Choosing the right marketing analytics to track in 2025

In today’s digital world, marketing without focussing on analytics is like driving blindfolded - you might be moving, but you have no idea if you’re headed in the right direction.

The right metrics don’t just measure success; they tell you when to pivot, double down, or cut your losses ✂️

But here’s the catch…not all metrics matter equally. The ones that fuel growth for an enterprise SaaS company won’t necessarily be the same ones that drive success for a small eCommerce brand.

So, let’s break down how to choose the right metrics for your business and avoid getting caught up in the vanity trap 🚀

Why metrics make or break your marketing

Data is the secret weapon of every high-performing marketer ✅

It’s what separates the strategic power players from the “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” crowd.

Metrics tell you what’s working, highlight inefficiencies, and, when used correctly, guide you toward smarter, more profitable decisions 💵

But just because a metric exists doesn’t mean it’s worth your attention. The key is to track data that truly impacts your bottom line rather than numbers that just look good on a report (also referred to as vanity metrics).

One size definitely does not fit all: Metrics for every business type

Not every business will need to obsess over the same set of analytics, fact.

A startup trying to carve out its own niche will focus on different numbers than a well-established global brand - choosing the right metrics depends on your industry, business size, and ultimately, your individual marketing and business goals.

For small businesses & startups, every single hard earned marketing dollar counts, which makes CAC (customer acquisition cost) and ROAS (return on ad spend) non-negotiable metrics to follow closely - if you’re spending more to acquire a customer than they’re ultimately worth to your business, you’ve definitely got a problem.

Conversion rate is another major player, helping you fine-tune your website, landing pages, and ad creatives to maximize sales without increasing ad spend - By analyzing conversion data, you can clearly see what’s working and what’s not.

For eCommerce brands, it's all about the three amigos: cart abandonment rate, AOV (average order value), and repeat purchase rate. It’s not just about luring in visitors, it’s about getting them to seal the deal and, even better, come back for round two (and three!).

Enterprise businesses, on the other hand, often take a more long-term sales approach, where multiple touch points occur, prioritizing LTV (customer lifetime value) and churn rate.

These metrics help them assess how valuable their customers are over time and whether they’re keeping them engaged or losing them to competitors. Large brands also lean into multi-touch attribution models to understand which marketing efforts are truly driving conversions.

If you’re not familiar with multi-touch attribution models, lets break it down 👇

Think of it like giving credit in a group project - everyone played their part, so instead of thanking the last person who gave the project in (the ‘last-click attribution’), you recognize everyone who contributed.

In marketing, this means tracking all touchpoints (ads across multiple platforms, social media, emails etc) that helped that specific customer convert. This helps you see exactly which of your channels are pulling their weight the most, allowing you to double down on success.

The vanity metric trap: What not to obsess over

Let’s get real for a minute 👂

Some metrics might make your reports look impressive, but in reality, they do little to move the needle. These are called vanity metrics, and they can quickly and easily distract you from what actually matters.

Take ad impressions and reach, for example.

Sure, it’s a great feeling to know your content is being seen (because let's not forget why we’re posting ads), but if those eyeballs aren’t converting into clicks, leads, or sales, does it really matter? 🤷

The same goes for social media followers - a big audience means nothing if they’re not actively engaging with your brand or, more importantly, buying from you 🫵

Another common culprit that can lure you into the vanity metric pit? Marketing email open rates 📧

Lets face it, just because someone opened your email, it doesn’t mean they actually read it, let alone took any of the desired action you were hoping for. Click-through rates and actual conversions are a far more telling way to measure email marketing success ✅

Similarly, bounce rates can also be pretty confusing.

Sure, a high bounce rate on a landing page could indicate a problem, but a high bounce rate on a blog post might simply mean readers found the information they needed and left.

Context is key! 🔑

Making metrics work together

The real magic happens when you pull together and analyze metrics in combination, rather than in isolation - you can’t necessarily paint a detailed masterpiece with just one color.

Take ROAS for example, without considering CAC (customer acquisition cost) you could well end up with an inflated sense of success - you might well be making $5 for every $1 spent on ads, but if the cost to actually acquire the customer was sky-high, ultimately, your profitability is going to take the biggest hit.

Pairing conversion rate data with engagement metrics will help you to uncover gaps in your customers journey. If you notice people are interacting with your ad but not converting, something is definitely off - perhaps your offer isn’t compelling enough, or there’s a technical issue in your checkout process preventing a customer from making that sale and converting (you could even add in cart abandonment data here to get a more detailed picture).

Let’s not forget about LTV (life time value) and churn rate. If your customer churn is high, it means you’re losing customers just as fast as you’re acquiring them, making growth an uphill battle that can leave you feeling frustrated.

Identifying patterns in why your customers leave allows you to refine your retention strategy and boost long-term revenue 📈

If this is a challenge you're facing, consider adding cancellation feedback to understand their reasons, offering discounts to encourage them to stay, or introducing loyalty programs that reward repeat business and keep customers engaged for the long haul 🛍️

Tools to help you supercharge your analytics game

Great marketers don’t just track data, they leverage it to optimize and scale 🚀

The right tools can help you collect, interpret, and act on key metrics more efficiently - a win, win…win!

• Google Analytics: The best-in-class for website traffic insights, behavior flow, and conversion tracking.
• HubSpot: An absolute powerhouse for inbound marketing, lead tracking, and CRM integration.
• SEMrush: This one’s ideal for SEO performance, keyword research, and competitive analysis. It comes at a cost, but for businesses willing to pay, you’ll earn your money back, and then some.
• Hotjar: If you're looking to track user behavior on your website or landing page, or maybe even see heatmaps showing the hottest and most engaged sections (think a big red-ish mass highlighting the most active areas of your pages), this tool could be right up your street.
• Facebook Ads Manager & Google Ads: A no brainer and an essential for tracking your ROAS, ad engagement rates, and great for optimizing your paid ad campaigns.

A helpful glossary of metrics

We’ve thrown a lot of names into this article, so we’ve listed them in this helpful glossary as a good reference point to come back to:

• CAC (customer acquisition cost): This is the total cost to acquire a new customer - we’re talking marketing, sales and advertising costs. A lower CAC means more efficient customer acquisition.
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• ROI (return on investment): The ultimate "did we just make money?" metric! ROI tells you if your marketing is worth the investment. The higher the number, the more you're cashing in 👌
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• ROAS (return on ad spend): This is how much revenue you're generating for every dollar you spend on ads. Your ROAS tells you if your ads are working their magic, you need to make some changes or you’re wasting cash and it's time to call it quits on that ad campaign.
  
  
• Conversion rate: The percentage of people who take the action you want - whether that's making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or clicking through an email link. A higher conversion rate means you're crushing it 💪
  
  
• Lifetime value: This is how much each customer is worth to you over their entire relationship with your brand. LTV is a bit like playing the long game, trying to predict how much each customer will spend with you over time.
   
• Churn rate: The percentage of customers who walk away from your product or service over time. Churn is the opposite of loyalty, so you’ll want to keep an eye on this to see if you’re losing more than you're gaining 👀
  
  
• Impressions: This one's all about ad visibility - how many times your ad, social post or email showed up on someone’s screen. Impressions are a great nice to have, but they don’t guarantee real engagement, or sales.
   
• Engagement rate: This metric measures how much people actually interact with your content. We’re talking likes, shares and comments - you name it!
  The more engaged your audience is, the better your content resonates 👍
  
  
• CTR (click through rate): This one’s all about driving action! How many people click on your ad, link or email CTA out of all of those that saw it. The higher your CTR, the better your ad/content is doing at grabbing attention.
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• AOV (average order value): How much customers spend on average every time they make a purchase. Increasing your AOV with upsells (and cross-sells) can bring in more revenue without needing more traffic, or additional ad spend 🛒
  
  
• Cart abandonment rate: If you’re in eCommerce, this is one you need to focus on. It’s the percentage of customers who put items in their cart (signalling buying intent) but bailed before actually checking out. A high abandonment rate might signal its time to smooth out your checkout process or a need to offer a ‘can’t ignore’ incentive.
  
  
• Bounce rate: This metric gives you the percentage of visitors who land on your page and leave without interacting. A high bounce rate could signal that visitors aren’t finding what they need, but context is always key here 🚪
  
  
• Lead conversion rate: The percentage of leads that end up as paying customers. This is your ‘lead generation success rate’. If your number is high, your sales funnel is looking in good shape!
  
  
• Multi-touch attribution: A fancy (albeit complex) way to measure the impact of every single touchpoint in your customer’s journey. This method helps you understand how all your marketing channels work together to close the deal 🤔
  
  
• NRR (net revenue retention): This one’s all about how much money you’re making from existing customers when factoring in upgrades, downgrades and churn. NRR is key to knowing if your customer base is really growing, or shrinking. 
  
  
• Referral traffic: When visitors come to your site from external sources like blogs, social media posts, or even those paid influencer promos you’ve got going on, it counts as referral traffic. Be sure to have UTM tracking set up to measure the effectiveness of your off-site promotions 🎯
  
  
• CSAT (customer satisfaction score): Your customer happiness level matters, right? CSAT is often measured through a quick survey and is a great way to know how much your customers really love you. This one’s a simple go-to.

The takeaway

Choosing the right marketing analytics isn’t just about tracking more metrics, it’s about tracking the right ones...the ones that matter most to your business 💪

Focus on the numbers that directly impact your revenue and business growth, and don’t get caught up in the vanity metric hype - it’s noise you don’t need.

Whether you’re a startup trying to stretch your ad spend as far as possible or an enterprise brand refining a multi-touch strategy, aligning your metrics with your goals is the key to marketing success in 2025 🚀