Dan O'NeilNov 26, 2019 11:06:55 AM3 min read

YOUR Campaign KPIs and What They Mean

Campaign KPIs

- 5 min read -

Times were certainly easier as a marketer before the dawn of digital advertising and the seemingly endless measurement KPIs that came along with it. Traditional advertising tactics such as Billboards, Radio and TV were largely used as a tactic of reach, where the measurements were more simple.

Now with the addition of measurements such as CPM, CPC, CTR, Additional Visits, Conversions, Clicks, etc. it isn’t as crystal clear. A report might make sense during your initial campaign review, but if you open it a couple months later it may have lost most of its meaning. To help with this, here is a quick walkthrough of some of our most commonly used (and questioned!) KPIs and some context to go along with it:

Most Common Metrics

CPM – Cost per 1,000 Impressions

The actual cost to get 1,000 impressions to your desired target audience
Banner, Video, Audio, Native ads, etc.

Impressions & Reach

Impressions are the total amount of times your ads were serviced to your target audience
Reach is the amount of individuals who saw your ad, should be MUCH smaller than your total impressions

Reach Frequency

Reach/Total Impressions

CTR – Click Through Rate

Depending on how your campaign is set up, this is either one of two things:

Prospective Student clicks on your ad and visits your landing page without bouncing
Prospective Student clicks on your ad and visits your landing page, and then continues to navigate to other pages on your institutions website

#1 is used primarily in Awareness Campaigns, #2 is used primarily when the goal is to increase overall navigation with your website

Return Visits to Landing Page

The amount of individuals who returned to your landing page or website after clicking on one of your ads
Common misconception is that these are different visitors but they are only visitors who have previously landed on your website through a direct click

Conversions

Total page visits attributed as a result of campaign exposure and is in addition to the volume of clicks generated from the campaign

Unique Google AdWord Metrics

CPC – Cost per Click

The amount you pay for each click on one of your PPC ads in platforms such as Google AdWords or Bing Ads
When using CPC you have to be very cognizant of the keywords and targeting parameters set in place, or you will be wasting clicks (and money)

Our sales team sees at least one or two Higher Ed ads on Google when we’re researching new institutions. You don’t want to be paying for us to reach out to you!

Average Position

Completely dependent on your adherence to the Google Algorithm, which has undergone massive changes in recent years
Quality Score + Highest Bid Price + Ad Extension

Quality Score = Relevancy + Expected CTR + Landing Page

BY FAR the biggest impact is whether you’re going to get clicked on
If Google’s algorithm determines no one will click on your ad, they will take you off the page. They’ll give it to someone who’s willing to pay a cent if they’re more relevant

MaxCPC = Highest Bid Price (ie. Limit set at $5.00 vs. $5.01)
Ad Extension = Click to phone, click to send email, etc. (They like high customer service actions!!)

Snapchat & Video Ads

Video Views (Snapchat)

Differs greatly from Impressions, this metric measures full view through of ad without skipping

Video Completion Rate

Video Starts / 100% Video Completions

Micro Influencer Metrics

Total Engagements

Likes, Comments, & Video View Throughs

Engagement Rate

Total Engagements / Total Impressions

Impressions are for Static Posts + Stories

EMV – Total Estimated Media Value

Estimated Media Value (EMV) measures your campaign’s value by paid media standards, and an earned multiplier. We distinguish between networks and engagement type (ie. Instagram stories, views, Instagram post likes)

To learn more on how today’s high school students interact with key media and post secondary marketing initiatives download our Gen Z Media Report.

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