Is Data Analysis Worth it?
When marketing online, using analysis is a key part of constantly updating your strategies, goals and methods. Data is the best way to see if what you are doing now is working and what tactics could do with improvement.
You can spend hours looking at the data you collect, but it will be pointless if you do not collect and analyse it correctly. Here are the six key digital marketing metrics and why they are crucial to digital success.
-
Sales Revenue
The first and most obvious one is sales revenue. For many businesses sales are the bottom line, therefore it is essential that you analyse your sales continuously over time. Although it is hard to relate changes in marketing with bumps in sales, it is important to get an idea of whether your digital marketing is paying off. To measure sales revenue we recommend utilizing software programmes that specialise in sales data. The goal is to see clear differentiation and a year-to-year increase in your sales alongside your marketing adjustments.
-
Customer Retention Rate
Now let’s move on to the less frequently discussed topics. We believe that customers are the biggest asset when it comes to your business. It takes a lot of work to attract a new client so it is essential that you maximise your chances of repeat business. By generating repeat business from a client you can form deeper and long-lasting relationships with them. This will lead to more recommendations and organic leads which are a free form of advertising. Fortunately, this data is relatively easy to collect, track and analyse. You can use values such as sales per year by customer account. The best way to increase this rate over time is by retargeting your previous sales with discounts, recommendations and special offers.
-
Social Media Engagement
The rise of social media has led to a complete alteration of how digital marketing is framed. Many digital marketing campaigns are now centred around social media. Social media engagement is an excellent metric to track as it is easy to set up and ads a personal touch to your campaigns. It is important to remember that you are looking for longevity, not just spikes in interaction. There is an abundance of social media scheduling apps that will also track your engagement analytics for you. To record engagement rate you want to track the rate by post by a number of followers and multiply this by 100. This gives you an engagement percentage. You will be surprised to see that you are aiming for engagement of between 0.5% to about 6% depending on your business type, platform and size.
-
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per click is very important for keeping your advertising expenditure in check. It measures how efficiently you’re reaching the people who are engaging with your ad. It’s basically the number of clicks you have had on a particular digital ad in relation to the money you’ve spent promoting it. This is a terrific metric, as it allows you to alter your method over time to maximise budgeted performance.
You should use data analysis for CPC on social media, Google Ads, and link-building campaigns. Many platforms such as Facebook actually have the ability to directly measure CPCs themselves. For those that don’t, there are many tools available that will help you keep track.
-
Site Traffic Analysis
Site traffic is an often forgotten metric that slips the mind of small businesses. Google Analytics is your friend when it comes to this type of analysis. They have a tried and true programme that provides clear diagrams of where your company is headed and whether or not your marketing is paying off.
Furthermore, data analysis of site traffic from your website allows you to see demographic changes in your site traffic and to hone in on who to target.
-
Conversion Rate Analysis
Conversion rates indicate the percentage of visitors to your website who complete the desired goal. This goal may be anything from subscribing to a newsletter or purchasing a product. The higher the conversion rate, the better your marketing campaign and website are performing.
There is a standard equation for all conversion rates.
Conversion Rate = The total number of conversions divided by the total number of sessions.
Data analysis of conversion rates is important. It gives insight into what works and what doesn’t work in making clients complete a specific task – ultimately showing you what people or companies want. This will help you decide whether or not your strategy is working.
Starting with these six metrics, you’ll be able to get on top of your digital performance and optimise your firms potential. For more information and tips about beating your competition, check out our WordPress management services
