Speak our language: Digital Marketing Metrics Businesses Need to Know

Digital marketing can’t be measured. This is one of the biggest myths that you might come across and the moment you hear it, take a deep breath and feel free to disagree. Digital marketing can be measured by a number of methods (in fact, many more than traditional marketing), depending on your goal and business type. The key metrics! That is the single most important task we marketers have after our morning coffee; reviewing and analyzing the key metrics of the website, SEO, social media, email, and any other campaign we are executing.

We think it is crucial for businesses to have a basic understanding of the metrics we use to measure our success, so that collaboration between us and our clients is always productive.

So, here we go:

1. Website Metrics

Visits

The number of users who visit your website. Even though they might browse one or 10 pages on your website, it will still count as one visit.

Why do you need this? Visits give you an idea about the number of people who have reached your website. If you are looking to expand your client base, this is how you can estimate how many people might be interested in your services. By the way, you can also calculate the exact worth of every website visit if you are so inclined. 

New vs. Returning Visitors

Returning users have previously visited your website, while new visitors have just discovered it for the first time.

Why do you need this? A large number of returning visitors can be translated into users who are currently in the consideration stage of the Buyer’s Journey, that is why they keep coming back for more information. These are the users you want to target as they will more likely convert into leads than others. Having said his, new visitors are also important. Earn their interest with winner content to help them become returning visitors and leads. If you are a Business-2-Business company, double your stakes on the returning traffic.

Page Views

When a visitor lands on your website, they can browse a number of pages. Each page counts as a Page View.

Why do you need this? If you want to know how interested your visitors are in your content/service, this number will give you a few hints. For a successful result, your Page Views should be much more than your visits.

Leads 

The number of visitors who have signed up to a form on your website and shared information with you.

Why do you need this? After your visitors have converted into leads, your marketing team can nurture them further to convert them into prospects. Your sales team can then close the deal and earn you a new customer. Leads should be one of the main goals of your business and your marketing agency. If your website keeps generating leads on a monthly basis, your inbound marketing strategy (including your blog, SEO, social media, and email) is doing the job well.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Metrics

Organic traffic

The traffic acquired through unpaid search results. Organic traffic is increased by optimizing your website for search engines.

Why do you need this? Organic traffic is one of the best ways to earn qualified traffic, i.e. visitors who are genuinely interested in your content or service (otherwise, they would not have searched for it). Increased organic traffic means your SEO is doing its magic and your business is winning the Zero Moment of Truth. Hold the door please, new customers are coming!

Keyword Rankings

The positions of the keywords you are competing for and tracking on the search engine result page.

Why do you need this? Some keywords bring more traffic than others. Sometimes a well-targeted keyword on the second page of Google can bring more traffic than an unpopular keyword on the first page. They can also give you an idea about what phrases your buyers are searching to find your service. 

Moz Rank

Every page on your website is ranked with a link popularity score introduced by Moz.

Why do you need this? If you want to dive in deeper than traffic and leads, the Moz Rank will tell you how much each link on your website is worth. Moz Rank is the present-day substitute of the Page Rank, which has long lost its importance.

3. Social Media Metrics

Social Traffic

The number of traffic your website receives from all social media networks.

Why do you need this? Social traffic is a good way of determining which social media networks bring you the most qualified traffic so you can capitalize your efforts on them. For instance, the social traffic a B2B company receives from LinkedIn is more likely to convert than traffic from Pinterest.

Reach 

On Facebook: The number of times your post was shown on a user’s feed.  

On other networks: The number of people that your post can potentially reach to. This number is usually the same as your follower number.

Why do you need this? As a business, you need to have an estimate of how many people will  see your message. This is often done for television advertising. The estimated number of viewers for a specific TV show is always calculated before an advertising decision is made. The same logic applies here. You can know the scope of the audience your marketing efforts can reach to. Despite this, your post can reach a much larger audience if shared, commented on or promoted.

Engagement 

The amount of action and reaction your post receives on social media. The actions vary from Likes, Shares and Comments on Facebook to Favorites, Replies and Retweets on Twitter. Each social media platform is different, but the idea of engagement is the same in all of them.

Why do you need this? Your engagement rate speaks of many benefits. First and foremost, it speaks to the relevancy of the followers for your page. Secondly, a high engagement rate validates the quality of the content and the awesome work of your marketing agency. 

4. Email Marketing Metrics

Opens

The number of times your email was opened by the recipient.

Why do you need this? If your open rate is low, you should reconsider your email list. Are you targeting the right list? Users receiving your emails might not be interested in your offer at all. This indicator will also help you assess the effectiveness of your subject lines. You must have a great subject line to get past the clutter. Your subject should be compelling enough to get someone to open the email. 

Click-through-rate 

The number of times users were directed to your website after clicking on a link in your email newsletter.

Why do you need this? The purpose of email marketing is to drive traffic to your website, convert them into leads or loyal readers. If they have opened your email but have not clicked through, you should review the newsletter format, content, images, and Call-to-Actions. A high click-through-rate equals good results.

Email traffic

The number of visits generated from links in email newsletters.

Why do you need this? B2B companies rely heavily on email marketing for lead nurturing and trust building. The fact that users are clicking on the links you offer in your newsletter speaks of an established relationship and interest from your email list. Remember that not all analytics tools display email as a separate traffic source, but this is an important data that should be included in your morning analytics checkup.

We’ll stop here.

This is the essential list you, as a business owner or a marketing manager, will need to speak the same language with your marketing agency.

Most importantly, now you know that there are many ways to measure your digital marketing efforts. Although it’s good to know the basics, keep your goals in mind and make your decisions based on the metrics that matter for your goals. Not all traffic is qualified traffic, and not all leads will convert into customers.

Need more help for tapping into the magical world of marketing? Read our new eBook The Marketers Guide to Inbound Marketing, or get in touch for a consultation.