Top 5 Digital Marketing KPIs You Should Be Measuring

Alright, let’s cut to the chase. You’ve probably heard about KPIs before, but if you’re anything like me, you’ve also nodded along politely when someone mentioned them at a meeting, and then Googled “What are KPIs again?” during the Zoom call. We’ve all been there.

So, let’s dig into the top 5 digital marketing KPIs you should be measuring—because honestly, if you’re running a campaign and you’re not tracking these numbers, what are you even doing? Wandering the digital wilderness? Sorry, I got carried away.

Why Should You Care About KPIs?

First off—KPIs are like your marketing GPS. Without them, you’re just guessing if you’re heading in the right direction. Don’t get me wrong, you can take a wrong turn every now and then, but you’ll want to at least know you’re lost. It’s the whole “doing something about it” part that matters.

Anyway, back to KPIs. These are your health markers, the things you check to see if your campaign’s breathing… and thriving. But let’s be real, it’s also what lets you sound like a marketing wizard in front of your boss. (“Yes, I’ll adjust that ROI based on my monthly traffic insights. Obviously.”)

1. Website Traffic

Okay, let’s kick this off with something every marketer looks at first thing: website traffic. Without visitors, you have no one to impress, no conversions to track, and no real reason to keep a website alive.

So, Why Does It Matter?

More traffic = more chances of converting someone into a customer.
You can tell what channels are sending people your way: Organic search? Paid ads? Social media? Or maybe just a random link your buddy posted on Reddit? Who knows.

But, honestly, if you’ve been obsessing over traffic numbers without understanding them… yeah, been there. Like, my first campaign? I was all about tracking traffic to the point where I thought it was a game. But then I realized—who cares if 500 people visit my page if none of them are even looking at my product? Hint: That was a fun lesson in humility.

Things to Look At:

Total Traffic: Like, duh, you need this.
New vs. Returning Visitors: You want the newbies, but the returners are your loyal die-hards.
Traffic Sources: Organic, paid, or social?
Bounce Rate: High bounce rates are like your friends who say, “Yeah, I’ll come to your party,” but then bail after five minutes.

It’s no surprise that website traffic lands in the top 5 digital marketing KPIs you should be measuring, right? It’s like checking your gas gauge before a road trip.

2. Conversion Rate

Ah, conversions. The point of it all. If your site is a storefront, conversions are the people actually buying or signing up or filling out that form that you spent hours perfecting. If they’re just “window shopping,” then your traffic stats are meaningless. You can’t pay the rent with just page views.

Why This Matters:

You know what you’re doing right when people are clicking and taking action.
Small tweaks to improve conversion can lead to major revenue spikes. (One of my clients saw a 15% jump in conversions just by changing a CTA from “Learn More” to “Claim Your Free Trial.” Simple, right?)
Conversion rates tell you if your messaging is on point or if you’re babbling in the wind. Hint: You don’t want to babble.

What to Track:

Call-to-Action (CTA) Performance: Are people clicking? What’s the deal with your button copy? Is it compelling enough? (“Click here!” is NOT going to cut it.)
Funnel Drop-Offs: Where are people getting lost? If they’re dropping off after step 2, it might be time to rethink that page.

My first-ever landing page had a CTA that said, “Submit your email here.” Womp womp. I was wondering why the conversion rate was next to zero—until someone pointed out it sounded like a sign-up form at a DMV. Lesson learned.

3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Alright, I’ll admit—I did not track this properly for years. I thought the money I spent on Facebook ads was working until someone pointed out how much I was spending to get a single sale. Ouch.

What It Is:

CAC tells you how much you’re actually spending to acquire each customer. And if your cost is way higher than your revenue per customer… Houston, we have a problem.

Why It’s Crucial:

High CAC = your marketing strategy’s a money pit. No one likes those.
Low CAC = cha-ching, you’re doing something right. Now go grab a latte or something.

How to Lower CAC:

Refine targeting on ads. (Trust me, getting more specific on who sees your ad saves money. I know, it sounds obvious, but I didn’t get it until I started tracking it closely.)
Content marketing: SEO and organic content will eventually lower your cost per customer, and it’s so satisfying to see the numbers slowly drop.
Retargeting: Those warm leads you didn’t get before? Bring ‘em back with remarketing campaigns.

If you’re not looking at your CAC, well… you might be burning through cash with nothing to show for it. Definitely one of the top 5 digital marketing KPIs you should be measuring.

4. Return on Investment (ROI)

Okay, now we get to the fun part. ROI is the number that actually tells you if your campaigns are worth it in the grand scheme of things. And I don’t just mean, “Yeah, it was fine, I guess.”

What It Means:

ROI = (Revenue from Marketing – Cost of Marketing) ÷ Cost of Marketing. In other words, did you make more money than you spent? Is your marketing budget doing its job, or is it just eating up your savings?

Why It’s Everything:

Good ROI = Your marketing campaigns are profitable.
Bad ROI = Well, I hope you have some fun metrics to throw at your boss to delay the awkward conversation.

Pro Tip:

Don’t just look at overall ROI. Break it down by channel. What’s bringing in the most profit? What needs to be scrapped?

5. Engagement Rate

Ah, engagement. The soul of social media. If your audience isn’t engaged, well, your content is just… there. Lurking in the void. And I’m not talking about bot comments and auto-generated likes. Nope.

What to Track:

Likes, Shares, Comments: Duh, but you also need to look at quality interactions.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Someone clicked your post? They’re interested.
Video Views: Were they watching? Or did they click away after 3 seconds?

Why You Can’t Ignore This:

It measures real connection. And connections = conversions.
Engagement tells you if people are even paying attention.

Once, I posted a meme on my Instagram account that got zero engagement. It was the type of thing I thought was hilarious—turns out, no one else did. It still haunts me.

Final Thoughts (or: TL;DR)

Alright, y’all, let’s wrap this up with a little summary. The top 5 digital marketing KPIs you should be measuring are:

Website Traffic
Conversion Rate
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Engagement Rate

If you aren’t tracking these… well, you might want to start. I mean, who wants to aimlessly wander through their marketing strategy, right? Trust me—been there, done that, still cringe at the thought.