No two marketing campaigns are the same. Every business has unique digital marketing objectives and goals. But no matter what approach you’re using, or what style or flavor your brand embodies, there are 9 ways to measure digital marketing success. 

Let’s explore these key performance indicators (KPIs) in greater detail:

Let’s start with that first metric that every business owner gravitates toward when they log into their Google Analytics account: website traffic.

Website traffic is a good measure of progress, particularly when analyzed over a period of months and years. And when you view it with an understanding of when different elements of your marketing campaign are pushed out or executed on, you can see if they cause a spike in visitors.

Raw traffic numbers are interesting, but they don’t always paint a complete picture. You should also study traffic by source to see which percentage of your visitors are coming from organic search, direct search, referral channels, or social media. 

If your marketing campaign is targeting one specific type of traffic, this will tell you how much of an impact it’s having.

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s also a valuable indicator of engagement. Keep an eye on how long people are engaging with specific pages and pieces of content (such as blog posts). Are there certain posts that get six minutes of engagement and others that only get 30 seconds? Consider why this could be. 

A lot of marketers focus on bounce rate (which indicates the percentage of people who click on a page and leave), but exit rate is just as important.

Exit rate tells you where exactly a visitor lost interest in your website (after viewing multiple pages). This can be helpful in uncovering low-converting pages and dead pockets on your site.

A good marketing campaign should include conversion goals built into your Google Analytics engine (or whichever analytics platform you prefer using). Goals will be different based on the specifics of your campaign but might include email opt-ins, purchases, or simply adding an item to a shopping cart. Set these goals up on the front end and track the numbers throughout to determine if you’re accomplishing the underlying campaign objectives.

If you’re selling products online, the number of online sales is ultimately the most important metric. To understand how your marketing campaign is fueling these results, track online sales alongside other elements of your marketing campaign. (For example, do sales spike when you publish a new blog post? Do you get a higher average transaction size when you send an email to your list?)

Okay, let’s shift our attention to social media for a moment. In particular, let’s focus on social reach. This is basically the number of people who “saw” your content. That word goes in brackets, because it doesn’t necessarily mean they actively viewed your content. They could have scrolled by it in a hurry, looked away, or focused on another part of the page when your post was shown. Either way, this is important information when viewed in tandem with the next digital marketing KPI.

If social reach is a look at how many impressions you got, social engagement tracks the number of interactions with your content. This might include clicks, likes, shares, comments, or retweets - depending on the platform. 

Engagement is where the magic happens. If you’re getting high engagement rates, it indicates that people do not only see your content, but they’re taking time to interact with it.

Finally, you should analyze email open rates. An open rate tells you what percentage of people receiving your emails are actually clicking on it. If you send an email to 1,000 people and 600 of them open it, you have a 60% open rate. (Which would be pretty incredible!) As a benchmark, you should be shooting for at least 20% on your email open rates. Anything above that indicates you have a very engaged list.

How Do Your Digital Marketing Metrics Look?

A successful digital marketing strategy doesn’t materialize out of thin air. It requires creative thinking, technical skill, and disciplined attention to detail. If you’re looking at your digital marketing metrics and worry that you’re wasting time and money, our team at Twice Social is here to help. 

Contact us today and we’ll be happy to schedule a free private consultation!