The growth of digital marketing is rapidly transforming how business is done. Companies are investing big money on inbound marketing to generate leads and increase conversions. At the same time, constantly measuring the performance of your inbound marketing program is crucial to evaluate whether your investment is worth it, and to define a successful marketing strategy.
There is plenty of marketing data that is available to organizations today. It is important to know which parameters to track so that your inbound marketing program can be evaluated accurately. Analyzing data also helps avoid superfluous expenses and get more bang for the buck with respect to your marketing initiatives.
Here are the top three key metrics you should track while evaluating the success of your inbound marketing program:
1. Overall Website Traffic
Website traffic is the first metric you should be looking at. The reason is simple: the greater the traffic on your website, the greater the likelihood of sales. Counting the total number of visits will give you a broad idea of how successful your campaign is. The traffic will grow steadily if your campaign is well-designed and properly executed.
In order to implement a successful campaign, it is essential to set website traffic goals and establish an appropriate plan to achieve them.
2. Lead Conversion Rate
While total traffic is a generic high-level metric, conversion rate is a more focused measurement that gauges the overall profitability of your inbound marketing effort. It is therefore considered a better parameter than overall website traffic. It is important to know at what rate your leads are converting into customers. A 2-4% conversion rate is considered a good benchmark, but this number can change significantly depending on your vertical. You should look up what the benchmark in your industry is and compare your results to that.
Evaluating lead conversion rate based on the traffic source is another useful measurement which could help you gain better insight into your business. Knowing which source is providing the highest conversion rate could help you build on your strengths while addressing your weaknesses. If your leads are coming from a particular social media channel such as Facebook or Twitter, work on to optimize the channel.
3. Cost Per Lead
Cost per lead (CPL) is closely related to other key marketing metrics and it helps you arrive at the tangible dollar figure that goes into acquiring each new customer.
Calculating CPL is not very hard. If you spent $1,000 on a marketing campaign that helped generate 200 leads, the CPL for the campaign will be $5. But calculating the total cost requires thought and deliberation as you may end up ignoring certain costs such as marketing time, cost of software, and creative time.
The metrics we discussed above will help you keep a close tab on your digital marketing program and enable you to keep refining your strategy as fresh data becomes available. With time, you will have a good idea of what’s working for your campaign and what is not; you’ll be in better position to tweak your strategy accordingly.