At the front of every epic rock band is a rebel, leader, and star. Some tear their hair out and swing from the rafters to win the love of the crowd. Others enchant and delight their fans with soft melodies until just the right moment, when they break into that face-melting guitar solo. Whether loud, soft, insane, or methodical, one thing is true of all rock stars; when they take the stage, everything just works.
In the same way rock stars can represent the best of their genres, key online advertising metrics represent the best of our marketing. And unless you’re dominating the owned media game, you’ll need an online ad strategy for getting in front of customers.
In this post, we are going to explore 6 essential online advertising metrics, their definitions, and their rock star counterparts. Why? Because when your key performance indicators are on fire, the crowd will go nuts.
1. Impressions: The Paul McCartney of Metrics
Impressions Defined:
Simply put, a single impression represents a single person viewing your ad, website, or campaign. Your total impressions represent all of the people – and all of the times those people – have viewed your ad or campaign. In online advertising, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is a fairly common bidding system which advertisers will use to purchase ad units. Purchasing impressions in your online advertising guarantees that your ad will get served to the exact number of impressions you pay for.
So why Paul McCartney? Going back to the Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney has had a magical and broad appeal. More than other rock stars, his music commands a respect and amazing ability to connect with seemingly everyone on Earth. Unbelievably, more than 2,200 artists have covered his song, “Yesterday.” If impressions were a rock star, it would be McCartney.
2. Clicks: The David Bowie of Metrics
Clicks Defined:
Clicks represent the customers who saw your ads, and for one reason or another, clicked on them. Many advertisers focus on clicks as a continued indication of customer interest and success. Another important consideration is the ratio between your impressions and clicks. If you are getting impressions, but no one is clicking, it might be time to re-engineer which channels you are targeting, and what creative assets you are using to reach your target audience. In pricing terms, cost-per-click (CPC) is an advertising model that requires marketers to pay when someone clicks on an ad. It’s slightly more expensive than CPM, but often more targeted.
Why David Bowie? Bowie was intriguing and entertaining, both of which are key to getting clicks in marketing. He combined experimental sounds and striking visuals that always left audiences hungry for more. It’s true that not everyone loves Bowie, but everyone sure as heck wanted to know what he was up to.
3. Leads: The Mick Jagger of Metrics
Leads Defined:
A lead is a potential customer that demonstrates interest in your business by filling out a form on your website, or by sharing contact information with your business in another fashion (e.g., at an event). Leads can be broken down into two broad categories: sales leads and marketing leads. Depending on size and nature of your business, leads may be automatically funneled into a marketing automation platform (like Marketo), or passed on to a sales professional who will reach out directly to that lead to nurture a deeper relationship.
Arguably the most influential front man in rock history, Mick Jagger has had an impact on nearly every rock singer that followed. With a cool but commanding demeanor, and an instantly recognizable voice, Mick is a guy everyone wants to hang out with. And in online advertising, new leads represent people who want to hang out with your brand. Be like Mick Jagger, and go get those leads.
4. Conversions: The Freddie Mercury of Metrics
Conversions Defined:
A conversion happens when one of your leads purchases your product, platform, or service. Conversions are at the bottom of the marketing funnel, and represent all of the online visitors driven by your advertising who convert into paying customers. Conversions are most often tracked via Google Analytics, or another customer relationship management (CRM) system. A key component of the conversions game is tracking each action your customer took prior to making a purchase. Knowing the path to conversion means you can replicate that success, at least in theory.
Freddie Mercury had a voice like no one before, or since. Like a highly creative ad campaign that drives customers into marketers’ arms, Freddie Mercury could sing a handful of notes and drive album sales sky high. If conversions were a rock star, they’d be Freddie Mercury.
5. Cost Per Lead (CPL) – The Prince of Metrics
CPL Defined:
When advertisers bid to post ads on the web, there are several models for payment. Cost per lead (CPL) describes a pricing model in which advertisers only pay when a lead signs up, or shares contact information with a brand. CPL allows advertisers to most accurately project their guaranteed returns for the amount of money spent on ads.
Prince was arguably the most elusive and mysterious rock star in history. But one thing was certain, when Prince was in the building, you were guaranteed to get the best show of your life. Prince is our CPL rock star largely because he promised just that; serious bang for your buck.
6. Return-on-investment (ROI): The Jimi Hendrix of Metrics
Return on investment (ROI) is the profit your online advertising drives, compared to the amount of money you spent on that advertising. Having a high ROI in your marketing means you’re making a good investment. ROI is often tracked quarter over quarter, or year over year by executive staff and marketing decision makers. The simplest means of calculating your ROI is to subtract the cost of your advertising investment (budget) from the amount of product or service purchased by the customers driven by your initial investment.
Jimi Hendrix was arguably the most influential man to ever pick up a guitar. With a mainstream spotlight that spanned just 4 years, the return and impact of his short career has been immense. Nearly everyone that has played guitar since Jimi Hendrix has also dreamed of playing like Jimi Hendrix. Jimi represents the ultimate ROI in rock history. With just a few notes, he changed rock forever.
Whether you are dabbling in various advertising methods for your small business, or scaling a new software to the cloud, understanding your key performance indicators and online advertising metrics will be key to your success or failure. And marketing that rocks is essential, if you want your key metrics headed in the right direction.
Download our Amplify eBook now and start turning up the volume on your content marketing.
Related articles