In order to better optimize your services and lead generation marketing campaigns, you’ll need all sorts of data, including data on your new leads, or people showing interest in your product, services, or brand. How you analyze those leads, though, can impact how you view and adjust your current campaigns and services.

This analysis can mean the difference between high conversion rates and letting high-quality leads go to waste!

Lead Generation in the Online World

Lead generation, or lead gen, in traditional marketing means converting consumer interest into a sale. In other words, traditional lead generation tactics focus on leading potential customers through the sales funnel/along the buyer’s journey.

In digital marketing, effective lead generation collects user contact information (the lead) online. Simply put, digital lead generation strategies are more about collecting user information and data points. Online lead nurturing therefore often involves an effort to drive traffic to an optimized landing page with a compelling CTA, or call to action. This CTA will encourage the target audience to willingly submit contact information.

Website traffic can be obtained through either organic or paid. You gain organic traffic with effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, where you craft relevant content for a target demographic using a chosen keyword. You gain paid traffic through pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, such as paid social media marketing campaigns that place an attractive ad in front of a chosen demographic in the hopes of getting click-throughs to a landing page, which could generate leads.

How to Analyze Leads

There are two primary lenses with which you can analyze your leads: quantitative data and qualitative data. Both metrics are necessary to determine which leads could be potential customers (aka qualified leads).

Quantitative Data

Quantitative data is easily measurable, with hard facts and numbers. Types of quantitative data include:

• Number of website visitors (website traffic volume)
• How long someone spends on your landing page
• How many people engage with you (engagement rate) on social media platforms
• How many people bought your product or signed up for your service
• Number of job applications for an open position

Qualitative Data

Qualitative data is harder to define, as it is not backed by hard numbers the way quantitative data is. Types of qualitative data include:

• Surveys asking people for opinions on a service or product
• Online reviews about products or user experience (the text, not just the numerical “3 out of 5 stars”)

Why You Need Both Qualitative and Quantitative Data

The best approach is a well-rounded one; that’s why analyzing leads with both qualitative and quantitative data can give you a better perspective of your current lead generation efforts… and how successful those efforts may be.

For example, quantitative data (like website traffic and time spent on a page) can tell you if people are visiting your website and how long they are staying on the site. Analyzing these data points may reveal that lots of people are visiting your site, but they are not staying long at all. That means they are less likely to convert to successful leads.

So, these data points will tell you if there is a problem, but they will not tell you why the problem exists. Now you are unable to determine why someone is or is not interested in your website or why they are not staying long enough to convert.

That is where qualitative data can come in handy. Social media comments or online user reviews may reveal that the users are frustrated with their page experience: the website does not load fast enough, so they bounce. This information lets you know that you need to optimize site speed. Once you do that, you may then notice an increase in the amount of time users stay on your page, which in turn may generate more leads.

While it’s important to use tools that help you gather quantitative data, like Google Analytics and Google Search Console, it’s also important to make sure that you are gathering qualitative data points, too. You can do so by sending out surveys in email marketing campaigns and allowing comments on your company’s social media accounts (and responding to these comments, too).

Online Lead Gen Relies on Effective Data Analysis

Without quantitative data, you would have no idea if a problem exists in the first place. But without qualitative data, you would not understand what causes the problem in the first place… meaning you would not know how to address the problem effectively. With both types of data, however, you can better identify problems and their root causes (and solve them!) in an efficient manner.

With so many paid search data points to sift through, it can seem like a nightmare trying to make sense of all the numbers. Fortunately, knowing which metrics matter most can help you easily understand your PPC campaign’s success rate — and give you insight on where you can improve.

Which Paid Search Metrics Matter MOST?

Wondering what the heck a ROAS is? CTR? Impressions?

There are a lot of terms you need to know to discuss paid search. Fortunately, once you know what these terms mean, it’s easy enough to understand which ones you need to pay attention to in order to analyze your campaign’s success.

1. Clicks

Let’s call this one the no-brainer.

The goal of any paid campaign, clicks are a pretty basic metric, but one that can help you go a long way to understanding the rest of your paid search data. Clicks simply refer to the number of interactions with your ads. With each click, a visitor descends upon your site, and with it comes another opportunity for your business to grow.

Other metrics are based on clicks, such as cost-per-click (CPC), and so knowing how many clicks your campaign has generated can give you context around other metrics.

Generally speaking, assuming all of your campaign settings are buttoned up and you’re targeting the right audience, more clicks means your campaign is performing better.

The Verdict on Clicks: Let’s face it: clicks are the reason you created a paid search campaign in the first place. After all, they represent potentially valuable visitors to your site, and that’s a very good thing, so let’s all take a moment to celebrate clicks!

2. Impressions

Sometimes abbreviated as “Impr,” impressions refer to how many times your ad was displayed to your assigned audience. While clicks are a fairly straightforward metric, impressions can be a little tricky since what exactly qualifies as an impression varies by platform.

For example, Google defines an impression as each time your ad is shown — in some cases, even partially — on either a search results page or other site within the Google Network, such as YouTube or Gmail. This differs fundamentally from how Meta calculates the metric, which is defined on Facebook Ads as the number of times your ad is on screen for the first time to a user.

Impressions matter to your PPC campaign because a higher number of impressions signals that your ad is being seen by a large volume of eyeballs. Whether or not those eyeballs belong to your ideal audience is a topic for another blog post, but generally, more impressions is a good thing. If your campaign’s impression count is low, many factors could be at play, including geographical influences on your audience size, seasonal demand for your product or service, or lower bidding amounts in comparison with competition.

The Verdict on Impressions: Take the time to understand how your chosen ad platform calculates an impression. This will provide you with a reliable baseline from which to determine whether or not your campaign is providing the desired amount of visibility, as well as adequately uncover potential techniques for performance improvement.

3. Click-through-Rate (CTR)

This is the vanity metric, so to speak. If clicks are the reason for creating a paid ad campaign, CTR is the reason logging into your account once in a while to optimize for performance.

Clickthrough rate is only understood in tandem with clicks and impressions. Specifically, CTR refers to the ratio of how many people clicked on your ad compared to how many people saw the ad.

Mathematically, it looks like this: CTR = clicks/impressions.

What’s tricky about CTR is that, what’s deemed acceptable or above-average depends on what you sell and in what type of field or vertical you sell your product or service, as well as where you ad is showing and being engaged by an audience. For example, an ad in the legal space can expect to fetch an average clickthrough rate of approximately 2.93% on Google’s Search Network but only 0.59% on the search engine giant’s Display Network, which uses significantly less reliable targeting options. By comparison, in the real estate vertical, both of these averages rise to 3.71% and 1.08%, respectively.

What’s not muddled, however, is the inherent benefits of a healthy clickthrough rate. No matter the vertical, Google uses CTR to assess the overall perceived relevance and attractiveness of your campaign’s ads in relation to that of your competitors. The metric reveals to Google that there’s something inherently better about your ads — better body copy, stronger call to action, bolder headlines — that makes them more likely to be engaged by users, and this means more money in the Google coffers.

But before you curse Google for being self-serving, keep in mind that, the higher the CTR, the more likely you’ll be rewarded for your efforts. Using historical campaign data, if Google deems that your ad, theoretically, will produce a healthier CTR, you’ll be allowed to bid less money than what your competitors are bidding for the same placement in search results.

The Verdict on CTR: CTR is vital to understanding the health of your campaign, and it’s a key signal to Google of perceived effectiveness. Just be aware that there is no single “best” CTR across the board. Research what rates are standard from your industry to better understand how your own campaign is performing.

4. Cost-per-Click (CPC)

The whole premise of paid search campaigns is that you pay for your audience’s attention via clicks. CPC is straightforward: it’s how much you pay for each click on your ad.

Simple in both definition and application, a quick glance to your CPC at any moment will give you at least a semi-clear idea of what your campaign is up against in terms of competition, and the metric can also be leveraged to root out potential red flags.

The higher your average cost per click, the more likely it is that a considerable amount of fellow advertisers are competing for the same prize as you, but remember that it’s all relative. What we mean is, if you’re a pickleball instructor, your CPC may hover around $3-4 to reflect the level of competition in your local market, but that pales in comparison to the insurance broker a few blocks away, who may be hemorrhaging upwards of $150-175 for each click in what tends to be the most cutthroat vertical around in the paid ad space.

Other times, your cost-per-click could be sounding a different type of alarm. If Google senses a mismatch between the keywords you select for your campaign, the copy of your ads, and how relevant your website is in connection to the search being performed by a user, the average price you pay for each click will follow suit, meaning you’ll have to pay, in some cases, considerably more than your competitors for the same click.

The Verdict on CPC: CPC is a metric vital to paid campaign success, and it’s invaluable as a tool to not only size up your competition — but keep your own performance in check.

5. SEARCH IMPRESSION SHARE (SIS)

Everyone loves having as large of a slice of the pie as possible, amirite?

Search impression share is that pie, only instead of more succulent cherries, juicy peaches, or those disgusting pecan things, the reward of a larger slice is more impressions for your ads — which results in more click opportunities.

Formulaically, SIS represents the number of impressions being generated by your campaign divided by the total number of eligible impressions, and it’s calculated on a percentage scale of 0-100. Every advertiser’s goal should be a sparkling SIS of 100%, but this isn’t dream world; that would mean that a campaign is maxing out every single opportunity, which is rare, indeed.

Back on Earth, the average search impression share is usually 60-80%, give or take. This means that the remaining 20-40% of available impression opportunities is being lost somewhere, and Google breaks that down to two areas: ad rank and budget. In other words, if your campaign is not producing a perfect SIS, it’s because either or both of the following are happening:

• Your ads are not ranking high enough in the pecking order
• Your daily ads budget is being exhausted early in the day

In either case, your competitors are stealing impressions away from your campaign, so SIS needs to be amongst the many valves you peer at every chance you get to judge performance.

If your campaign is wallowing in the depths of a low share of impressions, simply throwing more dollars Google’s way, oddly enough, can do the trick. Full disclaimer, though, this is only recommended if your campaign is manufacturing favorable results.

With rank being the issue, take a hard look at the manner in which you are bidding on your individual keywords. The auction system upon which a platform like Google Ads is based is constantly adjusting to fluctuating supply and demand, and so your bid for a keyword today may not cut the mustard tomorrow.

Adjust your bids accordingly, starting with your most successful keywords first, and then go from there.

The Verdict on SIS: Not necessarily critical, search impression share still screams not to be ignored, if for no other reason that it can give you a crystal-clear idea of what you’re leaving on the table — and how to get more of that pie.

6. Conversion Rate

Conversion rate refers to how often your ad — wait for it — conversions, um, converts!

Ask yourself: how often do my ads contribute to form submissions, phone calls, web chats, ecommerce sales, and the like?

As is the case with CTR, conversion rate is an excellent indication that your ads, and the experience they provide, are resonating with users. But there’s more to it than that.

Ads alone cannot claim the credit behind a high conversion rate; they certainly play a role, but they need the website to pitch in to entice the visitor to commit to action on your website after the click on your ad has occurred.

Higher rates of conversion are typically indicative of an unmistakable cohesion between your ads campaign and website, the two working perfectly in harmony to achieve the desired effect. Meanwhile, a lower rate of conversion is a complete mixed bag, where any combo of factors could be at fault, from poor keyword selection and incorrect audience targeting to bland ad copy and unclear website messaging.

The Verdict on CR: High rates of conversion typically equal happy advertisers and populated sales funnels. Low rates could take some time to dissect and/or require the help from seasoned professionals [wink, wink].

7. Cost-per-Conversion

So, that conversion rate of yours is high, but what are you shelling out for each of those golden leads?

Whatever the answer, it’s best to wrap it in some context to determine if that number is acceptable or not.

For example, let’s assume you sell bottles of water at $5 a pop, and you spend $1,000 in click cost to get 100 sales. Your cost-per-conversion is $10, which in the grand scheme of things seems ideal, but ultimately, you spent twice ($1,000) as much as you made ($500). In your case, that average conversion cost is crap. Why bother advertising to lose cash?

However, if you are selling $30 shirts, that same average cost of a conversion now means you are generating $20 in revenue with each sale.

The lower your cost-per-conversion, the greater your return-on-investment (ROI).

The Verdict on Cost-Per-Conversion: The lower this metric, the better! Don’t look at conversions for the sake of celebrating conversions within your campaign; make sure the numbers add up to financial sense for your business.

8. Return-on-Investment (ROI) and Return-on-Ad-Spend (ROAS)

At the end of the day, your business needs to make money to stay afloat. And while it takes money to make money, you need to be making more money than you are spending on ads. That’s where ROI and ROAS enter the conversation.

These metrics help you determine the profitability of your campaign. While similar, ROI and ROAS are not quite the same.

In paid search, ROI is typically calculated using the following formula: net income/cost of investment x 100. ROAS, by comparison, divides the revenue attributed to a specific paid ads campaign by the costs of that campaign.

At the end of the day, these two numbers, in particular ROAS, are where your campaigns sink or swim. All other metrics can appear rosy, but if the bottom line is being negatively impacted, it’s time to make some campaign changes or get out entirely.

The Verdict on ROI & ROAS: This is the stuff the decision-makers want to see. As such, any discussion surrounding campaign viability begins and ends here.

How Do You Measure The Success Of A Paid Search Campaign?

The answer to this question varies widely depending on your goals, and it’s not always an easy one to decipher. What do you ultimately want to happen after you launch your campaign?

Ask yourself:

• Is the primary goal to increase revenue and generate profit — or something slightly less tangible, like brand awareness?
• How will success be measured? Sales? Phone calls, forms, or something else?
• What is the true value of a conversion?
• How many conversions, or ROAS figures, must be produced to assure campaign feasibility?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. However, the answers to these questions will help you better understand if your campaign is a success or not.

Final Thoughts

Once you know which paid search metrics pertain most to your unique situation, you can more easily decipher whether or not your campaign efforts are sustainable.

If your campaigns aren’t hitting their goals and you aren’t sure why, that’s where we can help. With years of experience running successful paid search campaigns, we know exactly where to identify problems areas in a campaign and how to improve them. If you want a second opinion on your campaigns, contact Digital Strike today to get expert feedback on your paid search strategy.

Where do you even begin looking for that perfect fit? Do you even know the specific marketing services you might need? How do you know which agencies are worth it? Do you ask friends? Do you search Google? Do you fly to Rome, throw a coin into the Trevi fountain, and wish for the answer? (Yes, we highly recommend all the above).

But if you want to find a simple answer from the comfort of your desk, keep reading.

First things first, we are biased. We know our team is great, but you can find great people in agencies across Saint Louis, Missouri and the entire country. We know our team is smart, but you can find smart people in agencies across the country, too. While we’d love to partner with every amazing company we come across, it’s just not possible.

A lot of inbound marketing agencies are recent start-ups, or unproven – so you’ll want to do your due diligence in selecting one. There are also the large, national marketing firms that may handle huge franchise businesses, and don’t have the time for anything smaller than that.

Whether you’re happy with your current marketing agency, haven’t worked with one, or anywhere in between, these are the characteristics that separate the exceptional agencies from the rest.

Transparency

In any relationship, not knowing what the other person is up to can make you feel a bit uneasy. The same is true of your relationship with your marketing agency. There should be clear communication about expectations, goals, problems, and every aspect of their work.

A great partner will also be honest with you and tell you what the best strategy is for your business, even if that’s not something that’s in their wheelhouse. Need a video produced for a commercial? A great digital agency will give introduce you to the best video production team they know, even if it’s out-of-house.

If you’re hesitant to discuss something with your agency partner, that’s a red flag.

Generally, there are many marketing solutions that should be able to get you to where you want to be, but you want to start with the simplest, easiest solutions first and then go from there.

Effective Budgeting

When it comes to digital marketing, prices are flexible, so be wary of strict contracts and how much any agency “takes off the top.” You should definitely receive budget estimates and a list of services provided, but after you sign off on expenditures, your agency should continue to clearly communicate how much they’re spending and why.

Marketing campaigns can be complicated, but your advertising agency should be able to break things down in a way that makes sense to you. If they aren’t able to explain their marketing plans clearly to you, then you may have a problem. Whether you are focused on lead generation, customer retention or just overall visibility – your marketing company should be able to help you find a solution.

Your marketing agency is an extension of your business, so they should be as concerned with spending your budget efficiently as you are.

Credibility and Experience

All agencies can talk the talk, but only the ones worth your time can walk the walk. Your agency should have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all aspects of marketing. Additionally, your agency should have experience to back their knowledge up. If an agency has direct experience in your industry, great! If not, don’t be alarmed. Instead, ask how they would approach the new subject matter and judge accordingly.

Your marketing company should always develop a specific, unique marketing strategy that fits your business’ personal needs. Don’t look for a “one-size-fits-all” approach! At Digital Strike, each of our clients has their own, specially-designed digital strategy, which we use to achieve the specific results YOU care about.

In fact, the best agencies don’t necessarily specialize in one industry, but rather adapt and challenge traditional industry approaches. They take lessons from each client and apply that knowledge to future strategies.

That’s the kind of experience you want from a partner.

Another thing to consider are references and portfolios. Does your marketing agency have a few website designs that they can show you? Can you log on to these sites and check out the user experience? If this was your business website, would you be able to impress potential customers?

Are they able to prove that they’ve provided ROI boosts for previous clients? Be sure to ask as many questions you can to make sure your agency is legit.

Drive

The best digital marketing agencies are run by teams of smart people that love marketing, technology, and learning. Not only will they want to learn cutting-edge technology that can help your business, but they’ll also want to learn about your business’s unique challenges and industry practices.

You should feel confident that your business is in the hands of a savvy team that values your business as an in-house employee would.

If you already have a healthy relationship with your marketing agency, we guarantee you know it already. An agency partner should make your life easier, make marketing fun, and increase your business leads. Great agencies are full of unapologetic marketing nerds who are ready to tackle SEO (search engine optimization), PPC, web design/web development, content marketing, graphic design, social media marketing, and anything else you can think of.

As a small business, marketing is vital to success, and your agency partner should be a seamless fit. Any worthwhile relationship takes time, experiences trials, and involves a lot of personal growth. Building a healthy relationship with the right digital agency will take time, but we promise, it will be life-changing.

Want to see what it’s like to work with a great agency for yourself? Contact us today and learn why Digital Strike might be exactly what you’re looking for.