This is only a small part of the marketing insight iceberg. Web analytics can give you a lot of information about the performance of your website. But marketers need more data to understand how their marketing campaigns impact conversion rates and the buyer's journey.
Digital marketing analytics offers a complete view of your marketing strategy's successes and failures. It doesn't matter how you fit in your company's marketing mix. Understanding and leveraging digital marketing analytics is crucial. Analytics data can tell you if your marketing is effective and how and where to improve. This kind of insight is beneficial to all.
This is why we created this guide. To help your business grow, we want you to be able to understand marketing analytics. We'll discuss what marketing metrics you should monitor, how they can be applied to marketing decisions, and how to use them to increase your business's profitability.
What is Digital Analytics?
Digital marketing analytics is the conversion of customer behavior into actionable data. Companies can use digital analytics tools to understand how consumers behave online and what they are doing so that they can convert this data into digital marketing campaigns.
Simply put: Analytics can help you draw the line between opinion, fact, and fantasy by providing data-driven insights into user behavior. Before we get into the details of using digital analytics in your business, let's discuss what marketing metrics you will measure and analyze.
Know Your Digital Marketing Metrics
Digital marketing metrics are statistical indicators that marketers use to measure the success of marketing campaigns as they relate to industry standards and campaign goals.
Let's start with vanity metrics. These superficial numbers can trick you into believing your efforts are paying off. These numbers are often tied to obscure concepts like social media "impact", and they're often more fluff rather than facts. They may make your marketing team happy but have little business value.
The Best Metrics to Use for Website Marketing Analytics
These digital marketing metrics are associated with websites and web activities - also known as. Web analytics.
Visitor
A visitor (or user) is anyone who visits your website. A tracking code installed on your website places a cookie in visitors' browsers to track them.
Page View
A page view is when a browser loads a page from your website. Every time your tracking code loads, a page view is recorded.
Session
A session is a collection of visitor activities on your website. This includes page views, C.T.A.s and events. After 30 minutes of inactivity, sessions expire.
Traffic
Traffic (or Visitors) refers to the number of page or site visits during a time period.
Traffic by Channel
Traffic by channel refers to the number of page or site visits per referral channel (e.g. social media, email landing pages, etc.).
Traffic by Device
Traffic by device refers to the total number of page views per device type (e.g. smartphone, tablet, desktop etc.).
The Ratio Between New Traffic and Returning Traffic
The ratio of new and returning traffic is the proportion of visitors to your site compared to total returning traffic.
Time on Page
The average time a visitor spends on your website or page is called the time on the page.
Interactions per Visit
Your visitors' actions on your page or site are called interactions per visit.
Bounce rate
The bounce rate refers to the percentage of people who visit your page and don't take any action. It is also the ratio of total page visitors to page visitors.
The Best Metrics to Lead Generation
These digital marketing metrics can be used to promote lead magnets and content offerings.
C.T.A. (Call-to-Action) Click-Through Rate
C.T.A. click-through rates are the ratio of the number of sites or page visits to the C.T.A.
Submissions
Submissions are the percentage of people who have completed and submitted your form.
Conversion Rate
The conversion rate measures the number of actions (e.g. a sign-up or download) taken on your lead magnet relative to the number of visits.
No Cost Trial Conversion Rate
The free conversion rate is the percentage of trial users who convert to customers after a free trial is over.
Conversions
Pop-up conversions are the percentage of pop-up forms that were completed and converted to customers.
The ratio Between Generated Leads and Marketing-Qualified Leads
The ratio of generated leads and M.Q.L. refers to the number of "good-fit" leads collected from your lead magnet compared to the total amount of leads generated.
Leads to a Close Ratio
The ratio of leads to close is the ratio of the number of leads converted to customers to the total number.
Email Marketing Metrics That Work
These are some digital marketing metrics that can be used in email marketing.
Open-Rate
The open rate refers to the percentage of emails that have been opened as a percentage of all emails.
Opens with Device
Opens per device refers to the total number of emails opened by each device type (e.g. smartphone, tablet and desktop).
Click-Through
The click-through ratio is the percentage of total clicks to an email link (or C.T.A.) as a proportion of all email opens.
Bounce Rate
The bounce rate refers to the percentage of undeliverable emails as a percentage of total emails sent.
Unsubscribe Rate
The unsubscribe percentage is the percentage who unsubscribe to your email list in a certain period.
The Best Metrics For Social Media
These digital marketing metrics can be used to promote content and social media.
Engagement Rate
The engagement rate refers to the number of engagements (e.g. clicks, comments and likes) about the total page or post views.
Subscribes and Follows
Subscribes and follows are the total number and interest of people who subscribe to your content. They will also receive updates whenever new pages or posts are published.
Shares
Shares refer to the number of times a page or post has been shared via social media, a website or a blog.
The Ratio of Audience Growth
This is the percentage of your social media audience growing over time. It is usually expressed in percentages. It is calculated by measuring the number of social followers you have gained over some time (e.g., two weeks or one month) and then multiplying that number by your total followers by 100.
Reach After Reach
Your brand will benefit if your posts are shared more widely. Digital marketing analytics platforms will show how many social followers saw your last post. Divide your followers by 100 to calculate the percentage of your post reaching people.
Potential Post Reach
It is also worth looking at how many people your posts reach. This metric is calculated by multiplying the number of times your brand has been mentioned by the number of followers of the brand or person who mentioned you. This is your "theoretical" reach or the maximum number of people you can reach through your existing network. The potential reach is usually between two and five per cent of that total.
Social Voice: Share
What are your social media mentions relative to your competitors? To find out how your social mentions compare to your competitors, start by looking for mentions about your brand (both direct @Yourbrand mentions and indirect Yourbrand shoutouts). Next, measure mentions of direct competitors over the same period to determine your performance.
Approval Rate
It's nice to get mentioned, but it's much better to be liked. Approval rate measurement measures how many people have liked your posts. These can include shares, likes, reshares or sales conversions. They will help you ensure that your marketing campaign is on track.
E-commerce Best Metrics
These digital marketing metrics can be used in conjunction with ecommerce.
Shopping Cart Absorption Rate
The shopping cart abandonment ratio is the percentage of online shoppers who abandon their carts but do not complete a purchase.
Sales Conversion Rate
You can make more money if you convert more customers. This is why it is important to determine your overall sales conversion rate. How many of your customers are clicking through to purchase from your site?
Measuring " mini-conversions " is worthwhile, such as the conversion from category pages or home pages to product pages. This indicates that customers are receptive to sales conversion.
Email Marketing Opt-in
E-commerce sites often offer purchasing options and include opt-ins for email marketing that provide information to consumers about new products and sales events. It is possible to quantify your marketing efforts by measuring the total number of opt-ins and opt-ins per source (mobile, desktop or platform).
Cost of Customer Acquisition
Customers don't always come cheap. Divide your total marketing budget by the number of customers to calculate your total acquisition cost. The greater the number, the more money you spend and the smaller your profit margins.
Average Order Value
It is also worthwhile to calculate your average order value. It is calculated by multiplying the total sales value by the number of carts. The higher the number, it will be. Next, you can look for ways to increase the average order value by offering add-on products, bundle discounts, and even free shipping.
Source Revenue
Where does your revenue come from? This helps you determine where your marketing budget is most effective and where it's not working as expected. Suppose traffic analysis shows substantial sales conversion linked to Facebook followers but little from Instagram. In that case, it might be worth reevaluating the approach to your marketing campaign.
Why is digital marketing analytics important? Let's examine why digital analytics is so important and how they compare with (and improve upon!) basic web analytics.
Digital Marketing Analytics vs. Web Analytics
What is the difference between web analytics and digital analytics? It is their focus. Web analytics can provide information about website performance and optimization. Still, digital marketing analytics offers contextual insights into user behavior on, around, and within your site. Like many metrics we have already defined, web analytics is not enough. Marketers need to know how their efforts impact marketing and sales.
Let's face facts: Marketing today goes beyond your website. It includes the interaction between your marketing channels, the insights you get from them, and the progress you track through your reporting. This perspective gives you the basic data to build your flywheel. It delights your customers enough to engage and attract new customers.
Web analytics measures things a webmaster and technical SEO specialist should care about, such as page load speed, page views/visits, time on site, and page view count. Digital marketing analytics, on the other hand, measures business metrics such as traffic, leads and sales and allows you to see which online events determine if leads will become customers.
Digital marketing analytics includes data from more than just your website. It also includes data from other sources such as email, social media and organic search. How digital marketing analytics connects every business activity
Digital marketing analytics allows marketers to understand their entire marketing strategy, not just their website's effectiveness. Digital marketing analytics allows marketers to compare each of their marketing efforts (e.g. social media vs. blog vs. Email marketing), determine their true R.O.I., and assess how they are achieving their business goals.
The fundamental question is: What can you do to create a business goal that will accurately visualize the marketing team's efforts? Marketers can use full-stack digital analytics to identify weaknesses in marketing channels and adjust strategies and tactics to improve overall performance.
It's easy to spend hours in web analytics software, comparing repeat visitors with new visitors, and then spending hours on the data. When it comes down to it all, it will not give you a complete view of your marketing performance. Marketers are well aware that they can't measure their effectiveness. Here's how digital marketing analytics can make up that gap.
What is a Digital Marketing Analysis?
Marketers use digital marketing analysts to analyze the performance of their digital channels. This analysis also uncovers new ways to reach and engage target audiences. A digital marketing analysis is the first step in developing a solid digital marketing strategy. This can organize a business goal into results based on three broad categories:
- The relationship between marketing channels.
- Data that is person-centric about the buyer's journey.
- Revenue is attributable to marketing efforts.
Let's focus on these key differences.
1. The Relationship Between Marketing Channels
Digital marketing analytics gives you a solid view of the relationships between marketing channels. While it's wonderful to see how each channel (e.g. social media, email marketing, SEO) is performing about one another, the real power of analytics lies when you can tie together the effects of multiple channels.
Let's take, for example, the email you sent to a segment in your database. Digital marketing analytics tells you how many people clicked on your website's email link and how many of them converted into leads for your business.
You can also compare the results of each email sent with other marketing efforts. Was that email more effective than the blog post? Was the Twitter content more successful?
2. The Buyer's Journey is People-Centric
We mentioned that web analytics differs from digital marketing analytics in that it uses the person as the central point, not the page view.
Digital marketing analytics lets you track how prospects and leads interact with your marketing channels and initiatives over time. What is the first way a lead found your website? Google? Facebook? Direct traffic? Are they active subscribers to your email list, clicking on and converting on email marketing offers? Are they reading your blog? Have they downloaded any content that might indicate interest in your products/services?
Full-stack analytics for digital marketing can provide you with all this information and more. This can be extremely useful lead intelligence that can guide the direction of future campaigns.
This information can help you identify trends in your leads and prospects and determine which marketing activities are most effective at each stage of the buyer's journey.
You might find that customers are most likely to have converted after reading a white paper or ebook. This data allows you to create an effective lead management system. You can score and prioritize leads and determine which activities are marketing-qualified leads (M.Q.L.s) for your company.
3. Revenue Attributable to Specific Marketing Efforts
Marketing analytics can link specific marketing activities with sales revenue. This is one of its most valuable functions. Your blog might be an effective tool for generating leads. But are these leads turning into customers or making you money? Closed-loop analytics can help you find out.
The only requirement is that your Digital Marketing System be connected to your customer relationship management platform (CRM).
This closed-loop data will allow you to determine if your marketing efforts are contributing to your business's bottom line. It will help you determine the most important channels for driving sales.
You might find your blog to be your best channel for generating customers. Or conversely, social media can only be used as an engagement mechanism and not as a source of sales.
You can set goals that will support your bottom line by measuring the relationships between marketing channels, tracking people-centric data, and analyzing what revenue is tied to which efforts. Let's now discuss how to use these marketing analytics effectively.
How To Use Digital Marketing Analytics Effectively
Marketers know that they must look at more than traffic and website performance to gain the insights we have discussed. Yet, many marketers still struggle with measuring the impact of online marketing and proving R.O.I.
One of these two possibilities:
- We don't have any goals for our campaigns.
- We don't have the resources to measure our success.
You'll often find a combination of both.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
This can be mitigated by having an actionable business goal that combines the priorities of your marketing team. This is usually done using the S.M.A.R.T. format. Format. Each goal that you create in this strategy must be:
- Smart
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- It's important to do so promptly.
A business goal is a way to organize your team towards achieving specific goals or measuring their progress. This can be broken down into three main categories for marketing teams:
- Website traffic and a variety of sources.
- Traffic to convert into leads and eventually customers.
- Recognizing net new revenue directly due to marketing efforts and laying out a roadmap to further growth and more cost-effective marketing investments.
Most marketers use a variety of digital analytics platforms to gain insights that will allow them to make informed decisions and understand their marketing performance.
They collect data such as their email marketing via the analytics provided by their email service provider, information on their social media performance through the social media monitoring tool, and blog analytics from their blogging platform. This fragmented reporting approach makes making informed decisions about your digital strategy's future difficult. A complete marketing and reporting platform is the best solution. It gives you visibility into all aspects of your marketing activities. This allows you to track everything from one place.
Campaign Reporting
Instead of looking at canned reports on each traffic source, custom reporting capabilities can be used to create data charts showing a marketing campaign's progress. Not just what content is performing through certain channels but all aspects.
This is how to set up your digital analytics to capture this holistic view. It will show you where potential buyers came from and where they are headed. As an example, we'll use Cyber Infrastructure Inc. Marketing Hub. These are just a few examples of the analytics you will find in a high-quality marketing tool.
Website Traffic from the Original Source
This report is easy to configure by date range or source. It will show you which marketing channels are most effective in converting more traffic to leads and customers.
First Conversion by Original Source/Persona
This report will quantify your impact based on the number of contacts you can make based on the first content offering or form submitted. It also ties back to the source of the lead.
Another way to approach this is to segment your contacts according to a specific persona. This will show you which ones provide the highest return on your team's content creation.
Contacts Funnel Report
This calculates conversion rates as you move down the sales and marketing funnel. It shows new leads that are marketing qualified leads and sales qualified leads, and eventually new customers.
Marketing Contribution to Revenue
This report is based on the use of marketing qualified leads lifecycle stages. Visualize those who converted into customers and how they compare regarding revenue generation.
Cost of Customer Acquisition
Cyber Infrastructure Inc. uses calculated fields and custom properties to show how much your marketing team spent to attract, engage and delight your buyer persona. Closed-loop reports can be used to show your business' progress towards its bottom line.
You can only use all the information, insights, and data your digital marketing analytics tools provide you with if you do something with them. Analytics is not just useful for proving the marketing value to your boss. It can also be used to improve and optimize your marketing performance on a channel-by-channel and overall cross-channel basis.
Closed-loop reporting is a feature of digital marketing analytics that allows you to show how your marketing efforts have positively impacted your sales team. This makes it easier to demonstrate your marketing activities' impact on your sales team.
Digital Advertising Analytics
Digital advertising is an integral part of any Digital Marketing Strategy. Nearly 25% of marketers spend the same amount on advertising (25%).
Click-throughs and cost per click (C.P.C.) have been the traditional metrics for the effectiveness of digital advertising (e.g. paid search ads and social media ads). These are great metrics, but you don't know your campaigns' effectiveness without measuring your conversions and R.O.I.
This can be done using a full-stack solution to market your brand and link your impression, click, cost, and revenue data from all digital advertising channels to your CRM. This will allow you to link the cost of each click with the business value.
Digital display advertising should not be measured solely by click-throughs. These digital ads can increase organic or cross-channel performance because consumers see the ad and become interested in your brand. They also help to drive traffic to your website and social media platforms. This new view on digital advertising analytics will transform your digital marketing strategy.
Digital Marketing Analytics: Grow Better
This article has one important message: Don't rely on web analytics to make marketing decisions. When evaluating digital analytics tools to help your business, ensure you are looking for digital marketing analytics, not just web analytics.
Web analytics may give you a good overview of your top-line activity. Still, digital marketing analytics can help turn your business goals into tangible outcomes supporting your bottom line. We'll see a significant improvement in your business if you prioritize data that reflects people, not pageviews.
