Unless you’ve started a business as a digital marketer, you probably know more about the nuts and bolts of your business operations than you do about digital marketing metrics.
Yet, having a solid grasp of how you should be measuring the success of a digital marketing campaign can be the difference between lost money or creating a winning formula you can repeat over and over.
Even if you don’t plan to run every last part of your digital marketing yourself, it’s helpful to understand the metrics for success. It’ll mean you can hold suppliers to account more effectively and make decisions for your business based on data and facts, rather than on hunches and instincts.
In this deep dive guide, we’ve broken down digital marketing metrics in 6 key areas – your website, social media, online advertising, ecommerce, email, and general business metrics.
By the end you’re going to know so much about the digital metrics you need to track the success of your business that you’ll be dreaming about bounce rates and customer lifetime values.
Let’s get under the bonnet and take a closer look.
Website Metrics
As a small business owner, it’s important to understand your website metrics.
Website metrics can help you track your progress, understand your audience, and make informed decisions about where to allocate your resources. But with so many different metrics out there, it can be tough to know which ones you should be tracking.
We’ll cover seven of the most important website metrics for small business owners. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of how to track your website’s performance and what steps you can take to improve your results.
Website Traffic
Website traffic refers to the number of visitors who come to your site. You can track your website traffic in a number of ways, including through Google Analytics or through your web hosting provider.
Web Conversions
Web conversions refer to the number of visitors who take a desired action on your website. This could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. You can track conversions by setting up goals in Google Analytics or by using conversion tracking software like Crazy Egg.
SEO Rankings
SEO rankings refer to where your website appears in search engine results pages (SERPs). You can track your SEO rankings using tools like Moz or SEMrush. Higher SEO rankings can lead to increased web traffic and conversions.
Organic Search Traffic
Organic search traffic refers to the number of visitors who come to your site from organic (non-paid) search results. You can track organic search traffic in Google Analytics by looking at the “Acquisition” report.
Referral Traffic
Referral traffic refers to the number of visitors who come to your site from links on other websites. Referral traffic can be a good indicator of the quality of your content and whether other websites are willing to link to it. You can track referral traffic in Google Analytics as well.
Time on Site/Page
Time on site/page refers to how long visitors stay on your website before leaving. Time on site is a good indicator of engagement; if people are spending a long time on your site, it means they’re finding what they’re looking for. You can track time on site/page in Google Analytics by looking at the “Behavior” report.
Website Metrics - Analysis
These are just some of the essential website metrics that small business owners need to know about.
By understanding these metrics, you’ll be able to better track your website’s performance and make informed decisions about where to allocate your resources.
Social Media Metrics
You know that social media is important. It’s a great way to connect with your customers and create a community around your brand.
But what are all those numbers on your social media dashboard telling you?
We’ll break down some of the most important social media metrics and what they mean for your business.
Social Media Followers and Follower Growth
The first metric we’re going to look at is social media followers. This is the number of people who have chosen to follow your brand on social media. It’s a good idea to monitor your follower growth over time to see if you’re gaining or losing followers.
Engagement
Engagement is another important metric to keep an eye on. This refers to the number of interactions people are having with your posts, such as likes, comments, and shares.
A high level of engagement indicates that people are interested in what you’re posting and are more likely to become customers or clients.
Shares
Shares are similar to engagement, but they refer specifically to how often people are sharing your content with their own networks.
A high number of shares means that people like your content enough to want their friends and followers to see it too.
Most Popular Channels
Different businesses will find different channels more effective for reaching their target audiences.
For example, if you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn might be a better platform for you than Instagram. Keep track of which channels are driving the most traffic to your website so you can focus your energy on those platforms.
Website Traffic from Social Media
Finally, one of the most important metrics for small business owners is website traffic from social media.
This metric tells you how many people are clicking through from social media to your website. You can track this in Google Analytics by setting up goals for each channel. A high website traffic rate from social media indicates that you’re effectively using social media to drive leads and conversions for your business.
Social Media Metric - Final Thoughts
As a small business owner, it’s important to understand the different social media metrics so you can gauge how effective your social media marketing efforts are.
Keep an eye on things like engagement, shares, and website traffic from social media so you can adjust your strategy as needed.
Email Marketing
Email marketing can be a great way to reach out to customers and promote your business. But it can be difficult to know how effective your email marketing campaign is unless you’re tracking the right metrics.
This is our guide to email marketing metrics and how to use them to improve your campaigns.
Subscribers
The number of subscribers is the first metric you should track. This will give you an idea of how many people are actually receiving your emails.
You can track this number by looking at the number of people who have signed up for your email list.
Equally, keep an eye on your unsubscribe rate. If your subscribers are going up or down significantly, you need to be aware!
Open Rates
Open rates are the next metric you should track. This metric will tell you how many people are actually opening your emails.
You can track this number by looking at the number of people who have opened your emails divided by the total number of emails sent.
The open rate will give you an idea of how effective your subject lines are and whether or not people are actually interested in what you have to say.
Some people will do a type A/B approach to their emails – as in, they’ll send 2 variations and then see which works best. Open rates are one of the key indicators.
Click Through Rates
Click through rates are another important metric to track. This metric will tell you how many people are clicking on links in your email.
You can track this number by looking at the number of clicks divided by the total number of emails sent.
The click through rate will give you an idea of how effective your call to action is and whether or not people are actually taking action on your emails.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the number of emails that are sent to someone but don’t reach them. This might be because their mailbox is full or they’re not getting their emails.
The most common reason for emails bouncing is due to an incorrect or incomplete email address.
This can happen if you accidentally enter the wrong email address when sending an email, or if the recipient has changed their email address and you have not updated your contact information. If you suspect that an email address may be incorrect, you can try sending a test email to the address to see if it bounces back.
If you have a high bounce rate, it’s important to investigate why this is happening so that you can fix the problem.
A high bounce rate can also be an indication that your emails are going to spam. This can happen if you’re using a shared IP address or if you’re not following best practices for email deliverability. If your emails are going to spam, it’s important to fix the problem so that your messages will get through to your subscribers.
Bounce rate is calculated by dividing the number of bounced emails by the total number of emails sent. For example, if you sent 100 emails and 10 of them bounced, your bounce rate would be 10%.
There is no definitive answer as to what constitutes a “good” bounce rate, as it will vary depending on the industry and the type of email being sent. However, a general rule of thumb is that a bounce rate of less than 5% is considered good, while a rate of more than 10% is considered high.
Unsubscribe Rate
Unsubscribe rate is calculated in a similar to bounce rate, but it measures the percentage of people who unsubscribe from your list after receiving one or more emails from you.
You can track this number by looking at the number of people who unsubscribe from your list divided by the total number of emails sent. A high unsubscribe rate may indicate that people are not interested in what you have to say or that they’re not finding value in your content.
Revenue Per Email
Revenue per email is a metric that measures how much revenue you generate for each email that’s sent out as part of your campaign.
You can track this number by looking at the total amount of revenue generated from sales divided by the total number of emails sent out as part of your campaign.
Revenue per email can be a good indicator of how effective your email marketing campaign is at generating sales and revenue for your business.
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Online Advertising
Small businesses are always looking for new and innovative ways to reach their target market and grow their business.
One of the most effective ways to do this is through online advertising.
There are a lot of different metrics that small business owners need to track to ensure success with their online advertising campaigns.
This can be a lot to keep track of, so we’ve given you an overview of the key areas you need to watch.
Cost per click (CPC)
This is how much you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. You want to keep an eye on this number to make sure you are not spending too much per click.
What Is Cost per Click?
Cost per click (CPC) is an advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
CPC advertising is a popular way for businesses to promote their products and services online, as it allows them to only pay when their ad is actually being seen and clicked on by potential customers.
Why Does CPC Matter?
CPC matters because it is a key metric for determining the effectiveness of an online advertising campaign.
If a business is not generating a high enough return on investment (ROI) from their CPC campaign, then they may need to reevaluate their strategy.
Additionally, CPC can be used to compare the performance of different advertising platforms or networks, as well as different ad formats or strategies.
How Can I Improve My CPC?
There are a few different ways that you can improve your CPC. One way is to target your ads more specifically to your target audience. This can be done by using keyword targeting or demographic targeting.
Another way to improve your CPC is to create more relevant and engaging ads that are likely to be clicked on by users. Finally, you can also try bidding more for clicks on your ads if you feel that they are undervalued.
Click-through rate (CTR)
This is the percentage of people who see your ad and then click on it. A high CTR means that your ad is effective and people are interested in what you are offering.
What Is Click-through Rate?
Click-through rate (CTR) is a measure of how often people who see your ad end up clicking on it. CTR is calculated by dividing the number of people who click on your ad by the number of people who see it. For example, if 100 people see your ad and 10 of them click on it, your CTR would be 10%.
Why Does CTR Matter?
CTR matters because it is a good indicator of how effective your ad is at getting people to take the action you want them to take.
A high CTR means that people are interested in what you are offering and are more likely to buy from you. A low CTR, on the other hand, indicates that people are not interested in your ad and are less likely to buy from you.
How Can I Improve My CTR?
There are a number of things you can do to improve your CTR, including:
Creating relevant and targeted ads: Make sure your ads are relevant to the products or services you are selling and target them at the right audience.
Making your ads eye-catching: Use images, colours, and fonts that will make your ads stand out from the rest.
Using persuasive language: Use language that will persuade people to click on your ad, such as “click here for exclusive deals” or “ limited time only”.
Conversion Rate (CR)
This is the percentage of people who take the desired action after clicking on your ad.
For example, if you are selling a product, the conversion rate would be the percentage of people who buy the product after clicking on your ad.
What Is Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate is a metric that measures the percentage of visitors to a website who take a desired action.
The desired action could be anything from making a purchase to signing up for a newsletter. Conversion rate is important because it allows you to track the effectiveness of your website and marketing campaigns.
If your conversion rate is low, it means that people are not finding your site useful or relevant.
How Do I Calculate Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate is calculated by taking the number of conversions and dividing it by the number of visitors.
If you had 100 visitors to your site and 10 of them made a purchase, your conversion rate would be 10%.
Why Does Conversion Rate Matter?
Conversion rate matters because it is a key metric for determining the success of your website and marketing campaigns.
A higher conversion rate indicates that people are finding your site useful and relevant and are more likely to take the desired action.
A low conversion rate indicates that there is room for improvement in terms of the design or content of your site, or the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
Cost per Acquisition (CPA)
This is how much you spend on advertising for each customer that you acquire. You want to keep this number as low as possible while still making a profit.
What Is CPA?
Cost per acquisition (CPA) is a marketing metric that measures the cost of acquiring new customers. This metric is important because it allows businesses to track their marketing spend and determine whether or not their campaigns are cost-effective.
How Is CPA Calculated?
CPA is calculated by dividing the total cost of a marketing campaign by the number of new customers acquired through that campaign.
So if a business spends £100 on a marketing campaign and acquires 10 new customers, its CPA would be £10.
Why Does CPA Matter?
It allows businesses to track their marketing spend and determine whether or not their campaigns are cost-effective.
If a business has a high CPA, it means that it is spending a lot of money to acquire new customers.
This can be problematic if the business is not generating enough revenue from these new customers to offset the costs of acquisition.
E-commerce
If you have any form of shopping cart on your site, it’s important to keep an eye on your e-commerce metrics to ensure you are getting a good return on investment (ROI).
There are a number of key areas you should track, including average order value, cart abandonment rate, conversion rate, and customer lifetime value. Let’s take a closer look at each of these metrics so you can start tracking them for your own business.
Average Order Value
Your average order value (AOV) is the average amount of money spent per order on your website. To calculate your AOV, simply divide your total revenue by the number of orders placed.
This metric is important because it can give you an indication of whether or not your prices are too high or too low.
If your AOV is low, it could mean that customers are not finding enough value in your products and are therefore not willing to spend much money.
On the other hand, if your AOV is too high, it could BE pricing customers out of your products altogether!
Either way, it’s important to keep an eye on this metric so you can adjust your prices accordingly.
Cart Abandonment Rate
Your cart abandonment rate is the percentage of people who add items to their shopping cart but do not complete the purchase.
This metric is important because it can give you an indication of where customers are dropping off in the purchase process. If your cart abandonment rate is high, it could mean that there is a problem with your checkout process or that customer service is lacking.
Either way, it’s important to find out why customers are abandoning their carts so you can make the necessary changes to reduce this rate.
Conversion Rate
Your conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website who take action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
This metric is important because it can give you an indication of how effective your website is at converting visitors into customers or leads.
If your conversion rate is low, it could mean that your website is not effective at converting visitors into customers or leads.
It’s important to find out why this is happening so you can make the necessary changes to improve things accordingly.
Customer Lifetime Value
Your customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total amount of money that a customer spends with your company over the course of their lifetime of being your customer.
This metric is important because it can give you an indication of how much profit potential there is with each customer.
If your CLV is low, it could mean that you are not effectively retaining customers or that they are not spending much money with you over time.
In either case, it’s important to find out why this is happening so you can make the necessary changes to improve your CLV.
Business Metrics
As a small business owner, you know that it’s important to keep an eye on your business performance and ensure that you are making a profit.
But what else should you be tracking outside of the areas listed above?
Advertising ROI
One of the most important metrics for any business, advertising ROI measures the return on your investment in advertising and marketing.
To calculate it, simply divide your total advertising and marketing expenses by your total revenue.
This will give you a percentage that you can use to compare different marketing channels and campaigns.
Churn Rate
Churn rate is the percentage of customers who stop using your product or service over a given period of time.
It is important to track because it can help you identify problems with your product or service and take steps to address them.
To calculate your churn rate, divide the number of customers who cancel their subscription or stop using your service by the total number of customers you have.
Marketing Expense to Revenue Ratio
This metric measures how much of your revenue is being generated by marketing efforts.
To calculate it, simply divide your marketing expenses by your total revenue. This will give you a percentage that you can use to assess the efficiency of your marketing spend.
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Gross Margin
Gross margin is the difference between the selling price of your product or service and the cost of goods sold.
Subtract the cost of goods sold from the selling price.
This margin represents the profit that you make on each sale before taking into account other expenses such as marketing, overhead, and salaries.
Profit Margin
Profit margin is similar to gross margin, but it takes into account all expenses, not just the cost of goods sold.
Deduct all expenses from the selling price. This will give you the net profit that you make on each sale.
Return on investment (ROI)
ROI is a measure of how much money you make in relation to how much money you invest.
To calculate it, simply divide your net profits by your total investment. This will give you a percentage that you can use to compare different investments and determine which ones are providing the best return.
Marketing Metrics - Final Thoughts
Understanding your marketing metrics is the only way to ensure that you’re making the most of your marketing budget.
But with so many different sources of data out there, it can be tough to know where to start.
That’s why we put together this guide on the importance of understanding digital marketing metrics for small business owners.
We’ve outlined the benefits of tracking performance, the sources for marketing metrics, and the risks of not understanding performance accurately.
You should now have a clear appreciation of why you should take the time to understand these important metrics.
The Benefits of Tracking Performance
Tracking your performance allows you to allocate your resources more effectively.
If you know which marketing channels are performing well and which ones aren’t, you can focus your budget on the areas that are giving you the best return on investment.
Tracking your performance gives you a better understanding of your customers and their needs.
By analysing your marketing data, you can gain insights into who your customers are, what they’re looking for, and how they prefer to receive information.
This information is invaluable when it comes to developing targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to convert.
The Risks of Not Understanding Performance Accurately
While there are plenty of reasons to track your marketing performance, there are also some risks associated with not understanding these metrics accurately.
One of the biggest dangers is making decisions based on inaccurate data.
Imagine if you incorrectly thought that one channel is performing well but it’s actually underperforming relative to other channels, then you could end up spending more money than necessary on that channel while neglecting others that could be more effective.
It can lead to missed opportunities. For example, if you’re not tracking website traffic properly, then you might not realise that certain pages on your site are getting a lot of views.
Wrap Up:
Understanding digital marketing metrics is critical for small business owners who want to make the most of their marketing budget.
We’ve given you the main metrics you need to track, so you can get a handle of things quickly. Go get ’em!