You know those little dashboard lights in your car? Some of them actually mean you might blow up your engine if you ignore them. Others just blink and beep and make a racket, and let’s be honest, most marketing “girlys” just turn the volume up and hope it goes away.
Marketing metrics are exactly the same. Clicks, likes, impressions, they look shiny, they make you feel popular, but do they actually put money in your pocket? Spoiler: not always.
We’re going to break down how to focus on the metrics that genuinely matter, calculate your ROI, CLV, and CAC, and use free tools to track them without selling your firstborn to fancy software companies.
Metrics that actually drive business
Before you start obsessing over every graph and number in GA4 or Ads Manager, let’s get real: not all metrics are created equal. Some are vanity metrics, some actually move the needle.
What’s a vanity metric?
A vanity metric is any number that looks impressive on the surface but doesn’t have a meaningful impact on your bottom line. Pageviews, social likes, or followers, they make you feel good, but they don’t directly tell you if you’re making money. In other words, they’re like your dashboard’s “check engine” light going off because your cup holder is slightly misaligned: annoying, but not a financial emergency.
The metrics that truly matter are the ones showing business impact: revenue, customer value, and acquisition cost.
ROI – Return on Investment
ROI tells you whether your marketing is actually paying for itself. Without ROI, marketing is basically throwing money into a slot machine and hoping for jackpots.
(Revenue from Marketing – Cost of Marketing) ÷ Cost of Marketing × 100
Example:
If you spend $1,000 on a campaign and it brings in $3,000 in revenue, your ROI is (3000–1000)/1000 ×100
CLV – Customer Lifetime Value
CLV measures how much a customer is worth over the course of their relationship with your business. It helps you figure out how much you can spend to acquire a customer and still be profitable.
Average Purchase Value × Purchase Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan
Example:
If a customer spends $50 per purchase, buys 4 times a year, and sticks around for 3 years, their CLV is 50 × 4 × 3
CAC – Customer Acquisition Cost
CAC is all about efficiency: how much does it cost you to actually win a new customer?
Total Marketing + Sales Costs ÷ Number of New Customers
Example:
If you spend $1,200 on ads and sales efforts and acquire 12 customers, your CAC is $1,200 ÷ 12
ROI, CLV, and CAC are the warning lights you actually need to pay attention to. Ignore them and you could be pouring cash into campaigns that look busy but aren’t profitable.
Track it without paying a fortune: because who wants another expensive wrench?
Let’s be real, most business owners don’t want to spend thousands every year on marketing software. Some companies are literally paying someone’s annual salary just for a dashboard that spits out charts they don’t even understand. You don’t need to do that. Almost everything you actually need to track your marketing is free, if you know where to look.
Yes, Google’s interfaces change more often than a woman avoiding greys dyes her hair. (We see you, queen, silver foxes are in, embrace it!) But once you know where to find the metrics, it’s easy to keep track of your most important numbers without spending a fortune. Here’s how to use the main free tools:
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
GA4 is your all-in-one traffic and conversion tracker. You can see where visitors are coming from, how they move through your site, and what they’re actually doing.
- Traffic by channel: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition → look for channels like ‘Organic Search’, ‘Direct’, ‘Paid Search’. This tells you which sources are actually sending people to your site.
- Conversions: Conversions → Events → Ecommerce or custom goals. Track purchases, form fills, newsletter sign-ups—whatever is most important to your business.
- Behaviour flow: Explore → Path Exploration to see how users move through your site. Which pages are making them drop off? Which pages convert them? This is a personal favourite feature of mine.
- Pro tip: Tag all your campaigns with UTMs so you know exactly which posts, emails, or ads are performing. Also UTMs have the most adorable name: Urchin Tracking Module (I love the word “Urchins)
Google Search Console (GSC)
If you want to know what people are actually searching for, GSC is your friend. It helps you optimise your site to attract the right audience.
- Performance → Search Results: See clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position.
- Filter by page or query to spot which content is driving traffic.
- Pro tip: Pages with high impressions but low CTR? That’s a signal your titles or meta descriptions need some TLC.
Google Business Profile (GBP)
For local businesses, this is a goldmine. It tells you exactly how people find you locally and what actions they take.
- Performance → Customer Actions: Calls, website visits, direction requests.
- Check queries that bring people to your listing to understand local search demand.
- Pro tip: Post updates, photos, and offers regularly. It not only keeps your profile active but boosts visibility without paying a cent.
Google Ads
Even if you’re running paid campaigns, you don’t need a fancy dashboard to know if your ads are working.
- Campaigns → Metrics columns → CTR, conversions, cost per conversion, ROAS.
- Pro tip: Use the “Segments” tool to see which devices, locations, or times perform best. Knowing this can save you serious cash.
Meta Ads Manager
Paid social? Same deal, track what actually matters, not just likes or reach.
- Ads → Performance & Clicks → conversions, cost per result, ROAS.
- Pro tip: Compare campaigns by objective (it’s important to examine campaign success on this objective, brand awareness campaigns aren’t going to have heaps of conversions but they’re still important as part of your funnel), conversions, traffic, or engagement. Focus on what generates revenue, not vanity metrics.
These tools aren’t flashy, and yes, Google will probably switch buttons around next week. But you don’t need to spend thousands a year on expensive software. Almost everything you need is right here, free, and ready to tell you which lights on your marketing dashboard are actually warning you about real problems.
So, which light relates to this part of the marketing car?
Different marketing channels have different “lights” on your dashboard. Some are big red warnings, others are just little blips you can ignore. Knowing which metrics matter for each channel is crucial because what drives revenue in one channel might be meaningless in another. Let’s break it down.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO is all about being discoverable in search engines. Your goal is not just traffic, it’s qualified traffic that actually converts.
Metrics to track:
- Organic traffic: The number of visitors who find your site through search. Bulk traffic is great, but only if those visitors are your target audience. Focus on quality, not quantity.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of people who click your link after seeing it in search results. Low CTR can mean your titles or meta descriptions aren’t enticing enough or the content on your page wasn’t what the user thought it would be. Ensure the content is representative of what the queries you’re trying to rank for and also don’t hide the answer in paragraphs. Be upfront and give the detail below the answer.
- Keyword rankings: Where your pages sit in search results. The higher, the better but context matters. Being #1 for a term nobody searches for doesn’t help. Also don’t get obsessed over this, a singular keyword isn’t everything, semantic search is the future.
- Conversions from search: Leads or sales generated from organic traffic, this is the metric that really matters.
Where to find them:
- GA4: Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition → Organic Search
- GSC: Performance → Search Results → filter by page or query
Remember, SEO is a long game, so track performance over time rather than obsessing over daily fluctuations.
Organic Social
Social media isn’t just about likes and shares, it’s about action. Vanity metrics like followercount are tempting, but clicks, website visits, and conversions are what actually pay the bills.
Metrics to track:
- Engagement that drives action: Clicks to your website, shares that result in traffic, or conversions.
- Reach & impressions: Useful for awareness campaigns, but don’t confuse it with real business impact. It’s a top of funnel channel, where you can improve brand awareness. Important, but don’t inflate it to making it the end goal.
- Conversions: Ultimately, you want social to generate leads or sales.
Where to find them:
- Instagram/Facebook Insights → link clicks, website clicks, post reach
- LinkedIn Analytics → post clicks, website clicks, conversions (track via UTMs in GA4)
- TikTok Analytics: Tap Profile → Settings and privacy → Creator tools → Analytics (track links via UTMs).
Always use UTMs for your social links so you can see exactly which posts are turning engagement into actual business results. Social is great for building awareness, but don’t forget to measure whether that awareness actually leads to action.
EDMs / Email Marketing
Email marketing is still one of the most cost-effective channels, if you track the right numbers.
Metrics to track:
- Open rate: Percentage of people who open your emails. Useful for testing subject lines, but not the ultimate success metric.
- Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of recipients clicking links inside your email. Shows whether your content or offer is enticing.
- Conversions: The number of recipients completing your desired action (purchase, booking, form fill).
- Unsubscribes: Indicates if your list is healthy or if people are annoyed.
Where to find them:
- Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or your email platform → Reports → opens, clicks, unsubscribes
- GA4 → track conversions from email links with UTMs
High opens but low clicks? Your subject line works, but your email content or call-to-action might need some love. Focus on making emails actionable, and you’ll turn opens into real revenue.
PPC
Paid ads can bring in traffic fast, but you need to measure what actually makes money.
Metrics to track:
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): How many people click your ad. High CTR is good, but only if those clicks convert.
- Conversions: Sales, leads, or sign-ups generated from the ad.
- CPA (Cost per Acquisition): How much you pay for each conversion. Helps you understand efficiency.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue generated for every dollar spent on ads.
- Ad Frequency: The average number of times your target audience sees your ad. Too high, and people get “ad fatigue,” leading to lower CTR and higher costs per conversion. Too low, and your audience may not notice your message.
Where to find them:
- Google Ads → Campaigns → Metrics columns for CTR, conversions, CPA, ROAS
- Meta Ads Manager → Ads → Performance & Clicks → conversions, cost per result, ROAS
Don’t chase clicks alone. A campaign with fewer clicks but higher conversions and ROAS is what actually makes money, so focus on campaigns that bring in real results rather than vanity numbers.
Content Marketing
Content marketing can educate, nurture, and convert but only if you measure what matters.
Metrics to track:
- Leads generated: Forms submitted, sign-ups, downloads. Directly shows how content drives business.
- Shares / engagement: Only relevant if they result in traffic or conversions.
- Time on page: Measures whether visitors are actually engaging with your content. High time on page often correlates with higher conversions.
Where to find them:
- GA4 → Engagement → Pages and Screens → average engagement time, conversions
- Social platform analytics → shares that drive clicks
- Track conversions using UTM links to see which content actually generates leads
Content with high traffic but low engagement or conversions? Revisit your messaging, format, or call-to-action. Engaged readers are more likely to turn into paying customers, so always measure content performance beyond just impressions.
Which blinking lights mean stop, slow down, or go
Not all metrics are created equal just like not all dashboard lights are critical. Some are bright and flashy but harmless (looking at you, little check engine blip which immediately turned off – I’m a marketer not a mechanic), while others mean stop immediately or risk blowing up your engine.
It’s important that you know which lights are important, and not have your husband read the manual at 10pm at night and mistake low tyre pressure for breaks not working whilst you’re driving on a highway. Yes, this happened. Yes, I married him anyway.
When it comes to marketing, here’s a simple way to prioritise:
- Revenue / Profit: This is your big red light. If you’re not making money, nothing else really matters. Keep your eye on sales, conversions, and ROI.
- Customer Acquisition & Retention: This is like your fuel gauge, you need a steady stream of new customers and happy existing ones to keep the business running. CAC and CLV are your key indicators here.
- Engagement that Drives Conversions: Think of these as your warning lights for smaller issues, social clicks, website engagement, and leads that indicate your campaigns are healthy.
The rule? Track everything, but only act on the lights that actually affect your bottom line. Vanity metrics, impressions, likes, and follower counts, are like the cupholder light flashing; cute, but not an emergency.
Time to hit the road: putting your metrics to work
Let’s hit the road with a real-world example because it’s always easier to see the lights on your dashboard when you’re actually driving.
Meet “Paws & Reflect Grooming”, a local dog grooming business with big plans. They’re running campaigns across Google Ads, SEO, and organic social to attract more furry clients and their humans.
Scenario:
- Google Ads: $500 spent this month brings in 10 new bookings.
- SEO: Paying a local agency $2,000/month brings in 15 new bookings from organic search.
- Organic Social: Posts and reels drive 5 more bookings (no cost, just staff time).
- Average booking value: $80
- Average repeat bookings per dog per year: 4
Step 1 – Calculate CAC for each channel:
Google Ads: $500 ÷ 10 = $50 per customer
SEO (agency): $2,000 ÷ 15 = $133 per customer
Organic Social: $0 ÷ 5 = $0 per customer
Step 2 – Calculate CLV:
$80 × 4 = $320 per customer
Step 3 – Calculate ROI per channel:
Google Ads: (Revenue – Cost) ÷ Cost × 100 = (10 × 320 – 500) ÷ 500 × 100 = 540% ROI
SEO: (Revenue – Cost) ÷ Cost × 100 = (15 × 320 – 2,000) ÷ 2,000 × 100 = 140% ROI
Organic Social: (Revenue – Cost) ÷ Cost × 100 = (5 × 320 – 0) ÷ 0 → technically infinite ROI, because the traffic was free!
Step 4 – Interpret:
Google Ads: Profitable, CAC $50 – watch for rising costs.
SEO: Profitable, ROI 140%. Paying $2,000/month is justified – organic traffic brings in new clients consistently.
Organic Social: Small but effective; posts and reels are engaging and converting, with zero spend.
Step 5 – Monitor the dashboard lights:
Ad frequency: Make sure the same audience isn’t seeing the same ad too often, or they might scroll past like a dog ignoring a squeaky toy.
Conversions tracking: Use UTMs for SEO and social posts to see which pages or posts actually drive bookings.
Trends over time: Don’t freak out at a quiet week—look at the bigger picture.
Think of it like driving at night with a car full of dogs: some lights are warnings, some are just fun to watch, and some are telling you exactly when to accelerate. By tracking CAC, CLV, and ROI across all channels, Paws & Reflect Grooming knows which “dashboard lights” to trust and which are just fluff.
Key Takeaways
Marketing metrics aren’t just numbers, they’re the dashboard lights of your business. Some are bright red warnings that demand attention, others are small indicators that help you fine-tune your strategy, and a few are just there to look pretty.
The metrics that really matter are the ones that impact your bottom line: revenue, CAC, CLV, and ROI.
Free tools like GA4, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and TikTok Analytics can give you almost everything you need to monitor these numbers without spending a fortune.
Vanity metrics like likes, impressions, or follower counts might make you feel popular, but they won’t pay your bills.
Instead, focus on what drives bookings, leads, or sales, calculate your ROI and CLV to understand which campaigns are truly profitable, and keep an eye on ad frequency, conversions, and trends over time.
Read your marketing dashboard like you would your car’s, trust the lights that matter, ignore the noise, and your campaigns will keep running smoothly, just like a ute cruising down the coast with the windows down and the dogs happily wagging along for the ride.