Essential Digital Marketing KPIs for Ecommerce Success
Blog
Aug 14 2024
Ecommerce has boomed over the past few years, growing rapidly and changing how we prefer and expect to buy products. According to eMarketer, online shopping continues to grow in 2024, with 243.5 million adults expected to shop online, up from 240.8 million last year. Impressively, 91% of them—or over 222 million people—are predicted to make a purchase. Adtaxi’s 2024 Ecommerce Survey and Study further highlight changing consumer behavior and online shopping preferences, shedding light on what today’s consumers want from their ecommerce experiences.
This much potential for online retail means businesses need to have a solid understanding of their key performance indicators (KPIs) and make sure their digital marketing strategy reflects them.
A Brief Overview of Digital Marketing KPIs
KPIs are a way you can measure a specific performance action in digital marketing. This quantifiable measurement shows you if the strategies you’re using are helping you get closer to your goals. Since strategy is one of the key tools in digital marketing, it’s important to use KPI data to inform your strategy.
Top KPIs To Know in Ecommerce
KPIs are important because they show how successful a particular marketing effort is. Common KPI examples include your:
Online Conversion Rate: This measures how many people complete their journey on your site by finishing the action you hoped they would (i.e., signing up for marketing emails, buying the item, or filling out the survey).
Click-Through Rate (CTR): This is the percentage of clicks you get on your ad versus the number of times someone saw it. (So, if 100 people saw the ad and 25 of them clicked on it, then you’ve got a 25% CTR).
Cost per Lead: This is how much you pay for each new business lead you get from these marketing efforts. Remember, this can’t be a current customer. It must be a new or prospective lead. If your number is low, then it means your business is doing well.
Brand Awareness: This KPI measures how well your company performs on social media sites or other website marketing efforts. More people who see your brand start to know your brand.
Return on Marketing Investment (ROI): This measures how efficient a certain investment is versus how much you spend on the investment. Basically, did you get enough profit from that investment to make it worthwhile?
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): This is a retention measurement. It looks at how much you can expect to generate from one customer versus another over the entire time the customer continues their relationship with your business. For example, when shoppers pass a certain purchasing threshold at the retailer LOFT, they enter another level of rewards that ideally will persuade them to make further purchases and extend the relationship they enjoy with the company.
Best Practices for Digital Marketing KPIs
While there are a lot of steps you can take to improve your KPIs, you’ll find the best results if you focus on specific problem areas or weak points. Here are a few ideas to get you there:
-Bring someone in to perform a brand lift study so you know what kind of brand awareness issue you’re dealing with. A study can help you find weak points in your strategy and fine-tune where and how you spend your money for brand awareness.
-Do an audit of your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to see where you can improve. Long-tail keywords are one way to bring in more customers who are most likely to complete their shopping journey, upping your online conversion rate.
-Look into partnering with Amazon to link a customer’s Buy with Prime account to checking out with your product in their cart. When you make things convenient in business, you’re more likely to retain your customers and close the sale.
-Make sure you’re using social media consistently and that you’re on the right social platforms. If you think your content needs a facelift, you should canvas your followers and ask for their feedback.
-You can impact your ROI if you create customer personas. The goal, according to usability.gov, is to represent your customers realistically and know what they want. Working with a usability expert, you can create 3–5 customers from your main demographic and take a deeper dive into their behaviors, wants, and needs.
Ecommerce has grown significantly in recent years, transforming how we shop and what we expect from the buying experience. People of all ages are increasingly making online shopping their go-to retail experience. This trend means it’s important for your brand to understand its KPIs and ensure your digital marketing strategy aligns with them. By keeping your digital marketing plan strategic, you can succeed in ecommerce and remain competitive in today’s digital world.
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