Effective and results-oriented digital marketing cannot be achieved if we do not integrate web analytics into its implementation.
This article lists five familiar digital marketing metrics that are worth adopting alongside broader objectives. Or, in practice, to help explain them.
It is somewhat a matter of preference how one structures their business objectives. Typically, sales and sales growth are, of course, essential business objectives. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as the growth in the number of e-commerce purchases, are often established in this context.
However, more precise metrics are needed to guide operations—that is, ways to measure how well our actions perform and in what direction overall development is occurring. Examples include website visitor numbers, social media followers, or email campaign open rates.
The performance and results of digital growth marketing or individual actions can be evaluated and measured in many ways. Define what information is essential for your business. You might want to start with these five metrics:
1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is an essential digital marketing metric that calculates the average cost of acquiring a new customer. This data provides insights into the effectiveness of marketing and sales strategies. CAC is calculated by dividing all customer acquisition-related expenses by the number of new customers over a specific period. For example, if you spend 5000 euros in a month and acquire 50 new customers, the metric’s value is 100 euros.
CAC = Marketing Costs / Number of New Customers,
where Marketing Costs = campaign expenses + advertising agency fees + software/systems + other expenses attributable to the action
2. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) can be historical (the sum of all revenue generated from a customer’s purchases) or predictive (the total revenue your company expects to generate from this customer). As a metric, CLV is important for guiding marketing and sales resources, helping companies make informed decisions about customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty programs. It emphasizes the importance of long-term customer relationships for sustainable revenue growth.
CLV = Average Purchase/Order (EUR) x Average Purchase Frequency x Customer Relationship Duration
3. Conversion Rate (CVR)
Conversion Rate (CVR) is a simple but important digital marketing performance metric. Conversion Rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action (purchase, material download, contact form submission).
Conversion Rate = Number of Conversions / Total Number of Website Visitors x 100
4. Marketing Return on Investment (MROI)
ROI is a familiar KPI metric to everyone. And of course, this can also be extended to marketing and/or its individual sub-areas (e.g., digital marketing). As we know, return on investment is a performance metric used to evaluate the efficiency of a particular investment.
MROI = (Marketing Revenue – Marketing Costs) / Marketing Costs x 100
5. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Perhaps the most legendary digital advertising metric is the ad click-through rate. Click-through rate is the ratio of users who click a link to the total number of users who see it. For example, in a Google Ads campaign, if your ad is shown 1000 times and receives 100 clicks, the CTR is 10%.
This means that 10% of the users who saw your ad performed the desired action and clicked on it. A high CTR indicates that your ad resonates with your target audience and drives traffic to your website. Overall, CTR is a valuable metric that helps you optimize your ad campaigns for better results.
CTR = (Number of Ad Clicks / Number of Ad Impressions) x 100
Growth-oriented digital marketing cannot be done without metrics, data, and analytics. Learn about our approach to measuring growth, for example, here.
