How to Measure and Explain Digital Advertising Results to Your Clients

Today's marketers need to be data-savvy.

 

With Google Ads alone, for instance, you're dealing with dozens of metrics, dimensions, and segments you need to interpret and break down into helpful advice for your clients.

 

Multiply that by the number of platforms you're using, and you'll have a massive amount of data to track and analyze.

 

Are you feeling overwhelmed? That's understandable. How can marketers ensure they're making the most of their advertising budgets amid a staggering amount of data?

 

To save you time and hassle, we've compiled this guide to help you measure your digital advertising results and understand what they mean for your client's campaigns. You'll learn which metrics are most important for your campaigns and how to improve and report on your client's advertising strategy.

 

 

• Why marketers should track their advertising results?
• The top advertising metrics to track
• How to track and analyze advertising results
• Tips for using data insights to improve your advertising effectiveness
• How DashThis's report automation can help your agency save time and money
• Simplify the digital reporting process with DashThis

 

 

Why marketers should track their advertising results?

 

You've invested heavily in digital ads, but can you pinpoint what's driving sales and tangible results? Having a system to track your advertising results is crucial. It helps you make data-driven decisions and proves the ROI of your campaigns.

 

Facilitate data-driven decision-making in marketing

 

Data-driven marketing isn't just a buzzword, it helps you spend your client's budget more effectively and get more out of your marketing efforts.

 

But what does being data-driven mean? Here are a few examples.

• Comparing performance metrics across different marketing channels helps highlight top-performing channels
• Finding the best ad format for driving sales by seeing which ads get the most cart adds or purchases.
• Tracking cost metrics and campaign performance helps you allocate your budget more effectively.

 

Justify campaign ROI to clients

 

Surveys reveal that CMOs are under growing pressure to show the value of their marketing efforts. Specifically, 59% feel this pressure from CEOs, while 45% feel it from CFOs.

 

Marketing agencies need to keep ROI in mind when tracking campaign performance. While ROI usually focuses on financial metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS), total cost, or revenue, it can also take other forms, such as:

• Reach potential customers with your brand
• Share your white paper or research report with your customer's executive team
• Build a community with your audience

 

Dashboards also help you track and share your ad results with stakeholders. For instance, a multi-channel social media platform report lets you see how well your ads are doing across paid social, search ads, and more.

 

The top advertising metrics to track

 

When measuring digital advertising efforts, a key question arises: which metrics should you track, and why? These advertising metrics provide a good starting point for your campaign reports.

 

Click-through rate (CTR)

 

Click-through rate shows how often people click on your digital ads and visit your landing page, offer, or website.

 

A high CTR means your ads capture attention, whereas a low CTR may suggest issues with ad relevance or your target keywords. Track your CTR to identify the best-performing ads or keywords in your ad campaigns. You can even compare click-through rates with overall conversion rates to identify opportunities to optimize ad messaging or CTA text.

 

Click-through rate formula: CTR = (Link clicks / Impressions) x 100

Cost per click (CPC)

 

 

CPC tells you how much of your ad budget you spend when someone clicks on your ad. As a high CPC indicates you're paying more for a click, tracking this metric is helpful in forecasting advertising spend. It's also a handy reference metric when deciding which ad campaign or individual ad to tweak. CPC can help inform which keywords to target or which ad placements are most effective for your campaigns.

 

CPC calculation formula: Total advertising cost/number of clicks generated by an advertisement. (or use DashThis's free cost-per-click calculator to calculate your campaign's CPC here)

 

Conversion rate

 

 

Conversion rate is a crucial metric for measuring a lead generation or sales campaign's return on investment (ROI). It calculates the percentage of visitors who complete a specific action, like filling out a form or subscribing to a newsletter, within a particular time. Track this metric to evaluate the success of your lead generation and sales campaigns.

 

Conversion rate calculation: The number of conversions ÷ the number of visits.

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

 

Cost per acquisition shows how much a business spends to get a new customer. This metric measures the financial efficiency of paid ads, including pay-per-click (PPC), paid social, and display ads. Compare CPA to revenue metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV) to track the cost efficiency of your marketing strategy.

Return on ad spend (ROAS)

 

Besides cost per acquisition, tracking ROAS is key to showing your clients that their advertising budget is being used effectively. This metric calculates the revenue and additional sales generated by each dollar spent on ads.

 

ROAS formula: Total revenue dollars from marketing/advertising dollars spent. Alternatively, try using DashThis's free ROAS calculator here.

Impressions and reach

 

 

 

Impressions track how many times people saw your ad. These count even if no one clicks on them. Reach measures the number of people who've seen your ads. So, if a person sees your ad five times, it counts as one reached person and five impressions.

 

These top-of-the-funnel metrics help you understand if your brand awareness campaigns are reaching your target audience as intended. They also help you optimize three key areas: your bid strategy, keyword selection, and audience targeting. Compare the number of impressions or reach to engagement metrics to see if your ads resonate with your audience.

 

Engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments)

 

Engagement metrics cover any form of audience interaction with your paid social ads. These can include:

• Social interactions (likes, shares, comments, mentions
• Reposts
• Video view time

 

Track these metrics to understand how well your ads are engaging your audience. You might find ways to optimize your campaign.

 

How to track and analyze advertising results

 

Digital advertising offers many metrics to measure your campaigns' performance accurately. Here are a few steps to get you started.

 

Step 1: Set up tracking and analytics tools

 

Ensure you've got all your analytics tools and data tracking set up and ready to receive data, such as:

• Track key events in Google Analytics 4
• Implement data-driven marketing attribution (like in Google Ads and Facebook)
• Install web analytics tracking pixels, such as those from Facebook and LinkedIn
• Integrate marketing tools with other tools like a CRM software platform to link marketing efforts with customer data
• Using UTM tracking URLs to track your digital marketing activities

 

After setting up the tracking mechanisms, verify they are receiving data. Then, you can start analyzing the data.

 

Step 2: Define clear goals and KPIs for your advertising campaigns

 

Before creating your report, review your client's digital advertising goals and highlight the metrics that matter most to them.

 

For example, if you're using LinkedIn ads to increase your client's brand visibility among B2B decision makers, you'll want to report on relevant advertising KPIs such as:

• Impressions/reach
• Engagement rate
• Total LinkedIn ad spend
• Lead form completion rate

 

 

Get this social media report with your own data!

 

Step 3: Decide on your reporting frequency

 

How often will you report on your advertising metrics? This depends on several factors, such as client expectations or campaign scope.

 

For instance, monthly reports are ideal for long-term strategic planning. In contrast, weekly reports are better suited for testing new channels or approaches, like introducing a new A/B testing variant or assessing the effectiveness of a new keyword cluster in a Google Ads campaign. Weekly timesheet templates can simplify this process, offering a clear structure to document and review updates consistently.

Step 4: Compare performance against benchmarks and historical data

 

What is a good CTR?

How do I know if I'm getting a reasonable conversion rate?

 

Clients often ask these questions, so expect and prepare data to address these concerns. Part of marketing campaign reporting is spotting performance anomalies or addressing underperforming campaign elements before they affect your overall campaign performance in the long run.

 

You'll need a performance baseline to serve as a reference point for comparing your current performance. This gives your data context, helping you determine if your campaigns meet expectations or have room for further improvement. A performance baseline also enables you to set more accurate and realistic goals.

 

Try these two methods to find a performance baseline for your advertising campaigns:

 

1. Industry benchmarks: Industry averages are a helpful starting point to measure campaign performance. For pay-per-click KPIs, WebFX can be an excellent place to start, while The B2B House offers a helpful benchmark for LinkedIn ads. However, these benchmarks rely on averages, so they may not accurately represent your client's business or its target audience in a specific country or region.
2. Historical data: When you have the necessary campaign data, it's better to set campaign goals based on past results rather than industry benchmarks. For example, you can look at how your LinkedIn campaign did three months ago to get an idea of how future campaigns will do, or set a higher goal for your next campaign.

 

 

Step 5: Identify trends and patterns over time

 

 

Now that you've established your performance baseline, you have the information you need to analyze data trends and patterns.

 

Data visualization can help make this process easier. Visuals like line graphs and bar charts can help you analyze data over time, making it easier to spot patterns and trends. These visuals can also help identify specific targeting opportunities or pinpoint areas for improvement to discuss with your client.

Consider asking yourself these questions:

• Is there a noticeable pattern in the data? Are we seeing a sustained upward or downward trend that demands our attention? A downward trend in ad engagement on mobile devices might suggest reviewing your ad content to enhance its mobile-friendliness or adjusting your targeting strategies.
• Do seasonal trends influence your ad performance? For example, do engagement and sales peak at a specific time of year?
• Can you observe a relationship between different metrics? For instance, you might observe a link between ad spend and click-through rate to investigate further with A/B testing.

 

 

Tips for using data insights to improve your advertising effectiveness

 

Now that you've tracked your campaign results, use those insights to improve your ads. Here are some practical tips to help you optimize your clients' campaigns.

 

Segment data by audience, platform, and creative

 

Data segmentation, which involves breaking down data into smaller groups, helps you create targeted campaigns for different audiences and platforms. By dividing campaign metrics into smaller groups based on audience, where users are in the buying process, platform, or ad type, you may discover hidden opportunities to optimize your campaigns.

 

Data segmentation can help you refine your campaign targeting and improve advertising campaign results. Luca Dal Zotto of Convert Bank Statement makes data segmentation a key part of refining his advertising strategy. He says:

"Segmentation is where the magic happens. We segment by platform (LinkedIn for B2B vs. Facebook for B2C) and audience (cold leads vs. engaged users). On LinkedIn, for example, our ads resonate more with niche professional groups, while on Facebook, we cast a wider net. We use behavioral data to refine segments further. One of our big wins came from targeting users who had previously engaged with our content but hadn't converted. This helped drop our acquisition costs by 20%."

 

Conduct A/B tests to identify top-performing elements

 

To achieve digital advertising success, you need to do more than follow best practices and practical tips—you also need to be willing to try new approaches when looking to boost ad effectiveness.

 

One of the most effective ways to fine-tune your campaign elements is through A/B testing. This involves comparing two or more versions of an ad to see which one performs better in achieving a specific goal.

 

Successful A/B tests don't always need significant changes or a complete overhaul of campaign elements. Even small tests can produce noticeable results. Try different ad copy styles, creative formats, or a new color for a CTA button. These tests can also give you insight into determining if you're on the right track.

 

Analyze customer journey and attribution data

 

Attribution is the process of understanding how each digital advertising channel contributes to conversions. It helps you determine which marketing channels drive results and which ones users interact with as they engage with your brand.

 

Let's illustrate how attribution can help you make more informed optimization decisions with an example.

 

Let's say you're analyzing your paid social channel strategy. You discover that your Facebook ads are great for creating initial awareness (high impressions and clickthrough rates) but convert less readily than LinkedIn ads. In comparison, LinkedIn may have a higher cost-per-click than Facebook but a better conversion rate than Facebook ads.

 

Attribution data allows you to analyze how customers interact with your ads. For a closer look at attribution, see our guide on digital marketing attribution.

 

Gather qualitative feedback from customers and stakeholders

 

We've focused a lot on quantitative metrics thus far, but don't discount the insights from qualitative data. These data sources can include:

• Comments on social media ads
• Internal feedback from client stakeholders and team members
• Customer feedback
• Customer engagement tools like surveys and focus groups

 

Examine these feedback sources to uncover new audience engagement opportunities. For Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, qualitative feedback has been instrumental in helping her tweak her digital ad campaigns. She explains:

"One example is when we noticed our Facebook ads were underperforming. We were receiving impressions but low engagement. Rather than simply modifying the advertising based on stats, we examined the comments. Multiple customers mentioned the lifestyle imagery didn't feel "authentic" or show how the patches were used. We conducted a quick survey and discovered that most customers wanted to see real-life applications. Within two weeks of reworking the visuals to include customer-submitted photographs, our click-through rate increased by 32%."

 

Qualitative insights can complement quantitative metrics in evaluating ad performance. Lana Rafaela, Sales Growth Associate of RevBoss.com says: "I started running quick post-purchase surveys asking customers what attracted them to our ad. This revealed that certain ad creatives, which didn't seem to perform well based on metrics like CTR, were actually memorable and contributed to conversions later."

 

How DashThis's report automation can help your agency save time and money

 

Should you take the plunge and invest in report automation for your marketing agency? Reporting automation might save you time and money if you relate to any of these.

 

You're spending too much time creating reports:

 

If this is you, you're not alone. HubSpot data shows marketers dedicate 3.55 hours weekly gathering, organizing, and analyzing marketing data from diverse sources. Reporting automation saves you time and reduces errors as you assemble your reports. Read on to see how Jelly Marketing saves over 20 hours of work per month building reports using DashThis.

 

You need access to the latest campaign data quickly

 

DashThis updates your marketing data daily, giving you the latest data when creating a report. You can also update your dashboard data by clicking the Refresh Data button on a widget.

Then, share a link to your advertising dashboard with your client so they can view it in real-time.

You're looking for an efficient way to share campaign results with others.

 

Once you've created your report, it's time to get it into your clients' hands (or email inboxes). DashThis offers a variety of report-sharing options, from automated report scheduling to a URL link that lets clients view your report online in real-time.

 

Beyond reporting results, you can also use the opportunity to explain what the results mean to your clients. For example, the marketing agency Search Station combines client reports with video recordings, walking clients through the report and explaining the results. By doing so, the Search Station team relies on reporting as a key way to add value to its clients, and automated reporting helps it meet the high standard of service that its clients expect.

 

Track your advertising results in minutes with DashThis's advertising report template

 

If you're new to ad reporting, consider using DashThis's ad report template. This template seamlessly connects with popular advertising platforms like Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, and LinkedIn. Plus, it features logical sections that help keep your report organized, making explaining your digital ad results easier for clients.

Get this advertising report template with your own data!

 

Simplify the digital reporting process with DashThis

 

Evaluating the outcome of your ads and using that data to improve them is vital in delivering effective advertising campaigns for your clients.

 

By showing how your ads drive actual business results, like revenue, profit, or cost savings, you can build trust with your clients and get them on board with new ideas. Take some time this week to implement the optimization strategies from this article.

 

If you're having trouble reporting on or analyzing your ad campaigns, we're here to help.

 

Try DashThis with our 15-day free trial.