How do you know that website positioning is effective? What does it mean that the advertising campaign was well conducted? Contrary to appearances, the effectiveness of internet marketing is a much wider range of indicators than just sales. See what and how to measure in internet marketing to assess its effectiveness.
What performance indicators to use in internet marketing?
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are symptoms that indicate that your marketing activities are effective. Determining KPIs is the basis, because without them it is difficult to reliably assess the effectiveness of actions. What’s more, without KPIs, it happens that we evaluate the campaign in terms of any benefits it generated, forgetting that at the beginning we had a specific goal. In practice, it may look like we are starting an advertising campaign on Facebook to attract customers to the store. Instead of assessing the quality and number of visits to the store and the purchases made, we are glad that the sponsored post received a large number of likes. We earned nothing, but we got likes. This approach makes it impossible to optimize activities and budget, and finally achieve business goals.
The biggest enemy of KPIs is vanity metrics. These are data such as likes or views that are associated with some success, but in practice do not translate into the achievement of business goals. It’s easy to fall into the trap of vanity metrics and instead of focusing on optimizing your conversion, fixate on getting likes on Facebook. So what performance indicators should be adopted for activities such as website positioning, Google and Facebook Ads campaigns and content marketing? How to measure the costs of investing in online marketing, the effectiveness of image building?
KPI for positioning – how to check if positioning works?
Search engine optimization can present some difficulties when it comes to performance indicators. The obvious goal of positioning is to earn – whether by attracting customers to the company’s brick-and-mortar headquarters or by selling products and services online. However, the time of waiting for sales results is specific for positioning. Sometimes the increase in sales is felt only after a year of operation or even later. Does this mean that there is no way of assessing the effects of the activities you are paying for until then? KPIs for SEO campaigns will help you:
1. Website traffic from Google as KPI in positioning
Before you get sales from SEO, more and more users will start entering your website. The key is to analyze whether the growing traffic is coming from Google, because only then can you associate it with positioning. Alternatively, you can also take into account the direct and referral channels, but first of all, the subject of the analysis should be the organic channel in Google Analytics. How to check positioning visits in Google Analytics? There are several ways:
a) You can analyze the data in the Acquisition> All Traffic> Channels> Organic Search report
b) You can superimpose a segment on the entire view in Google Analytics and thus see only positioning data in each report.
What indicators should you pay attention to? It is worth measuring the number of users and sessions. The ratio of pages to session, which shows how many pages the user visited during one session, will also be a good point of reference. For example, in an online store, we will strive to have more pages per session as this will increase the chances of getting a sale.
2. Increased visibility on phrases as KPIs in positioning
Positioning is to build sales effects thanks to the website’s visibility for the most important business phrases. Therefore, it is worth checking for which phrases the company is visible in the top 3, top 10 and top 50 and whether it is already visible in the top 10 for the most important phrases describing the offer. Here, free tools are not enough for us to measure it well. Such a KPI for SEO requires the use of paid tools, such as Senuto or SEMSTORM. In both cases, we get a page visibility graph for phrases, a list of phrases, and a separate tool for monitoring the page position for selected phrases.
3. Clicks, Impressions and CTR as KPIs in Positioning
How is the positioned website doing on Google? It is worth looking for the answer to this question in the free Google Search Console tool. We check how many times the page was displayed on Google and how many times someone clicked on the link to the page, which is also perfectly illustrated by the CTR, i.e. the ratio of the number of clicks to views.
4. Impressions and clicks on phrases as KPIs in positioning
Going further, you can also check which specific phrases a given page was displayed on Google and verify whether, for example, a low CTR is not due to the fact that the phrase does not match the page. It happens, and it’s not worth worrying about. Worse, if a low CTR occurs, despite the fact that the page came to the right phrase. Then the culprits may be unattractive title and description.
5. Traffic on brand phrases
When we analyze the display of a page on phrases, it is worth paying attention to brand phrases. For two reasons: first, not to take them into account if we pay for positioning and we know that our brand was recognized anyway. Secondly, if, on the other hand, we conduct activities to build brand recognition, the popularity of brand phrases will allow us to evaluate these activities.
6. Inbound link profile – KPI in SEO
Inbound links are one of the most important aspects of website positioning. No wonder that the condition of the link profile can tell a lot about the effectiveness of positioning. Well-conducted SEO should result in a growing number of incoming links, while maintaining regularity and quality of links.
7. Conversions – the most important KPI for positioning
The most desirable indicator of the effectiveness of positioning are conversions. Here, however, we cannot say that conversion = sale. It all depends on what will be considered a conversion in our case. Thus, they may be specific user behavior, e.g. downloading a price list, creating an account, sending an inquiry, playing a movie, etc. In principle, only when the sale is 100% online, we can talk about the conversion identical to the sale. Most often, such a conversion will concern an online store, but not only: hotels, companies providing online services, websites with subscription services. How do I measure my conversion? Google Analytics will be helpful, as it provides us with some interesting conversion reports. Especially noteworthy is the e-commerce report for stores and the goal achievement report for all other sites.
Performance indicators for Google Ads campaigns
The Google Ads campaign offers a wealth of opportunities when it comes to key performance indicators. Added to this is the issue of relatively quick effects – the campaign only requires a budget and a good configuration to start reaching potential customers. This also makes it easier to correct actions quickly. So how do you analyze a Google Ads campaign? Pay attention to the KPIs for Google Ads ads such as:
– Ad impressions – the number of times the ad was displayed in the search results,
– Clicks on an ad – how many times users clicked on the ad,
– CTR of ads – the ratio of the number of clicks to impressions, it is assumed that CTR above 1% is a good result,
– CPC – cost of clicking on an ad,
– Conversion rate – the ratio of the number of conversions to the number of interactions with the ad, expressed as a percentage.
– Quality score – Google’s index to assess the quality of the campaign at the keyword level, is expressed on a scale of 1-10, where a score above 5 is acceptable, but we aim for a score of +7,
– Average position – where your Google Ads ad appears in paid search results.
All listed KPIs are available in the Google Ads panel, and some also in the linked Google Analytics account. What’s more, Google Analytics gives even more opportunities to set KPIs for Google Ads campaigns, because it combines data from ads with the effects on the page in the form of purchases, conversions, generated sessions, etc.
Performance indicators in content marketing
Content marketing is primarily designed to build coverage, strengthen relationships with the recipient, build a brand image and motivate the recipient to take advantage of the offer, if not today, then in the future, not through advertising, but by giving benefits. How to measure the effectiveness of such activities? It is definitely less precise than in the case of advertising and positioning, as the link between content marketing campaigns and sales is much more distant. Sales effects are expected to be visible in the long term rather than immediately. Below are some examples of effectiveness measures for content marketing:
Landing pages as KPIs for the content
The landing page is the page from which the user has entered the site. Users do not always start browsing from the home page. In the case of online stores, they can go directly from Google to the product page they were looking for. Another scenario is when visitors visit the site looking for advice and information and start browsing from a blog. We consider an expert blog to be content marketing, so we want to check how often it contributed to the traffic to the website. This can be checked in Google Analytics in the Behavior> Site Content> Landing Pages report. If we additionally want to analyze only landing pages for Google users, we can overlay the segment “Free Traffic”, otherwise we will see landing pages also for Google Ads campaigns, Facebook Ads and other marketing and advertising activities.
The effectiveness of external content – sessions, bounce rate as KPI
In the case of content marketing campaigns carried out on external portals or in social media, we will measure effectiveness through the prism of the size and quality of the traffic obtained on the website. You can adopt such KPIs for content marketing in this case as the number of generated sessions and time on the website. A slightly more complex measure of effectiveness is the bounce rate. If our campaign attracts the user to the website in order to read some information, a high bounce rate does not mean that the campaign will be successful. After all, the result may be reading the text and going to a stationary service point or store, for example. If, on the other hand, the text was supposed to generate a specific activity on the website, e.g. purchase, download, registration, the bounce rate is actually a good indicator for measuring effectiveness.
Average time on site – KPI in content marketing and positioning of websites and online stores
One of the KPI indicators in content marketing and positioning of websites and online stores is also the average time spent by the user on the website. The longer the time, the better results you will achieve in your SEO campaign, because it can affect the results of the website positioning as one of the Google ranking factors. What can you do to encourage a visitor to stay on your site?
– Create useful and interesting content for your blog.
– Remember to link internally.
– Provide extensive product descriptions in your store.
– Complete your landing pages with attractive graphics and images.
An important element of KPI in content marketing is also the number of pages viewed by the user during one session. It allows you to check whether the website was interesting for the user, whether it induces a purchase, and whether blog content is substantive and interesting for visitors.
Pageviews as KPIs in content marketing
Effective content is primarily one that users are familiar with. How is it measured? Ideally with the number of pageviews in Google Analytics.
Reactions in social media – KPI content marketing
We create content to engage users, motivate to interact and be remembered. One way to judge if we’ve achieved the desired effect is through social media reactions: likes, comments and shares. It is also worth following the mentions of your online brand on an ongoing basis – for this you can use tools such as SproutSocial or Brand24.
KPI for measuring marketing costs and conversion – how to check if website positioning and paid advertising campaigns bring return on investment?
What is ROI (return on investment)? In other words, it is an indicator of the return on investment, thanks to which you will find out whether the conducted online marketing activities are actually profitable and bring real income. The most important KPIs in positioning and Google Ads for measuring costs and conversions are:
The cost of a single website visit from a given advertising channel
To calculate the cost of a single visit to a website or store, you need to combine the data from Google Analytics with data on the costs of a given advertising campaign, for example positioning or Google and Facebook Ads advertising. You will get the cost of acquiring a single visit by dividing the total cost of the campaign in a given advertising channel by the number of visits recorded in the google Analytics tool. For example, you can see how much you had to pay for the visit of a user who visited your site thanks to a search results campaign for a specific keyword. In this way, you can also evaluate the cost of acquiring a single visit from an SEO channel – just divide the monthly cost of SEO activities by the number of visits to the website.
Cost of a single sale (conversion) as a KPI in internet marketing
Want to know how much you had to spend to get a single store sale or website conversion? The cost of acquiring a single customer is an important indicator both in website positioning and in paid Google ads. You can find the data you need in Google Analytics in the Conversions report, which presents detailed data on the number of conversions and sales.
Purchase history on the website as a KPI in positioning and Google Ads campaigns
To check the purchase history of your online store, you need to implement the Ecommerce module in Google Analytics. Thanks to it, you will get to know the purchasing behavior of customers better and on their basis you will be able to make any changes in the online store and optimize the conversion. The necessary data can be found in the Recipients module in the tab Custom> non-standard data. You can divide your audience into different segments – this way you can check how many users who came to your site from positioning made a purchase.
Time to Conversion – An important KPI for measuring conversions in SEO and Google paid ad campaigns
One of the most important KPIs that you can use to check your ROI is the time elapsed from the user’s first visit to the store until the conversion. Thanks to the collected data, you can improve the sales cycle and see how long it takes to generate a conversion.
Cart abandoned indicator – important KPI in online stores
One of the most important KPIs for measuring ROI in online stores is the number (and percentage) of cart abandonment. By this we mean the number of customers who gave up their purchase at one of the stages of the purchasing process, for example at the payment stage. Thanks to this KPi, you can identify customer problems and optimize the sales process in the store. You can find abandoned cart data in the Conversions> Goals> Funnel Visualization report.
Average order value as KPI for online stores
To measure the effects of store positioning and Google Ads paid campaigns for online stores, you should implement the E-commerce module in Google Analytics, in which you can check the average order value. Thanks to obtaining such data, you will find out what the effectiveness is:
– proposed related products (do customers buying a coat also decide to buy the proposed hat or scarf),
– discounts for the purchase of more products,
– offered free delivery on a specified order amount.
What KPIs will allow you to check the effectiveness of campaigns aimed at acquiring customers?
Do you want to check the effectiveness of your internet marketing campaign in terms of customer acquisition? Get to know KPIs, thanks to which you will find out what percentage of customers decide to contact your company or purchase in your online store.
Product page or landing page conversion rate
Do you want to know what percentage of users convert a specific product? You will obtain such data in Google Analytics in the Behavior module. They will serve you, among others to improve the content on the product card, as well as to verify the intentions of users. Find out if your website is convincing enough to generate conversions!
Forms conversion and bounce rates as KPIs to optimize conversions
In the case of websites presenting the offer of service companies, the conversion is the use of the contact form by the user. Therefore, important KPIs in positioning, pages and conversion optimization that are worth measuring are:
– conversion rate in the form of filling in the form,
– the form’s rejection rate, which shows how many people resigned from making contact at one of the stages.
Each of these tips are valuable KPIs in SEO and conversion optimization. Thanks to the data, you can improve the UX (User Experience) on your landing page with the contact form.
How to measure brand recognition on the Internet? KPI to verify the effectiveness of image building
Do you want to build an image of an expert on the Internet, but you don’t know how to check if your actions are bringing the expected effect? Get to know KPIs, thanks to which you can check whether your popularity on the Internet is growing and whether you are attracting new users.
Direct visits – KPIs to verify the effectiveness of online image building
While direct visits are not a reliable KPI in website positioning, they can be useful when you want to verify the effectiveness of activities aimed at building a brand image. If you want to know if you are known to users, check how many of them are visiting your website by entering the website address in the address bar. You will find this data in Google Analytics in the Audience report. This way, users who have previously made a purchase in your store or heard about you in advertising channels (e.g. saw an advertisement on Facebook) can reach you.
New users – an important KPI that assesses the effectiveness of image building
The number of new users who visited your website is an indicator that will allow you to check the effectiveness of the content in website positioning, as well as the effectiveness of building the image of an expert. If there are many new users among visitors to your website, your marketing activities are carried out in an appropriate manner. If, on the other hand, you are not acquiring new visitors, your SEO strategy may have the wrong phrases and is not building visibility and therefore not attracting new visitors.
Summary:
Internet Marketing uses KPIs other than classic marketing. First of all, this is due to easier access to data and the ability to measure activities in many areas. A great convenience is the ease in determining KPIs at many stages of the implementation of activities – both at the stage where the progress of activities is not visible to the naked eye and when the campaigns generate sales. Regardless of the KPIs selected, it is difficult to do without tools. Google Analytics and Google Search Console will work first. Thanks to them, you can check the effectiveness of activities such as positioning, Google Ads campaigns or image building. In Google Analytics, you can also verify the costs of obtaining conversions from various channels and their value, which will allow you to control the marketing budget and profitability of activities.