20 fundamental KPIs in digital marketing
Because you will not know what to measure. Nor what values are those that matter and what needs to be achieved.
According to its entry in Wikipedia, a KPI (key performance indicator, key performance indicator) “It is a measure of the level of performance of a process. The value of the indicator is directly related to an objective set in advance and is usually expressed as a percentage “.
Characteristics of KPIs
For a KPI to work properly, it must be smart, that is, have the following characteristics:
- Specific: Identifies what, where, how and when it is measured.
- Measurable: It allows to quantify the measures and the benefits that are expected.
- Attainable: Possible. It does not make sense to choose indicators that are impossible to achieve with the assigned resources.
- Relevant (Relevant): Depending on the objectives that are sought, one metric or another will be better.
- Time-bound: A key performance indicator must be subject to a specific time.
The main digital marketing KPIs
There are dozens of possible indicators with which you can measure your campaigns. Some of them depend on the specific channel by which you establish the relationship with the users. The important thing is that for the digital marketing KPIs to be effective, they must be accompanied by a value. Only if you know what you want to achieve you can analyze the proper ways to achieve it.
These are 20 of the digital marketing KPIs that you must take into account to measure if your strategies are adequate. Alternatively, on the contrary, you need to make changes.
1.- Viewed Pages
Essential metric. Every Internet user, with his or her blog or website, has always reviewed the total number of visits to their page.
In the case of digital marketing, the same thing happens. The number of visitris to your blog or website will be a primary indicator to know how many people you attract, where they come from and what their interests are.
2.- Unique visitors
Related to the page views, the unique visitors are each of the users that have entered the website. Unique visitors are always less than the number of page views since a user can enter your website more than once, so it counts several times as page views, but only once as a visitor.
This indicator is much more interesting than the page views since it gives you the final drawing of how many people, and what people, visits your website, blog or landing page.
3.- Time of stay
Permanence on the website or blog is one of the highest value digital marketing KPIs. Show the interest generated by your content, as well as the possibilities of getting clicks and conversions on the page itself.
The time spent on the website is not a guarantee of success, but it is a practically infallible indicator that things are done well with the content that is shown to the users that visit the pages.
4.- Open emails
The number of email openings that your email campaign has will be essential to know how many have arrived and how many of the recipients of emails have shown interest in the content.
This indicator has part of the error since sometimes the user receiving the email opens the message by mistake. Keep in mind that the results identified by this metric may not be 100% reliable, but it is a good indicator at global levels.
5.- Clicks on the email
Where does the user clickthem? Do they convert your messages? Through these questions and the metric that measures the clicks within the email, it is possible to know by what parameters the user’s interest moves within the email.
It is interesting to take this metric into account since it will help you to counteract the error level of the open email metric. It is very rare that a user who has opened the email click inside by mistake, as they will choose to return to the inbox or leave the email, but not by clicking on a link or button.
6.- Completed forms
The fundamental step to convert is when the user has completed a form, has entered the information requested and has followed all the steps to the end. A completed form is a conversion achieved.
The form can be of multiple fields, in which the user enters their information manually. However, it is also a button to buy, register or skip a page. The form will be the step that the user has to give until getting to materialize in conversion, what the creator of the page wants to obtain.
7.- Rebound rate
When you send your content, either by email or the own content that you have posted on your website, there is a part of users who will decide to leave your site and will go to see other content. The reason for the rebound may be due to lack of interest in the content, not finding what you were looking for or because, unintentionally, you have left the page.
Usually, a high bounce rate is taken into account as a synonym of failure of the page, since it does not comply with what is promised or the user does not find it interesting.
8.- Pages per visit
One of the most interesting digital marketing KPIs of a user’s visit to a website is how many page he has visited. A visit may be enjoyable even when you have seen a single page. However, it is also possible that the website searches for user to see numerous pages in echa of their visits.
This metric measures the number of pages that the user observes each time he enters your website and before leaving to another.
9.- Rate of casualties
How many users have decided to unsubscribe from your email marketing service? The casualty rate may be the best indicator to know the failure of your communication.
Users subscribed to your email marketing service that have been unsubscribed indicate the failure to communicate with them, so you have to draw conclusions and reflections on what has failed and why.
10.- Followers
Essential metrics in social networks. Followers, likes or fans are the perfect indicators to know the scope of your profile.
To adequately assess this metric, it is necessary to set a threshold of followers that you want to obtain, since not always a higher number is more favorable.
11.- Subscribers
Through RSS and Feed systems, users can access your content and receive it in their email, so they are subscribed to your publications.
These users are considered positive. No user who is not interested in your service will choose to subscribe to your content.
12.- Forwarded emails
Forwarded emails are a good indicator to know what content is fascinnating to the users who receive your emails.
It is complicated to post this factor, but it is possible to know the success obtained by your campaign sending emails through the number of referrals generated.
13.- Cost per lead
Cost per lead (CPL) is the price an advertiser pays for each qualified contact. In this case, action is required by the user. For example, register, complete a form, make a download or subscribe to a service.
14.- Comments
The number of comments generated by the content among users is essential. This is one of the digital marketing KPIs that focus on the value of content. In fact, it indicates whether the content i valuable enough to generate debate and comments among users. Likewise, the comments can be generated to add some qualification or to share ideas and opinions.
Next to this indicator are the responses to the comments that measure the level of debate generated by the comments. Some websites generate communities where answers and comments are shared as if it were a forum, showing that the site is active and generates interest.
15.- New leads generated
Do your online marketing campaigns generate new leads? Reaching out to users who may be interested in your content through ads or messages on social networks will allow you to increase and expand your database, reaching more audiences in future campaigns. A website that generates leads is a well-planned website.
16.- Production cost
The money that the company has to invest to be able to generate the content is one of the KPIs of digital marketing to which pay more attention.
A production cost that is too high may be harmful to the company, while a cost that is too low may be too.
17.- Conversion rate per funnel
Discover the contents that best convert. The conversion funnel is one of the most effective ways to calculate the conversions that come from the leads, also knowing what pages have visited and what has been their trajectory.
18.- Distribution cost
The cost of getting the content and product generated to the user will be another factor that will mark your future strategy.
It is essential to know the investment that means for your brand to get the products created to its final users. The more competitive this price is, the better for the buyer and you, that you will get more benefit.
19.-Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The Click-Through Rate (CTR) or proportion of clicks shows the frequency with which users who see an online marketing action end up clicking on the links that are shown to them.
The CTR is one of the primary digital marketing KPIs to evaluate the performance of a campaign in any of the digital marketing channels. The higher the percentage of clicks obtained, the higher the probability of generating more revenue.
20.- Benefits
Of the total money invested in your campaigns and your content, how much does it end up returning to your website? The benefit will be what justifies the investment made, and what it will tell you if the site works well.
These are just 20 of the dozens of concepts that shape current digital marketing. All of them are part of Antevenio’s day-to-day where we try to get the necessary game to generate audiences and sales for our customers
Do you need help on how to activate digital campaigns using the main KPIs to measure with criteria?
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