Digital Marketing KPIs: Types, examples ...
In digital marketing we need to have certain metrics to know how we are doing it, what actions are profitable, what needs to be improved and if we are using the appropriate resources.
Properly managing a company's resources is not about leaving everything to chance. In a digital environment, everything can be measured practically in real time, something that we must take advantage of.
Among the most used metrics in digital marketing are the so-called digital marketing KPIs, measurement tools with which to measure the performance of our company, as well as know the ROI or calculate costs. However, you must pay special attention to them, as many can be a waste of time.
What are KPIs in digital marketing and how are they calculated?
The initials of marketing KPIs are Key Performance Indicator, which in Spanish means Key Performance Indicators. In this way, KPIs are measurements designed to know what evolution a company is following and determine its level of progress or performance.
The KPIs will therefore indicate the performance that we are obtaining from the initiatives carried out that try to meet the objectives set. These are figures that would not make any sense if they were not within a context with which to make a comparative assessment, such as set objectives or the results of other similar actions.
To guarantee their validity, digital KPIs must have some requirements, called SMART, which we will try to summarize below:
- KPIs have to be specific, that is, focus on something specific.
- They must be measurable and expressed in figures.
- KPIs must pursue realistic challenges or achievable results, only then will they be effective.
- They must be relevant metrics depending on the matter for which they are to be applied and the people to whom it is addressed. Thus, for a sales director it will be key to know the number of prospects that have become sales and not the number of "likes" reached on social networks.
- KPIs must have a validity date in order to act on time. In this way, we will have to get the first data as soon as possible to measure the performance of a campaign that lasts a certain time.
What are the main digital KPIs?
The main KPIs in digital marketing are the following:
Cost per visit
With this specific metric we will be able to know the money that each visit to the web costs us. This KPI is essential to determine the trend that this cost follows and its relationship with respect to the quality of the visits received. Its calculation consists of dividing the number of visitors for a specific time by the cost of the campaign in order to attract traffic to the web.
Contacts or leads
With this metric we can know the number of visits it takes to get a contact. Thus, each visitor who carries out the action defined in the campaign, be it downloading a manual or filling in a form, will become a lead. This KPI is quite important because with it we can improve the optimization of the page and make as many modifications as necessary in the campaign to obtain adequate traffic.
Cost for leads or contacts
It is about knowing which actions, as a result of the investment made by the company, is obtaining better results in terms of the number of contacts made and the difference that exists between them with respect to the quality of said contacts. And it is that there may be significant differences in the type of contact made depending on the source of traffic and its conversion to the sales team. This cost is the one obtained by dividing the investment of the campaign by the leads obtained.
Conversion costs from contacts to prospects
A contact made in marketing may take some time to mature to become a prospect. So-called lead nurturing campaigns are used to improve conversion rates and, although they are key, you also have to pay attention to the costs they generate.
Conversion rates to sales
It is about measuring the degree of conversion to manage leads. In other words, the negative result of this KPI will make us rethink certain important questions. For example, to what extent the prospects who receive a first offer are the ideal ones, if there is a problem in the team or if the lead nurturing campaign is really effective.
Customer Value
This metric will indicate the money obtained by a client during our commercial relationship. This KPI allows us to know the value of each client obtained in each traffic source and what their position is with respect to the average client of the company. This way we will discover where they come from and what is the ideal campaign to attract potential customers.
ROI of the activity
We are talking about one of the most relevant KPIs in digital marketing. It consists of knowing the profitability or earned for every euro we have invested in our marketing activity. As with the rest of the metrics, making a breakdown of sources and media is essential to know which stocks are the most profitable to continue investing in them.
How are KPIs interpreted?
A company uses different means such as blogs, videos or networks to make itself known (Social Media Marketing) and it is impossible to know if something works if we do not measure or analyze it.
Similarly, a metric is meaningless if we don't have a goal to aspire to. Interpreting the KPIs makes us think about many things such as how far to go and why. For example, what is the use of generating online traffic if visitors do not convert into new leads, and what is the use of generating leads if the contacts do not convert into sales.
The objective of KPIs is to act as benchmarks for specific and realistic goals. What we do with these metrics is to follow a specific project or action step by step to intervene whenever necessary.
KPIs can be used to analyze all kinds of aspects such as web traffic or content strategy. For example, traffic analytics are used to determine the performance of a web page and include different aspects such as traffic sources (where visitors come from), the number and duration of sessions, the contacts or leads generated, the customers generated. with at least one purchase operation and the bounce rate (visitors who did not perform any action such as filling in a form or clicking a link).
Everything will depend on what we want to analyze and the KPIs used to bring it to fruition. In the case of email marketing, the metrics will help us assess from technical aspects such as deliverability to the number of subscribers to a mailing list or newsletter.
Inbound marketing content KPIs involve, for example, reviewing the sections of the page that receive the most visits or assessing visitor interest in content. In the case of social media KPIs, the indicators will provide insights into the scope of a post, the interactions that take place, or the number of followers of a profile or page.
The KPIs used in the management of ads and digital advertising is also something very important to assess, since they can indicate the clicks generated on an ad, the average cost per click (CPC) or the conversions made, either when downloading an ad. offer, when buying or filling in a contact form.
How to define KPIs?
Now that you are clear about what KPIs are and what they are for, there is no way to define them. In doing so, there are several key aspects to pay attention to: the variable to be measured, the long-term strategic objective, and the specific short-term goals.
Deciding what we want to measure is essential to establish a specific KPI according to the areas of your business that require monitoring. Once clear, the next step will be to identify the long-term objective, such as multiplying the number of clients by two or billing double in 4 years.
This general objective should serve as a guide to determine smaller and more achievable goals, divided into quarterly or annual objectives, everything will depend on the deadlines you have set according to the available resources and the characteristics of the business.
When setting KPIs for marketing campaigns, it is also convenient to take into account the so-called laggins indicators. These are indicators or metrics of results that were obtained some time ago and that, at this point, will help us to define the new KPIs. Thanks to this information, we will be able to make refined forecasts and make better decisions for the future.
Examples of KPIs in digital marketing campaigns
Among the examples of KPIs in digital marketing that we can see, the Cost per Click is quite important. It refers to the cost of using platforms such as Facebook Ads or Google Adwords each time a user clicks on the ad. The formula for its calculation is Total investment cost divided by the number of clicks. Thus, if the investment is € 100 in a campaign in which we obtained 50 clicks, the CPC will be € 2.
Among the types of digital marketing KPIs are the metrics associated with sales, such as the number of shopping carts that end up abandoned. It consists of knowing the number of times a person leaves the cart without completing the purchase action. This metric will alert you if there is a problem in the web interface or if the shipping costs are very high or similar.
In the case of financial KPIs, it is possible to calculate, for example, the net profit of the company after having discounted the resulting profit, the costs related to taxes or general expenses.
