Imagine you’re in a kitchen trying to prepare a delicious meal for your toddler. What happens when you check on the food just before serving instead of checking it while you cook? You would risk overheating the chicken or undercooking the vegetables. The marketing sphere is similar to cooking – you need to track your marketing progress with every step.

That's why marketers track key performance indicators or KPIs to understand how well they perform against growth, retention, and revenue goals. Even then, many marketers forget to track essential KPIs. And that's precisely like shooting in the dark. They are performing a marketing campaign without knowing what's working and what's not.

Hundreds of marketers overlook KPIs because there are thousands of KPIs, creating confusion on which to track and which to overlook.

To make your life easier, we share 30 marketing KPIs to track in 2024 and forward. But, before moving forward, let's first understand what these KPS are.

What are marketing KPIs?

Marketing KPIs form an important part of data that you need to explain how your company is progressing toward achieving its marketing goals. These metrics determine whether or not a marketing strategy is helping you achieve your business goals.

A great thing about marketing KPIs is you can configure them to suit your business and individual needs. You adjust your marketing, SEO, or social media marketing efforts based on the results obtained.

Here are a few important marketing KPIs you may need to track for a successful marketing campaign:

Marketing KPIs for lead generation

Lead generation is the hardest part for any marketing team to tackle and master. But it can be infinitely tricky, especially if you do not know what's working and what you need to track. Here are some marketing KPIs for lead generation:

1. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to Sales qualified leads (SQLs) conversion rate

What it is: Marketing qualified leads (MQL) is a demand generation metric that measures potential customers who have more interest than other leads but are yet to commit fully. To such customers, you send a designated form encouraging them to make a purchase. Alternatively, SQL are customers who your sales team accepts as ready for direct follow-up. 

How it’s calculated:

MQL to SQL conversion rate = Number of SQLs / Number of MQLs

Why it matters: The MQL to SQL is an essential KPI because it indicates how well your marketing team qualifies, and screens leads for maintaining a high-quality pipeline. It determines the lead quality and measures the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies.

2. Bounce rate

What it is: The next KPI to track is the bounce rate, which measures how many people visit your website and then navigate away without looking at any other page. So, when someone from the search engine comes to your website and returns to the search results instead of clicking one of your links, it counts as a bounce.

How it’s calculated:

Bounce rate = Number of one-page visits / Number of total entrance visits

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Why it matters: A low bounce rate indicates that the right buyers are navigating your website and probably taking the desired action. 

3. Cost per acquisition (CPA)

What it is: Cost per acquisition, or CPA, is your business's total cost for acquiring a new customer. Every industry has its CPA, and you need to work out yours by tracking it over time.

Having a lower CAC is better.

How it’s calculated:

CPA = Total amount spent on acquiring customers / Total conversions

Why it matters:

It's a critical lead generation KPI because an upward trend indicates,

• Your marketing efforts are not targeting the right customers
• Your industry is becoming more competitive
• Your product isn't as compelling as your competitors

4. Lead value and lead quality

What it is: Another useful lead generation KPI is calculating the value and quality of leads you generate. It helps you predict how much revenue your incoming sales will bring so that you can make informed decisions regarding your lead generation strategies. On the other hand, the quality of lead reflects everything your sales and marketing teams are doing, from value proposition to product positioning.

How it’s calculated:

Lead value = Total sales value/ Total leads

Why it matters: With only 56% of companies tracking lead quality, regularly tracking this metric could be the difference between success and failure. When your marketing effort resonates with the right people, you score higher on your lead quality tracker.

5. Customer lifetime value (CLTV)

What it is: Another important lead generation KPI to track is the CLTV, which indicates the revenue a customer will generate throughout their relationship with your business.

How it’s calculated:

CLTV = Lead value x Average customer lifespan

Why it matters: Higher CLTV indicates a product-market fit, recurring revenue, and brand loyalty. It measures the financial impact of marketing campaigns and initiatives. Understanding the financial impact of your marketing efforts helps you ladder up bigger targets. Another reason why CLTV is essential is it helps you find a balance in terms of short-term and long-term marketing goals. 

6. Average revenue per customer (ARPC)

What it is: The average revenue per customer indicates the average revenue generated from each customer per year or month. For the SaaS industry, the ARPC becomes the average revenue per user (ARPU). This KPI gives information about general business health.

How it’s calculated:

APRC = Total revenue over a period of time / Number of active customers over the same period

Why it matters: A decreasing value may show a disconnect between your products and the customer’s requirements. So, to increase APRC, companies combine different products and use scalable pricing models.

7. Retention rate

What it is: Retention rate shows the number of clients who keep using your products or services over an extended period and make repeat purchases. 

How it’s calculated:

Retention rate = ((Number of customers at the end of a period – Number of new customers acquired during a period)/ Number of customers at the start of a period ) x 100

Why it matters: Companies prefer a high retention rate because it shows your business performs well. Happy customers will leave positive reviews and share them on social media. By monitoring your retention rate, you know how engaged your customers are. Companies can improve their retention rate by providing superior customer experience and product or packaging design.

Marketing KPIs for websites

Website KPIs identify the effectiveness of your website-related marketing initiatives. Most of these metrics indicate whether you are attracting traffic to your website. Tracking marketing KPIs for websites helps you reach your target audience and engage them on your website. Here are some website marketing KPIs to track:

8. Unique website visitors

What it is: A unique website visitor is when a visitor reaches your website and engages

with one or multiple pages during a specified period. 

Why it matters: You need to track unique website visitor metrics to get insights into the performance level of your content and website. It helps you decode the size of your target audience, how visitors engage with your website, and issues hindering the website’s performance. 

9. Average session duration

What it is: A session represents a set of activities a visitor performs on your website during a certain period. When visitors land on your website, they engage with a blog, click on related links, and even sign up for the newsletter. This entire user interaction is one session. 

How it’s calculated:

Average session duration =  Number of sessions in a specific time / Number of users during that same time

 Why it matters: Tracking average session duration helps marketers understand what’s working in their SEO, PPC, and marketing efforts and allows them to identify and analyze customer habits and behavior.

10. Pages per visit

What it is: Pages per visit show how many pages website visitors visit before ending their session. 

How it’s calculated: 

Pages per visit = Number of page views / Total number of visitors

Why it matters: Pages per visit show whether visitors visit only one page or browse around your website. As a marketer, tracking this metric helps you understand whether your website’s flow encourages visitors to visit multiple pages. A website following information architecture, easy-to-use navigation, and a noticeable call to action (CAT) generates more pages per visit.

11. Dwell time

What it is: Dwell time represents a visitor's time on your website before returning to the search engine result pages (SERPs). It measures how long visitors linger on your web pages, starting when they click on the search results and ending by navigating away from that page. 

How it’s calculated: There is no formula for calculating the dwell time because you receive this information from Google Analytics. 

Why it matters: It shows if your web pages capture visitors' attention and requirements. Search engines may use dwell time to determine your authority in a specific subject and rank your page accordingly.  

12. Page load time

What it is: Page load time is the average time it takes for a page to load or appear on the customer’s screen. The speed typically depends upon web page design, hosting server, amount of bandwidth in transit, and weight of elements on your webpage. 

Why it matters: According to research by Google, half a second increase in the page load speed from 0.4 to 0.9 seconds caused a massive drop of 20% in revenue and traffic. Tracking this metric ensures your website loads easily. As a result, they rank well in search engines and deliver a more positive user experience. 

According to Google’s core vital, the Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or below is a good page load time. 

Marketing KPIs for SEO

Marketing KPIs for SEO help marketers like you gauge the success and effectiveness of their search engine optimization endeavors. If you’re looking to up your marketing game, tracking these KPIs could be the game changer for your marketing and SEO strategies. 

13. Inbound links to a website

What it is: Backlinks are an important ingredient for a successful SEO. As a result, it’s a great idea to track the inbound links pointing back to your website.

Why it matters: Typically, the more inbound links your website has, the better the chances of your webpage scoring a higher ranking with the search engines. Receiving inbound links from high-ranking and reputable platforms increases your quality. 

14. Search visibility 

What it is: Accurate search visibility shows how often your domain is visible in search results for its ranking keywords. Generally, higher rankings lead to higher search visibility because 75% of people rarely go past the first page of Google’s search results.

Why it matters: Search visibility as a standalone metric may not give an accurate idea of your website’s search visibility. Instead, this metric is helpful when calculating the other SEO measurements, like organic click-through rate. 

15. Organic click-through rate

What it is: Organic CTR measures how many people click on your content in the search results. Though it’s based on ranking positions, the title tags, URLs, descriptions, and presence of rich snippets may influence your organic CTR. 

How it’s calculated: 

Click-through rate or CTR = Number of clicks / Number of impressions x 100

 Why it matters: The organic CTR shows how many people come from search engine visibility. If many people see your link but no one clicks. A higher organic CTR means fewer distracting SERP features and more classic and valuable links to shine through the top search results. 

16. Number of indexed pages

What it is: Google shows only indexed pages in the search results. So, when your pages are not indexed, appearing on the top searches of Google is challenging. 

How it’s calculated

Using various tools, you can calculate the number of indexed pages. For instance, here is the number of indexed pages of Forbes.

Why it matters: Website indexing helps Google find your website, add it to the index page, associate each page with searched topics, and return the site to the SERPs. This ultimately drives the right people to your content. 

17. Keyword ranking

What it is: Keyword ranking is another critical SEOmetric to track. This metric measures your keyword ranking to understand how effectively your SEO efforts drive organic traffic to your website. For instance, your web page or blog post may rank in the sixth position of the SERPs for a specific keyword. 

Why it matters: A higher ranking helps you achieve your organic search goals and what extra you require to improve your marketing and SEO performance. If your keyword ranking goes down dramatically, it means your website had a manual action, lost some links, the content failed to meet your customer’s expectations, or encountered a technical error. 

18. Domain authority 

What it is: Domain authority (DA) or domain rating (DR) is a search engine ranking score, which predicts the likelihood of a website ranking on the search engine results pages (SERPs). It even indicates the backlink quality and relevance of a specific website. Domain rating (DR) is a metric showing the relative strength of a website’s backlink profile. 

Why it matters: A higher DA indicates a higher chance of ranking in the SERPs, while a lower DA score indicates a lower ranking and possible traffic loss. Another reason for tracking DA is it shows your website’s credibility in the eyes of the search engines and helps you understand how you compare to your competitors.

Did you know 70% of SEO experts check their website’s DA every month, and 68% of marketers consider DA as a score to evaluate the backlink quality of your website? So, the greater your domain authority, the better the odds of your website outranking competitors on SERPs.

Here is the DA of Forbes:

Marketing KPIs for advertising 

Marketing KPIs for advertising measure how your paid ad campaign performs. These are metrics that help you quantify your progress toward meeting business objectives. Without measuring them, it's hard to know if your ad campaign has paid off. Choosing the right KPIs is just the start! So, we've curated a list of the most important KPIs and how they can help you optimize and maximize your revenue.

19. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

What it is: ROAS is one of the most important marketing KPIs as it shows whether your advertisement campaigns and marketing efforts are successful. It shows how much money you can earn by investing a certain amount in your marketing efforts. 

How it’s calculated:

ROAS = Revenue attributed to your ad campaign / Cost of the ad campaign

Why it matters: The higher your ROAS, the better will be your marketing performance. This KPI measures how much money you generate in revenue for the marketing budget you spend. A higher ROAS encourages marketers to invest in budgets and understands which types of creative copy resonate with customers. 

20. Cost per conversion and cost per action

What it is: Cost per conversion or CPC shows the average cost of your online advertisements. It refers to the total amount paid for adverts concerning the success of your ad campaigns. Whereas cost per action measures how much your company pays to attain a conversion, including a click, form completion, or newsletter signup. 

How it’s calculated:

Cost per conversion = Total cost of ad campaign / Number of conversions

Cost per action = Total cost of conversions / Total number of conversions

Why it matters: Cost per action is a great way to tell advertisers how to control advertising costs for specific marketing objectives. It provides data about advertisements which persuades customers to take action. Tracking cost per action ensures you’re investing in the most cost-effective channel. Alternatively, cost per conversion helps organizations gain more in converting visitors into customers. 

21. Conversion rate 

What it is: Conversion rate refers to the rate at which people interacting with your advertising follow through with a certain action. That action could be contacting your business or purchasing or any other action mentioned in your advertisement. 

How to calculate it: 

Conversion rate = (Total conversions /Total interactions) x 100

Why it matters: Tracking conversion rates allows you to measure the performance of your advertisements. You get a better return on investment (ROI) when the conversion rate increases. Also, a higher conversion rate means spending less on your marketing efforts while increasing your customer base.

22. Quality score

What it is: Quality score is the rating of each of your keywords ranging from one to 10. It shows the quality and relevance of your PPC ads and keywords. This metric helps you measure your ad rank. 

Why it matters: Quality scores influence the cost and effectiveness of your paid search campaigns. A higher quality score means your ad and landing pages are relevant and valuable for someone searching for those keywords. 

Your quality score affects your ads' performance and how much you pay for each click. Your quality score matters because it provides valuable insights such as:

• The ranking of your eligible ads
• The ads which are eligible to enter the ad auction
• The CPC, the advertiser, needs to pay

23. Frequency

What it is: This advertising KPI shows how many times a unique user sees your ad. For example, if your ad frequency is 2.8, the average user saw your ad between two to three times.

How it’s calculated: 

Ad frequency = Number of ad impressions / Number of ad reach

In this formula, ad reach measures the total number of users who have the potential to see your advertisements based on how many users are present during a particular session.

Why it matters: By focusing on your ad frequency, you emphasize the average number of times your audience is exposed to your ad increases. Brands with a niche audience usually target higher ad frequency. 

Marketing KPIs for social media

Marketing KPIs for social media track the success of your social media marketing campaigns. These metrics go beyond vanity metrics like followers, likes, or counts. You need to track key metrics to decode whether your efforts and money yield the desired results on social media platforms. Here are some marketing KPIs for social media:

24. Reach

What it is: Reach represents the number of unique accounts exposed to a social media post. It measures the number of unique users who saw your page, profile, or post. Reach might change depending on when your audience is online and how good your content is.

How it’s calculated:

Post reach % = (Total post reach/ Number of followers) x 100

Why it matters: Reach gives you an idea of what content or posts your social media audience finds interesting and valuable.  

25. Engagement rate

What it is: The engagement rate measures the number of likes, shares, and comments your

social media profile receives. When your audience is engaged and feels connected to your brand, your audience base is likely to grow organically and generate more leads. 

How it’s calculated:

Engagement rate = (Number of public interactions with a post / Number of account followers) x 100

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Number of public interactions with a post = Number of likes + Number of comments + Number of social shares

Why it matters: The engagement rate is what social media marketers like you use for measuring the success of your social media campaigns. The higher your engagement rate, the better it is for your business. 

26. Mentions

What it is: Social media mentions refer to the number of times someone tagged your company, posted in their comment, or used one of your branded hashtags. It helps you gauge the overall customer sentiment of your brand. 

How it’s calculated: Use free social mention search tools to monitor real-time mention on social media platforms. Tools like Social Searcher, HootSuite, and BrandMention help you monitor customers' opinions about your brand.

Why it matters: Mentions track your brand's overall sentiments as they typically comprise customer feedback or support requests. Tracking these mentions provide insights into how your content resonates with different audiences. In addition, these mentions make your brand more visible online. 

27. Conversion rate

What it is: Conversion rate represents the number of users who perform the activities outlined on your social media CTA compared to the total number of clicks on your post. 

How it's calculated:

Conversion rate = (Total number of conversions / Total clicks) x 100

Why it matters: A higher conversion rate shows that your social media post delivered something valuable to your audience, encouraging them to perform the desired action, such as purchasing or subscribing to a mailing list. 

28. Audience growth rate

What it is: Your audience growth rate shows how your followers count is changing over time. You can measure the pace at which you're building your social media profile using this metric.

How it's calculated:

Audience growth rate = (New net followers / Total audience) x 100

Why it matters: If your social media following is decreasing, it's worth looking into what's causing the change. Similarly, if you witness a sudden spike in your number of followers, investigating it can reveal what strategies and content resonate with your audience.

29. Cost per click (CPC)

What it is: When running social media ad campaigns, measuring your return on investment helps you decide whether to continue spending on your ad campaign. CPC measures the clicks on your sponsored social media posts.

How it's calculated:

Cost per click (CPC) = (Total money spend on ads / Total measures clicks) x 100

Why it matters: Measuring CPC helps you set daily budgets for a campaign. CPC determines your overall paid marketing budget. A lower value is desirable because paying by the number of clicks becomes very costly in the long run. 

30. Customer satisfaction score (CSat)

What it is: This metric measures how happy your followers are with your brand's services or products. Marketers typically collect this data by running polls on Facebook or Twitter, asking followers to rate their overall satisfaction with a specific product.

How it's calculated:

CSat Score = (Number of satisfied customers / Total number of respondents ) x 100

Why it matters: CSat score helps you measure customer sentiments because it provides a quantitative overview of customers' satisfaction with your products or services. It allows you to understand customers' pain points, improve their experience, and exceed customer expectations.

Other important marketing KPIs to track

Here are some other important marketing KPIs to track:

31. Marketing ROI

What it is: The return on investment (ROI) is the holy grail of all your marketing KPIs. ROI helps you answer the question, ‘Did the campaign or strategy generate more value than the amount the company invested in it.?’ The ROI assesses your monthly and annual performances. 

How to calculate it:

Marketing ROI = (Sales revenue – Marketing cost) / Marketing cost

Why it matters: Tracking ROI helps you plan strategies and create budgets for upcoming periods. Your ROI indicates whether you should continue your efforts or stop using a particular marketing or SEO strategy. 

32. Net promoter score (NPS)

What it is: The net promoter score or NPS measures customer satisfaction based on how likely your customers are to recommend your company, product, or services to their colleagues and friends. 

How to calculate it:

Net promoter score = Total % of promoters – Total % of detractors

It simply means, 

Net promoter score = The total % of people who recommends your brand – The total % of people who wouldn't recommend your brand

Why it matters: Your NPS is a good indicator of your future growth. Tracking NPS helps you identify how many customers will likely act as brand ambassadors. It helps you increase brand loyalty and improve your brand awareness.

Tracking marketing KPIs

These metrics aren’t something you should check once a week and forget about them. Focus on tracking each key performance indicator (KPI) monthly or half-yearly. 

Regularly tracking these metrics gives you the power to turn your marketing campaign in your favor. These metrics give you the data you need to do your job better, ultimately helping you build a marketing campaign that delivers results.

Marketing KPIs help you decide if you’re moving in the right direction or wasting your marketing budget on strategies that never deliver results.