If You’re Not Tracking the Right Metrics, You’re Just Guessing… ????♀?

Ever feel like digital marketing is just an endless sea of acronyms? CPC, CPM, ROAS, LTV, CTR… sounds more like a secret code than a marketing strategy. ????

Whether you're running ads, sending emails, or diving into influencer marketing, knowing what to track (and WHY) makes all the difference. So, let’s break it down niche by niche—no fluff, no AI-generated jargon, just the real deal.

?? Paid Ads (Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn)

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The % of people who saw your ad and clicked. If this is low, your ad creative, website design/speed or targeting needs help.
• CPC (Cost Per Click) – How much you’re paying for each click. High CPC? You might be in a competitive auction or have bad targeting.
• CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions) – What it costs to get 1,000 eyeballs on your ad. Good for brand awareness campaigns.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – How much revenue you’re making for every $1 spent. If ROAS is below 2x, you’re in trouble.
• Conversion Rate – The % of people who actually took action (bought, signed up, etc.). Clicks are cool, but conversions pay the bills.

?? CTV & Programmatic Ads

• VCR (Video Completion Rate) – % of viewers who watched your ad till the end. High VCR = engaging video. Low VCR = they don’t care.
• CPV (Cost Per View) – What you’re paying for each completed view. Good for video campaigns.
• Viewability Rate – % of ads that are actually SEEN. If your viewability is low, you’re wasting money.
• Frequency – How often the same person sees your ad. Too high? You’re annoying people. Too low? You’re forgettable.
• Impression Share – How often your ad is showing up vs. the competition. Want to dominate? Watch this closely.

?? Email Marketing

• Open Rate – % of recipients who opened your email. Bad open rate? Your subject line is probably weak.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate) – % of people who clicked a link inside. This tells you if your email was worth their time.
• Bounce Rate – % of emails that didn’t get delivered. Clean your email list!
• Unsubscribe Rate – % of people who said "I’m out." If this is high, your emails aren’t resonating.

?? Organic Social Media

• Engagement Rate – Likes, comments, shares. High engagement = content people care about.
• Impressions vs. Reach – Impressions = total views. Reach = unique people who saw it. If impressions are high but reach is low, the same people keep seeing your posts.
• Saves & Shares – How many people saved or shared your post. The real metric of valuable content.

???? Influencer Marketing

• Engagement Rate – % of an influencer’s audience that actually interacts. No engagement? Just wasted money.
• CPE (Cost Per Engagement) – What you paid per like, comment, share. Better ROI than just looking at follower count!
• Brand Mentions – How many times your brand got tagged. Virality alert!

?? SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Organic Traffic – How many people find you through search engines. This is FREE traffic. The best kind.
• Bounce Rate – % of people who leave after one page. High bounce rate? Your content isn’t what they expected.
• DA (Domain Authority) – Score (1-100) predicting your site’s ranking power. Higher DA = better rankings.
• Backlinks – Other websites linking to yours. Backlinks = SEO gold.

?? Content Marketing (Blogs, Video, Whitepapers)

• Time on Page – How long people actually stay. More time = engaging content.
• Scroll Depth – How far down people scroll. Great for checking if your content holds attention.
• Lead Gen Conversions – Are your blogs turning readers into customers? Content without conversions is just a hobby.

Final Thoughts?

If you’re not tracking the right metrics, you’re basically playing darts in the dark. Each niche has its own KPIs that actually matter. So track smart, optimize hard, and watch the results roll in.

What’s your go-to metric? Drop it in the comments! ????