Key performance indicators (KPIs) help measure the impact of marketing in an organization.

They’re used to gauge the impact of marketing initiatives against pre defined targets.

For example…

Target = Generate 1,000 leads per month Initiative = Paid search campaigns KPI = Cost per lead

At the beginning of every client engagement, we build a measurement plan that clearly lays out the KPIs for the engagement.

Throughout so many engagements, we’ve built a lot of KPIs. I’ve decided to publish them as examples in this post.

The marketing KPIs are organized into 4 buckets:

Return on investment (ROI)

Lead Generation

Intent to Purchase

Engagement

**NOTE: I’ve also included the Google Analytics reports, segments and dimensions to view the KPI. For most KPIs, there are multiple reports, segments and dimensions you can use to pull the data. The ones I’ve listed are my personal preference.**

KPIs to Measure Return on Investment

1. Cost per Visit

Good For : Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI

: Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI Report : Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium + Cost Data

: Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

I love KPIs that measure cost – these are the measurements that help calculate digital ROI. When working with costs, you’re going to need more than Google Analytics. You will need to pull data from anywhere you’re spending money: Facebook advertising, Twitter, AdWords, Outbrain, PPC, etc.

Take that cost data and crosswalk it with traffic data in Analytics. For example:

Cost from Facebook Ad Set 1 / Visits from Facebook Ad Set 1

Cost from PPC Keyword 13 / Visits from PPC Keyword 13

You can get as granular as you like with the calculation – ad set, medium or campaign, they’re all gold!

EXPERT TIP:

Most analysts stop at campaign data. I like to go one step further.

SEO has costs – whether you’re paying an agency or not, someone within your organization is allocated to drive organic traffic.

That needs to be accounted for. I like to use:

Monthly cost for SEO / Visits from Organic

2. Cost per Sale

Good For : Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI

: Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI Report : Conversions > eCommerce > Sales Performance + Cost Data

: Conversions Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

How much does each sale cost your business? In other words, are you getting a positive return on your marketing spend?

3. Sales per Channel

Good For : Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI

: Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI Report : Conversions > eCommerce > Sales Performance

: Conversions Dimension : Traffic Medium

: Traffic Medium Segments: None

Additional Notes:

How does each marketing channel impact your top line? This KPI will answer that question for you.

4. Sales per Visit

Good For : Measuring campaigns, scaling campaigns, ROI

: Measuring campaigns, scaling campaigns, ROI Report : Conversions > eCommerce > Sales Performance + Cost Data

: Conversions Dimension : Traffic Medium

: Traffic Medium Segments: None

Additional Notes:

How much is each website visit worth to your business? Knowing this metric is huge. It allows you to scale (or descale) efforts.

5. Purchase History

Good For : eCommerce sites, understanding customer behavior, purchase intent

: eCommerce sites, understanding customer behavior, purchase intent Report : Audience > Custom > Custom Variables

: Audience > Custom > Custom Variables Dimension : eCommerce (depending on site type)

: eCommerce (depending on site type) Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Tracking purchase requires eCommerce implementation in your Google Analytics account. In addition, you’ll have to implement custom variables. Your configuration will look something like this:

_gaq.push([‘_setCustomVar’,5,’PurchHistory’,’1-3′,1]);

6. Cost per KPI

Good For : Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI

: Measuring campaigns, campaign targeting, ROI Report : Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium + Cost Data

: Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Arguably my favorite KPI! How much are you paying for your website’s key actions? See tips from cost per visit KPI above.

7. Time to Conversion

Good For : Measuring product performance, sales cycle

: Measuring product performance, sales cycle Report : Conversions > Muti Channel Funnels > Time Lag

: Conversions > Muti Channel Funnels > Time Lag Dimension : None

: None Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Time to conversion is a great KPI to understand your sales cycle and how long it takes visitors to convert.

8. Cart Abandonment Rate

Good For : Measuring conversion optimization, customer pain points

: Measuring conversion optimization, customer pain points Report : Conversions > Goals > Funnel Visualization

: Conversions > Goals > Funnel Visualization Dimension : Goal (the one you want to evaluate)

: Goal (the one you want to evaluate) Segments: None

Additional Notes:

If you own an eCommerce website, out this KPI at the top of your list. This measurement will let you know where customers exit the funnel – it’s your job to find out why.

9. Average Order Value

Good For : eCommerce sites, understanding customer behavior, purchase intent

: eCommerce sites, understanding customer behavior, purchase intent Report : Audience > Custom > Custom Variables

: Audience > Custom > Custom Variables Dimension : eCommerce (depending on site type)

: eCommerce (depending on site type) Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Tracking order value requires eCommerce implementation in your Google Analytics account.

KPIs to Measure Lead Generation Campaigns

10. Product or Service Page Conversion Rate

Good For : Measuring visitor intent, content performance, content messaging

: Measuring visitor intent, content performance, content messaging Report : Behavior > Site Content > All Pages

: Behavior > Site Content > All Pages Dimension : Pages / Session

: Pages / Session Segments: Goal completions

Additional Notes:

I use this KPI to measure how my services pages and blog posts are performing. I have opt in forms on all pages – I like to layer the conversion segment on top of the pages report to determine if my copy is persuasive enough to drive submissions.

11. Newsletter Sign Up Conversion Rate

Good For : Measuring content performance, content messaging, key site action

: Measuring content performance, content messaging, key site action Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Report 2 : Conversions > Goals > Overview

: Conversions > Goals > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

If your newsletter form does not redirect to a thank you page on submission, you’ll have to set up Event tracking.

However, once an Event is created it can be tracked as a Goal. I strongly recommend converting all Events to Goals because the depth of reporting is 100 times better.

Read how to create Events and convert them to Goals here.

12. Landing Page Bounce Rate

Good For : Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance

: Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance Report : Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages

: Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Bounce rate is a valuable measurement that needs to be analyzed properly. A bounce is defined as a user that visits your site and leaves without viewing another page. There are dozens of key actions a user can take on your site while remaining on the same page (time on site, submit a form, share on social media, comment, etc). I strongly suggest you look at bounced visits as a segment – analyze the actions those users did (or didn’t take) before leaving.

13. Form Conversion Rate

Good For : Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance

: Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance Report : Conversions > Goals > Goal URLs

: Conversions > Goals > Goal URLs Dimension : Goal Previous Step

: Goal Previous Step Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

If you don’t sell anything on your website then form submissions are “macro” conversions. I like to add the previous URL dimension when reporting – it helps to visualize the content that drives the most conversions.

14. Form Abandonment Rate

Good For : Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance

: Measuring paid traffic performance, content performance Report : Conversions > Goals > Funnel Visualization

: Conversions > Goals > Funnel Visualization Dimension : Goal (the one you want to evaluate)

: Goal (the one you want to evaluate) Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Perhaps more important than % of form completed are the % of users who begin to fill out a form and abandon it.

You can get great insights on how to improve form UX, form UI and overall satisfaction from this measurement.

Note: My website’s forms only have a one screen so the screenshot is a bad example. This KPI works best with forms that have multiple page submissions.

15. Email Open Rate

Good For : Measuring data quality, lead generation efforts

: Measuring data quality, lead generation efforts Report : Non Google Analytics – use your email provider’s data

: Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Email open rate = # of emails opened / # of emails sent.

It gives you insight into the quality of leads you’re generating.

16. Email Click Through Rate

Good For : Measuring data quality, lead generation efforts

: Measuring data quality, lead generation efforts Report : Non Google Analytics – use your email provider’s data

: Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

More important that email open rate is email click through rate. This measures the number of subscribers that click the links in your email.

This gives you tremendous insights into the quality of your lead generation efforts.

If users aren’t engaging with your email content you need to take a closer look at your lead gen campaigns or use better email newsletter templates.

KPIs to Measure Intent to Purchase

17. Branded Keyword Visits

Good For : Measuring brand exposure, brand demand, offline advertising efforts

: Measuring brand exposure, brand demand, offline advertising efforts Report : Acquisition > Search Engine Optimization > Queries

: Acquisition > Search Engine Optimization > Queries Dimension : None

: None Segments: None

Additional Notes:

You can also run the report Acquisition > Campaigns > Organic Keywords but you get jammed up by the (not provided) data.

The report I’ve outlined is my way around it.

18. Direct Visits

Good For : Measuring intent to purchase, brand exposure, brand demand, offline advertising efforts

: Measuring intent to purchase, brand exposure, brand demand, offline advertising efforts Report : Audience > Overview

: Audience > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Direct Traffic

Additional Notes:

“Direct/None” traffic confuses the crap out of a lot of marketers.

If you’re tagging all outbound URLs (as you should be) then direct visits are straight forward.

Results of offline advertising (people typing in your URL directly)

Results of referral traffic (from domains Google doesn’t recognize)

Results of people returning directly to your site (generally to make a purchase or contact you)

According to Google’s case studies, direct traffic is responsible for more sales than any other medium. Direct traffic is a good thing!

19. Store Locator / Contact a Sales Rep Usage Rate

Good For : Measuring visitor intent

: Measuring visitor intent Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Some businesses require customers to make purchases in a store, warehouse or through a rep. These business types should have a store locator widget on their website and they should be tracking usage through custom Events.

Widget Usage Rate = # of Events triggered / Sessions

20. Direct Email Rate

Good For : Measuring visitor intent

: Measuring visitor intent Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Dimension : None

: Segments: Traffic Source

Additional Notes:

Your website should have a direct contact email.

You can track these by setting up an Event that triggers when a user clicks the link or by counting the number of direct emails you receive.

Direct Email Rate = # of Emails Received / Sessions

21. Call Rate

Good For : Measuring visitor intent

: Measuring visitor intent Report : Acquisition > Overview + Call Data

: Acquisition > Overview + Call Data Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Call tracking is easy from mobile (click to call) but more difficult with desktop. If you’re an organization that relies on phone leads, you should have a system set up.

There are a number of vendors that offer call tracking and analytics. If you’re on a budget, simply get an 800 number that is only displayed on your website.

Call Rate = # 800 Calls / Sessions

KPIs to Measure Website Engagement

22. 301 Redirect Rate

Good For : Measuring offline advertising efforts

: Measuring offline advertising efforts Report : Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns

: Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

This is HUGE for businesses that advertise offline.

When you advertise, you should always include a call to action that drives traffic to a web property (your site, micro site, etc).

The best practice is to create a short vanity URL and 301 (permanent redirect) that URL into a landing page on your site.

Here’s how to measure that in Google Analytics:

In Google’s URL Builder Tool enter the URL of your main site using “Redirect” as campaign source, “Offline Ad” as campaign medium and name of vanity URL as campaign name

Change the .htaccess file on the vanity URL domain server with a rewrite rule, replacing parameters as needed

Enter the URL you generated with the URL builder Tool

301 Redirect Rate = 301 Campaign Sessions / Sessions

Now you can measure the reach and effect of offline ads!

23. 301 Conversion Rate

Good For : Measuring offline advertising efforts

: Measuring offline advertising efforts Report : Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns

: Acquisition > Campaigns > All Campaigns Dimension : Goals

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

Ready to really see the value of your offline efforts?

This is it.

Measuring how many users visit the vanity URL (provided in the ad) and then come to your site and take meaningful action will change the way you look at advertising.

301 Conversion Rate = 301 Campaign Goal Conversions / Sessions

24. Inbound Links

Good For : Measuring content performance, link outreach validation

: Measuring content performance, link outreach validation Report : Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals

: Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals Dimension : None

: Segments: None

Additional Notes:

So many SEOs neglect Analytics and it drives me crazy.

I check this report daily to see if my content has generated any inbound links.

If it has, I check the domain to make sure it’s a link that I want – in today’s SEO, not all links are good links!

25. Visitor Loyalty

Good For : Measuring purchase intent, content performance

: Measuring purchase intent, content performance Report : Audience > Behavior > New vs. Returning

: Audience > Behavior > New vs. Returning Dimension : eCommerce (depending on site type)

: eCommerce (depending on site type) Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Visitor loyalty is defined as a visitor who returns to your site within a certain time period – I like to set the cookie at 30 days.

This is a highly underrated KPI – people who return to your website show signs of purchase intent, lead intent or they really like your work.

Either way, all good things.

26. Exit Survey Completion Rate

Good For : Measuring brand management, customer data

: Measuring brand management, customer data Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Report 2 : Conversions > Goals > Overview

: Conversions > Goals > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Like newsletter sign ups, exit surveys will need to be tracked as a custom Event.

27. Follower Growth Rate

Good For : Measuring content performance, micro conversions, community building

: Measuring content performance, micro conversions, community building Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Report 2 : Conversions > Goals > Overview

: Conversions > Goals > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Follower Growth Rate = # of social media follows / Page Sessions.

This is a great indicator of how your audience reacts to your content.

Tracking it can be tricky – the way I do is by setting up a custom Event that fires when a user clicks one of the ‘follow’ buttons in my blog SEO.

28. Social Media Share Rate

Good For : Measuring content performance, micro conversions, community building

: Measuring content performance, micro conversions, community building Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Report 2 : Conversions > Goals > Overview

: Conversions > Goals > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Social Media Share Rate = # of social media shares / Page Sessions.

See social media follow rate (above).

29. Comment Rate

Good For : Measuring content performance, visitor engagement

: Measuring content performance, visitor engagement Report : Behavior > Events > Overview

: Behavior > Events > Overview Report 2 : Conversions > Goals > Overview

: Conversions > Goals > Overview Dimension : None

: None Segments: Traffic Type (optional)

Additional Notes:

Comment Rate = # comments on a page / page sessions.

Comments need to be set up as a custom Event before being tracked as a Goal.

30. Pages per Session

Good For : Measuring content performance, UI performance, overall website engagement

: Measuring content performance, UI performance, overall website engagement Report : Audience > Overview

: Audience > Overview Dimension : Pages / Session

: Pages / Session Segments: Layer segments based on your analysis (traffic source, page ID, etc)

Additional Notes:

This is a web analytics 101 measurement, but still very useful to determine content quality and user engagement.

31. New Visitors

Good For : Measuring brand exposure, content performance, campaign performance

: Measuring brand exposure, content performance, campaign performance Report : Audience > Overview

: Audience > Overview Dimension : % New Sessions

: % New Sessions Segments: New Users

Additional Notes:

I read a lot of Analytics blogs and a lot of them try and downplay the important of traffic.

That’s horse crap.

Traffic is the most important measure of your website’s success. Without traffic, nothing else is possible!

What are your favorite KPIs? Leave them in the comments below!