9 Digital Marketing KPI’s Every Business Needs To Track

If you are endeavoring to improve your company’s web visibility through marketing strategies like ads and search engine optimization (SEO), you want to believe these efforts are not in vain. But how do you know that they are working if you can’t see definitive results? Well, the answer is you can’t without KPIs. If you aren’t familiar, KPIs stands for key performance indicators, of which there are many different types. You may need to look at and utilize different KPIs depending on your type of business, type of website, clientele, etc. Learn these nine important KPIs no business should ignore and why.

What Are KPIs, Exactly?

A KPI is any quantifiable metric related to your company. It could be as diverse as monthly sales to rates of employee turnover. However, in the realm of digital marketing specifically, KPIs focus on your company or brand’s web presence. That could relate to lead generation, growth of sales, SEO, Google Analytics rankings, social media engagement, conversion rates, page engagement, marketing qualified leads, and much more. Any part of your online presence or internet reputation that is actionable and involves customer engagement is relevant to digital marketing KPIs. However, some KPIs are more important than others to specific companies and products. Read on to discover the most important digital marketing KPIs you can’t ignore.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is the process of achieving a higher ranking in search engine results, especially on Google — the most preferred search engine. This is accomplished through carefully curated content that contains keywords that are worded in a way a customer would search. When was the last time you looked at the second page of Google results? It’s probably not often. This is why SEO is arguably the most important KPI. You need to land on the first page of results to get traffic. For example, natural SEO is a great way to pack your website with the needed keywords but keep the content readable.

Social Media

This one may seem like a given, but it has to be mentioned. Social media presence and how it converts to business and website engagement is significant at this time. Just having the major platforms covered with accounts in your business is not enough. KPIs show you if people are seeing and interacting with your social media content and can inform your social media sales funnel.

Content Marketing

This is when your website hosts and develops a blog, or you can feature guest content to drive people to your site and products. It is a relatively authentic strategy that is effective for many.

Paid Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM accomplishes much the same goal as SEO, but it is paid. You can pay your way to better search engine rankings, but typically a dialed-in combination is most effective.

Email Marketing

For many social media marketing companies, an email list is very effective. For others, the recipients may feel “spammed” and unsubscribe or delete messages upon receiving them. Email marketing KPIs show you what email blasts and marketing strategies are working for your clientele.

Customer Acquisition Cost

This is a more general KPI that is highly relevant to the digital space. How much does it cost you to snag a new customer? Marketing strategies can be expensive, and this KPI helps you to streamline.

Conversion Rate

Another general KPI, but through the lens of digital marketing and optimization, it shows you what visits and types of engagement convert to real customers.

Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is essential if you are using SEM or other paid services like ads. It shows you the reality of how much you are paying per click. Paired with other KPIs that shed light on engagement, it shows you what paid services are (and aren’t) giving your business your money’s worth in terms of conversions and customers gained.

Average Cost Per Lead

Furthermore, you should also track your average cost per lead. Typically, the average cost per lead varies from industry to industry. Therefore, it is important to find the average cost in your client’s sector too. To calculate the average cost per lead, take the amount of money you spent on a campaign and divide it by the number of leads generated. Of course, you can also calculate your lead conversions as well. To do this, take the number of leads that have converted sales and divide it by your total number of leads. Then, multiply this value by 100 for your lead conversion percentage. Of course, calculating your lead conversions and average cost per lead can better inform your marketing strategy’s budget.

SMART KPIs

How do you know which KPIs to track? Obviously, there is no one-stop standard. Every business has unique needs to some extent. However, this acronym helps business owners to be mindful of how to select the most valuable KPIs:

● Specific
● Measurable
● Achievable
● Relevant
● Timely

When it comes to ruminating on what arenas are relevant for your business, don’t overthink it, but do some honest reflection. People likely do not care about a plumbing company’s Instagram account, but a small boutique is a completely different story. In the same vein, a start-up may have the savvy young talent to write quality, natural SEO, but not the budget for paid SEM. Of course, remember to be specific and relevant to your brand, niche, or service provided. If the strategy isn’t measurable, remember that you can’t track KPIs and, therefore, can’t see the backend of what is and isn’t working.

KPIs for Your Business

When you’re selecting SMART KPIs, you can refer back to this list along with your own tailored research to achieve great results for your business.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll To Top