriber.
• Content performance and engagement: Netflix tracks the performance of its content in terms of viewership, ratings, reviews, social media popularity, and awards. This metric helps Netflix evaluate the quality and popularity of its content, as well as the return on investment (ROI) of production and licensing costs. Netflix also measures subscribers' engagement with their content, such as viewing frequency, viewing duration, content watched, and content skipped or rewatched. This metric helps Netflix understand subscriber preferences, behavior, and satisfaction.
• Recommender system accuracy: Netflix uses a complex recommendation system that uses algorithms and machine learning to recommend personalized content to subscribers based on their viewing history, ratings, and other factors. This metric measures how accurate and relevant recommendations are and how they influence subscriber selection and retention. According to Netflix, their recommendation system saves $1 billion per year by reducing churn.

Spotify

Spotify is a leading music streaming platform that offers millions of songs, podcasts, and playlists to its users. Spotify's marketing goals are to grow its user base, retain existing customers, and generate additional revenue from premium subscriptions and ad-supported services. To measure its marketing performance, Spotify tracks the following marketing metrics:* Site traffic: Spotify measures the number of people who visit your website directly or through referrals, sponsorship, social media, and other channels. This index shows what level Spotify's content and brand is currently at. In November 2023, Spotify received 271 million monthly visitors, according to SimilarWeb.

• Conversion Rate: Spotify measures the number of website visitors who complete a desired activity, such as creating a free account, installing an app, starting a free trial, or upgrading to a premium plan. This rating shows how well designed and convincing Spotify's website is. As Growcode reports in 2023, Spotify's average conversion rate is 2.4%.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Spotify determines the average cost to bring in a new customer through marketing initiatives. This metric displays the effectiveness and profitability of Spotify's marketing initiatives and plans. Spotify has an average CAC of $15 in 2023, according to ProfitWell.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): a measure used by Spotify to determine how much a user will bring in over the course of their service. This index shows the integrity and satisfaction of Spotify consumers as well as the quality and value of Spotify's goods and services. The average CLV for Spotify in 2023 is $500, according to Smile.io.
• Social Engagement: Spotify counts likes, comments, shares, followers, and other interactions with its social media posts and profiles. This index displays the knowledge and interests of the target audience as well as the value and appeal of Spotify's social media material. In December 2023, Spotify reportedly had 26 million Facebook fans, 9.8 million Instagram followers, 7.2 million Twitter followers, and 4.5 million LinkedIn followers.
• Email open rate: Spotify tracks how many users open its emails, including newsletters, promotions, announcements, and more. This measure captures the interest and pique of Spotify's email subscribers as well as the beauty and readability of Spotify's email subject lines. Spotify's average email open rate in 2023 is 21.3%, according to Mailchimp.

Real-life example of applying Marketing metrics

A specific example: an e-commerce business noticed a decrease in Conversion Rate even though Traffic was still increasing steadily. Instead of just looking at the total number, marketers analyze each stage of the customer journey above and discover a sharp increase in Cart Abandonment Rate, an index belonging to the Decision stage. From there, the team focused on optimizing the checkout process instead of increasing advertising budget to pull in more traffic, a decision that would be difficult to detect if only looking at the overall Conversion Rate.

B2B index and synchronization between Marketing & Sales departments (Sales-Alignment)

For B2B businesses, a single marketing indicator (such as the number of MQLs) is no longer enough to prove effectiveness. The average conversion rate from MQL to SQL across the industry is only about 13%, so a high number of MQLs does not mean actual revenue. More important indicators need Marketing and Sales to track together and agree on the definition:* SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): the lead has been confirmed to be qualified by Sales, an index that reflects the quality, not just the quantity, of the pipeline created by Marketing.

• Pipeline Velocity: how fast the pipeline converts to revenue, calculated by the formula (Number of opportunities × Average order value × Win rate) ÷ Sales cycle length.
• Revenue generated by Marketing (Marketing-Attributed Revenue): closed-won revenue originates first from Marketing activities, an indicator that directly answers the question of whether the marketing budget is generating real revenue or not.
  The prerequisite for these metrics to be meaningful is that the two departments must agree on the definition of "qualified leads" from the beginning, otherwise, Marketing and Sales will continue to argue about lead quality instead of looking at a common number.

Practical implementation: Who tracks which metrics, and when?

• Daily: advertising operations team (Ads/Performance) monitors CPA, CTR, Spend to promptly adjust budget and targeting.
• Weekly: Marketing Manager monitors Conversion Rate, MQL/SQL by each channel to evaluate traffic quality and coordinate budget between channels.
• Monthly/quarterly: Marketing and Sales leaders review Pipeline Velocity, Marketing-Attributed Revenue, Customer Retention Rate, indicators that reflect real impact on revenue, not just short-term activities.
  General rule: the closer the index is to daily operations, the more it needs to be monitored by the person directly implementing it, the more the index is tied to revenue, the more management involvement and consensus between Marketing and Sales are needed.

Method for measuring core Marketing indicators* Determine overall goals: This will help businesses adjust marketing effectiveness metrics to match business goals and choose the most suitable metrics for campaigns. For example, if your business's goal is to increase brand awareness, you may want to measure metrics such as impressions, reach, and media correlation.

• Choose channels to follow: Depending on your business's marketing approach, a variety of platforms can be used to connect with your target market, including email, social media, website, video, and more. You should choose the best channels to use for campaigns and evaluate both individual and overall success for each channel.
• Choose marketing performance metrics: There are hundreds of metrics businesses can use to measure their marketing performance, but not all of them are important or related. Businesses need to choose metrics that reflect their goals, channels, and campaign formats. For example, if a business is running an email campaign, they may want to measure metrics such as email opens, clicks, conversions, and unsubscribes. If you're running a video campaign, you may want to measure metrics like video views, watch time, completion rate, and engagement.
• See how much revenue each channel is generating: One of the most essential marketing performance metrics is revenue, which shows how much value your campaigns are creating for your business. They need to see how much revenue each channel is generating and compare it to the cost of running campaigns on that channel. This will help businesses calculate the return on investment (ROI) and cost per acquisition (CPA) of their campaigns.
• Check website traffic to leads ratio: Another important marketing metric is website traffic, which shows how many people are visiting the website as a result of campaigns. However, not all website visitors are potential customers. Businesses need to check how many of them are converting into leads by filling out forms, downloading resources, or signing up for trials. This will help businesses calculate their website traffic to leads ratio, which shows how effective their website is at attracting leads.
• Observe landing page conversion rates: Landing pages are web pages designed to persuade visitors to take a specific action, such as purchasing a product, registering for an event, or signing up for a newsletter. Landing pages are often used in conjunction with paid ads or email campaigns to drive conversions. Businesses need to observe how many visitors are landing on landing pages and how many of them are taking the desired action. This will help businesses calculate landing page conversion rates, which indicate how effective a landing page is at converting visitors.
• Consider customer lifetime value and churn rate: Customer lifetime value (CLV) is an estimate of the revenue a customer will generate for a business over the course of their relationship with the business. Churn rate is a metric that measures the number of customers who stop making purchases or subscribing to services over a certain period of time. These figures are veryimportant for measuring customer retention and loyalty, which is essential for long-term business growth and profitability.
• Use unified marketing measurement: To effectively measure marketing metrics in the post-cookie era, businesses need to use unified marketing measurement (UMM) that combines two important components: marketing mix modeling (MMM) and multi-touch attribution (MTA). MMM helps businesses determine how individual campaign elements contribute to conversions and revenue across channels and over time. MTA helps evaluate the impact of each customer touchpoint in driving conversions and revenue throughout the customer journey. By using UMM, businesses can get a comprehensive and accurate view of marketing performance and optimize campaigns accordingly.

Latest trends in measuring Marketing metrics

Use AI for analysis

Artificial intelligence (AI) can enable marketers to go beyond descriptive and predictive analytics and recommend the best course of action for future outcomes. Prescriptive analytics can help marketers optimize marketing performance metrics, such as conversion rates, return on ad spend, and customer lifetime value, by delivering relevant and personalized content, offers, and recommendations to their customers.

Focus more on customer experience

Customer experience (CX) is a critical factor for brand success in the competitive digital market. Marketers need to measure the impact of marketing activities on customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy. Digital marketing metrics like net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction score (CSAT) and customer effort score (CES) can help evaluate and improve their CX, while increasing customer retention and referral rates.

Use marketing metrics to make marketing decisions faster

Marketers need to be agile and responsive to changing customer needs and preferences. This means they need to measure marketing performance in real time and quickly make data-driven decisions. Metrics like real-time dashboards, marketing velocity and agility can help monitor and adjust campaigns quickly and adapt to market opportunities and challenges faster.

Prioritize data first for marketing insights

With the rise of data privacy regulations and the decline of third-party cookies, marketers need to rely more on first-party data that they collect directly from customers. First-party data is more accurate, relevant, and trustworthy than third-party data. Metrics like first-party data quality, quantity, and usage can help marketers gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior, preferences, and needs, and deliver more effective and personalized marketing campaigns.

Final thoughtsMarketing metrics are essential to measure and improve a business's marketing performance. By choosing the right metrics for each goal, channel, and audience, businesses can gain valuable insights into marketing effectiveness, optimize budgets and resources, and increase ROI. However, these indicators are not fixed or universal. They change and evolve according to market trends and customer expectations. Therefore, businesses need to stay updated with the latest trends and adjust their strategies accordingly. That way, businesses can ensure marketing campaigns are relevant, engaging and impactful.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

• Which Digital Marketing indicators are the most important today?

  There is no single most important metric for every business, the level of importance depends on the customer journey stage the campaign is targeting (see the section Classifying Marketing Metrics by Customer Journey above). If I had to choose the most fundamental group of metrics for most businesses, it would be Conversion Rate (measuring conversion efficiency), CPA (measuring the cost of attracting customers), and Customer Retention Rate (measuring the ability to retain customers after being attracted), these 3 indicators together reflect the entire life cycle from cost to actual value earned.

• How to choose the right indicators (KPIs) for each stage of the campaign?

  Start from the campaign's specific business goals, not from a list of available metrics. A campaign to build brand awareness should be measured by Reach and Brand search volume, a campaign to drive sales should be measured by Conversion Rate and CPA. Use the Customer Journey Classification framework above as a checklist: determine which stage the campaign is targeting first, then choose the index corresponding to that stage.

• Bounce Rate What is a good bounce rate?

  According to 2026 benchmarks, a bounce rate between 26 and 40% is considered good, most websites reach 41 to 55% (the industry average is about 47.4%). This number also varies significantly by page type, e-commerce sites are usually at 20 to 45%, while content pages (blogs) can be up to 70 to 90% which is still considered normal, because blog readers usually only read one article and then leave. Therefore, you should compare Bounce Rate with the benchmark of the right type of page, instead of applying a general number to the entire website.