Do you know how to measure the success of your business?
Much of this achievement depends on a good choice of Marketing KPIs. It is through this that you can monitor your business strategies and measure whether your company is on the right track or whether new strategies need to be developed to boost results.
So, if you are interested and want to understand more about KPIs, continue reading and discover the importance of this indicator. Check it out!
What are marketing KPIs?
KPIs, in English Key Performance Indicators, are the so-called Key Performance Indicators analyzed by a company, that is, the fundamental quantitative values that measure the internal processes of a business.
Therefore, indicators are an important part of any organization's management strategies, as they enable monitoring and better management of the level of performance and success of each plan.
Furthermore, with KPIs, each company can understand how each of its numbers is doing and set possible and achievable goals. It is important to emphasize that metrics must be separated by levels: the most general and strategic ones for the business as a whole, and the most specific ones, which are focused on a specific area.
Below are some examples of marketing KPIs to simplify how this separation of levels is done.
General metrics
- Churn rate;
- MRR (Recurring Monthly Revenue);
- Cash flow.
Specific metrics
- Cost per lead;
- Conversion rates.
How important are digital marketing KPIs?
As previously mentioned, the use of marketing KPIs is essential for the management and performance of this strategic area of the company. After all, these tools do not allow for guesswork, as all decision-making is based on concrete data.
By implementing these metrics, the company has an easier time identifying what needs to be improved and making the necessary adjustments as soon as possible for the success of its business.
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Types of KPIs that can be used by digital marketing companies
Before citing some practical examples of marketing indicators, it is important to say that with so many analysis possibilities, each organization needs to keep in mind which types of KPIs are essential for its success.
Some of the main categories are:
- Productivity indicators: they are tools applied in company management with the objective of evaluating the performance and efficiency of business processes, that is, they act to measure the amount of resources that an organization uses to generate a product or service;
- Quality indicators: they go hand in hand with productivity indicators, as they help in the analysis of any unforeseen events or errors that occur throughout a process;
- Capacity indicators: are aimed at demonstrating how competitive the company is. It is through a process of the relationship between the outputs produced per unit of time;
- Strategic indicators: are characterized by being indicators that provide information on how the business is doing in relation to previously defined goals. In addition, they provide a comparison between the current and expected scenario.
Main Marketing KPIs

It is extremely important for a company to know which metrics really matter for its product or service, so that it will be possible to measure strategies.
Check out some of the main examples of digital marketing KPIs used in organizations below:
Cost per lead
Cost per Lead (CPL) is one of the most important indicators within a digital marketing plan. With it, it is possible to calculate how much it costs the company to capture each new lead, a potential customer who shows interest in your business.
In fact, this indicator should be used as a thermometer for all campaigns and strategies developed in the brand's marketing.
Furthermore, the focus of this KPI is the top of the sales funnel. Therefore, the basic calculation should be done by dividing the total marketing investment by the total number of new leads.
Click through rate
The click-through rate is an indicator designed to show how many people clicked on links that your company suggested, whether in ads, blogs, sponsored links, emails or posts on social media, that is, a way of measuring the public's engagement with marketing strategies.
The click-through rate is calculated as follows:
CTR = (Clicks / Views) x 100
Cost per click
Cost per click (CPC) is characterized by measuring the performance of a business's sponsored posts and links. In fact, its calculation is quite simple. Just divide the total invested in sponsored links by the total number of clicks received.
Conversion rate
In this case, the conversion rate is a performance indicator that measures how many visitors performed a desired action, such as downloading a rich material or subscribing to a newsletter.
Having a high conversion rate indicates that a company's marketing strategies are being effective.
Return on investment
Return on Investment (ROI) is used to quantify the performance of a brand's marketing strategies from a financial perspective. It can be calculated based on the relationship between the total amount invested in marketing and the return obtained from that investment.
Remember that for no company to be at a loss, it is essential that the result is always greater than 1.
Cost of Customer Acquisition
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) indicates how much a company is investing to acquire each customer. This KPI also helps identify how much profit the business is actually making with each new sale or service provided.
Furthermore, the CAC calculation is done as follows:
CAC = sum of investments / number of customers acquired
That said, this KPI helps to verify whether what is being spent is actually compatible with what is being received with new sales or service provision.
Return on Advertising Investment
Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS) is a key metric for measuring the profit generated from advertising campaigns.
This KPI provides important guidance on the results of these campaigns, showing where your business is losing money and where it is worth investing more. In digital marketing, we use all the investment made in paid media, such as Google ADS and Meta ADS, to calculate this KPI.
Therefore, a low ROAS requires the company to analyze the effectiveness of its ads. A high ROAS indicates good opportunities to invest and generate more business.
The formula for calculating ROAS is very simple, as you can see below:
ROAS = Revenue attributable to ads / Cost of ads) x 100
Finally, it is worth highlighting that this KPI is a complementary metric and that others should also be analyzed together, to ensure a broader view that guarantees the best results and less expenses.
Difference between KPIs and metrics
Finally, to help clear up many users' doubts, it is important to contextualize that there is indeed a difference between KPIs and metrics. However, a metric can become a key performance indicator.
- KPIs: These are essential criteria for the company's objective and progress;
- Metrics: It's just something to be quantified.
Therefore, if this metric becomes an important point in the marketing strategy as a whole, it ends up becoming a KPI.
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GS2 Digital Marketing
We are experts in helping our clients understand the importance of Marketing KPIs and its main metrics, in addition to helping them generate leads and nurture a good relationship with the customer until the moment of purchase.
Our success strategy is based on the design of your company's purchasing journey. We gather data and analyze our successful clients from different segments to come up with a methodology that will increase your sales.
Want to know more about how GS2 Marketing Digital can help you structure your marketing strategies?
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