Modern marketing platforms provide an overwhelming amount of data. Impressions, reach, engagement rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend, lifetime value... the list goes on. But which metrics actually matter for your business?
The answer depends on your goals, but here's a framework for cutting through the noise and focusing on what drives real results.
The Vanity Metrics Trap
Follower counts, likes, and impressions feel good but often don't correlate with business outcomes. A post with 10,000 likes that generates zero sales is less valuable than a post with 100 likes that drives 10 purchases.
This doesn't mean vanity metrics are useless—they indicate reach and resonance—but they shouldn't be your primary success measures.
Tier 1: Business Metrics
These are the metrics that directly impact your bottom line:
Revenue: The ultimate measure. How much money did your marketing generate?
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Total marketing spend divided by new customers acquired. This tells you if your growth is sustainable.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue generated divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 3x means you're making $3 for every $1 spent.
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue you can expect from a customer over their relationship with your brand. LTV should be significantly higher than CAC.
Tier 2: Conversion Metrics
These metrics show how effectively you're moving people through your funnel:
Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who take a desired action. Track this at each funnel stage.
Cost Per Lead/Acquisition: How much you're paying to generate each lead or customer.
Cart Abandonment Rate: For e-commerce, this reveals friction in your checkout process.
Tier 3: Engagement Metrics
These indicate content quality and audience interest:
Engagement Rate: (Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) / Reach. This shows how compelling your content is to those who see it.
Save Rate: On Instagram, saves indicate high-value content that users want to reference later.
Share Rate: Shares extend your reach organically and indicate content worth spreading.
Tier 4: Awareness Metrics
These measure top-of-funnel brand building:
Reach: Unique people who saw your content.
Brand Search Volume: How many people are searching for your brand name on Google.
Share of Voice: Your brand mentions compared to competitors.
Setting Up Proper Tracking
Metrics are only useful if they're accurate. Ensure you have:
Proper UTM parameters on all campaign links
Conversion tracking pixels installed correctly
Google Analytics 4 configured with relevant events
Attribution windows that match your sales cycle
Creating Your Dashboard
Build a simple dashboard with 5-7 key metrics that you review weekly. Include a mix of business metrics (revenue, CAC) and leading indicators (engagement, traffic) that predict future performance.
Resist the urge to track everything. A focused dashboard drives better decisions than a comprehensive one that's overwhelming to review.
The Reporting Cadence
Daily: Ad spend and ROAS (for active campaigns)
Weekly: Engagement metrics, traffic, conversions
Monthly: CAC, LTV, overall ROI, trend analysis
Quarterly: Strategic review, benchmark comparisons, goal setting
Taking Action on Data
Data without action is just numbers. For each metric you track, define:
What's the target?
What action will you take if it's below target?
What action will you take if it exceeds target?
This framework ensures your analytics practice drives continuous improvement rather than just reporting.