If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It
Too many business owners invest in marketing without knowing what’s actually working. They see traffic numbers and social media likes but can’t connect those to revenue. Here’s how to fix that.
Set Up Proper Tracking
Google Analytics 4
GA4 is free and essential. Set up conversion events for form submissions, phone calls, purchases, and any other action that indicates a lead or sale. Without this, you’re flying blind.
Call Tracking
If phone calls are important to your business, use call tracking (CallRail, etc.) to attribute calls to specific marketing channels. Otherwise, you have no idea which campaigns drive phone leads.
UTM Parameters
Add UTM tags to every link in every campaign. This lets you see exactly which email, social post, or ad drove each website visit and conversion.
Key Metrics That Matter
- Cost per lead — Total marketing spend divided by number of leads
- Cost per acquisition — Total spend divided by number of new customers
- Customer lifetime value — Total revenue from a customer over the relationship
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) — Revenue generated per dollar spent on ads
- Organic traffic growth — Month-over-month organic search traffic
Monthly Reporting Cadence
Review marketing performance monthly at minimum. Compare to goals, identify what’s working, and shift budget toward highest-ROI activities. A good marketing partner provides this reporting automatically.
