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The Advertising Metrics That Matter
- Amani Henry
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
We all want to measure success, but not every stat tells the full story. In advertising, it’s time to cut the clutter and focus on the numbers that actually reflect impact, not just noise.
📈 Metrics That Truly Matter
Let’s get to the good stuff: the numbers that tell you whether your campaign really hit the mark.
Engagement Rate
Definition: The percentage of users who interact with your ad (likes, comments, shares, saves, etc.) compared to the total who saw it.
Why It Matters: Engagement shows how well your creative resonates with your audience. High engagement often signals strong relevance, emotional connection, or curiosity, and can lead to organic reach via algorithms.
Conversion Rate
Definition: The percentage of users who take a desired action (purchase, sign-up, download) after clicking or viewing an ad.
Why It Matters: This is the ultimate indicator of ad effectiveness. It directly ties your advertising efforts to real business outcomes like revenue or lead generation.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Definition: The percentage of ad impressions that result in a click.
Why It Matters: A high CTR means your ad is compelling and relevant. It’s an early sign that your messaging, creative, or targeting is working, or not.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Definition: The average cost to acquire one customer or lead through paid advertising.
Why It Matters: CPA ties spend to outcomes. It helps determine the efficiency and scalability of your campaigns, and whether you're acquiring customers profitably.
Brand Lift Studies
Definition: Research-based assessments that measure changes in perception, awareness, or intent after ad exposure (usually through surveys).
Why It Matters: Especially useful for brand campaigns, these studies provide insight into perception shifts this is something traditional metrics like clicks can’t capture.
Think with Google provides various insights into the impact of ad sequences on brand perception and consumer behaviour.
❌ Metrics That Don’t Always Mean Much
Impressions
Definition: The number of times your ad was shown.
Strength: Useful for measuring reach and visibility, especially in awareness campaigns.
Limitation: Doesn't tell you if anyone actually noticed. It can be inflated by passive views.
Video Completion Rate (VCR)
Definition: The percentage of users who watched a video ad all the way through.
Strength: Helpful when users have the option to skip, showing engagement.
Limitation: Often meaningless on non-skippable formats where completion is forced, not earned.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Definition: The amount you pay for each click on your ad.
Strength: Easy to measure and compare across platforms.
Limitation: A cheap click doesn’t guarantee quality traffic or conversions. Focusing solely on CPC can mislead optimisation efforts.
Page Views
Definition: The number of times a page was loaded after an ad click.
Strength: Indicates traffic volume to your site or landing page.
Limitation: Doesn’t reflect user quality or intent.
Social Follower Count
Definition: The number of followers gained from or after an ad campaign.
Strength: Can signal growing interest or visibility.
Limitation: Followers don’t always engage, convert, or even see future posts (due to algorithmic feeds). Vanity metric if not tied to actions or business outcomes.
💡 Lesson? It’s all about choosing the metrics that actually reflect what you’re trying to achieve. The most valuable insights are the ones that help you grow with purpose.
🔎What Should You Track?
Brand Awareness
Track reach, impressions, and brand recall. While impressions don’t guarantee attention, they show how many people had the chance to see your message. Use brand lift studies to measure real awareness impact.
Sales and Conversions
Focus on click-through rate (CTR), cost per acquisition (CPA), and conversion rate. These metrics show whether your campaign is driving action and delivering a return on investment.
Community Building
Monitor engagement rate, comments, and sentiment. These help you understand if people are interacting with your brand in a meaningful and positive way, essentially for long-term loyalty.
🎯 Tip: Always define what success looks like before the campaign launches. When your objectives are clear from the start, your data becomes a guide and not a guessing game.
🧠 Data and Creativity: The Perfect Pair
Whether it’s a banner, a video, or a radio spot, data and creativity go hand in hand. Imagine testing four different ads, and the data shows which ones your audience likes and which need a refresh.
What Works:
Ads 1 & 2 perform well? Keep them running.
Ads 3 & 4 lag behind? Time for new creative ideas.
Rotate visuals and audio regularly to keep things fresh.
Know your audience! Interests, location, and platform all matter.
Context is Everything:
Google Ads CTR often behaves differently compared to TikTok CTR, thanks to their distinct formats and user engagement styles.
Audio ads bring unique metrics like listener retention and brand recall into the mix.
Data is powerful when paired with creativity and audience insight.
🚀 Wrap-Up: Metrics With Meaning
Let’s not drown in dashboards. Choose metrics that align with your goals, measure what moves the needle, and skip the rest. Because if your ad made someone feel, think, or act then... you’re winning.
