In the fast-paced world of digital marketing use custom metrics in digital marketing reporting, in order to tracking success is about more than just monitoring standard metrics. Each business has unique goals, and cookie-cutter analytics often fall short of capturing the nuances of a tailored strategy. This is where custom metrics step in, empowering marketers to create highly specific, goal-oriented reports.
Custom metrics allow you to combine data points, craft personalized formulas, and track performance in ways that matter most to your business. Whether you’re looking to calculate ROI across platforms or visualize progress toward a campaign goal, custom metrics give you the flexibility to extract the insights you need.
What Are Custom Metrics?
Custom metrics are user-defined formulas that combine multiple data points into a single, actionable metric. They go beyond pre-defined analytics by allowing you to:
- Calculate cross-platform totals (e.g., total ad spend across Facebook, Google, and Snapchat).
- Track financial performance (e.g., calculate gross profit or ROI).
- Measure unique goals (e.g., cost per acquisition or lifetime value).
By using custom metrics, you can create a holistic view of your marketing efforts tailored to your specific KPIs.
Why Custom Metrics Matter
- Enhanced Goal-Tracking- Custom metrics make it easy to track progress toward specific business goals. Instead of relying on generalized data, you can create metrics that align with your objectives, such as tracking monthly revenue growth or conversion rates.
- Unified Reporting Across Platforms- Marketing campaigns often span multiple channels. Custom metrics allow you to aggregate data from various platforms, giving you a consolidated view of your efforts without switching between tools.
- Increased Transparency for Clients- When working with clients, clear and meaningful reports are essential. Custom metrics help simplify complex data, enabling you to present results in a way that clients can easily understand and appreciate.
- Actionable Insights- By crafting metrics that align with your strategy, you can uncover actionable insights faster. For instance, tracking a custom metric like “Cost Per Social Media Lead” could help optimize campaign spending.
How to Use Custom Metrics
Here’s how custom metrics can transform your reporting:
Create Tailored Formulas
Combine multiple data points to track what matters most. For example:
- PPC Ad Spend: Sum up ad spend across platforms.
- Gross Profit: Subtract total expenses from total revenue.
- Engagement Rate: Divide total engagements by total impressions and multiply by 100.
Integrate with Dashboards
Most analytics platforms allow you to drag and drop your custom metrics into dashboards or reports. With tools like Whatsdash™, you can transform your formulas into widgets and display them in bar charts, line graphs, or other visualizations that best suit your needs.Client Reporting
Custom metrics help you deliver results clients care about. For instance, instead of generic metrics like “reach” or “clicks,” show clients how much revenue their campaigns generated through a Revenue Per Click formula.
Examples of Custom Metrics
Here are some popular examples marketers use: Goal Visualization
Track progress toward predefined goals using custom metrics. For example:
Set a goal for monthly website traffic and measure how your campaigns are driving visitors.
Track conversion rates to ensure campaigns are meeting sales objectives.- Total Ad Spend Across Platforms
Combine ad spend from Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Snapchat Ads into a single metric:Total Ad Spend = Google Ads Spend + Facebook Ads Spend + Snapchat Ads Spend - Cross-Platform Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Measure how much it costs to acquire a customer across all platforms:
CPA = Total Ad Spend (Google + Facebook + Instagram) Total Conversions (Google + Facebook + Instagram)
- Revenue-to-Ad Spend Ratio
Track how efficiently ad spend translates into revenue across platforms:
Revenue − to − Ad Spend Ratio = Total Revenue (Shopify + WooCommerce)
Total Ad Spend(Google +Facebook)
- Engagement Rate Across Social Media Platforms
Aggregate engagement rates from platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn:
Overall Engagement Rate = Total Engagements (Instagram + Twitter + LinkedIn)
Total Impressions(Instagram + Twitter + LinkedIn) ∗ 100
- Cross-Platform ROI (Return on Investment)
Evaluate ROI by combining revenue and spend across ad platforms and e-commerce systems:
Total Revenue (Shopify + Magento)
ROI = Total Revenue Total Ad Spend (Google + Facebook + Snapchat) ∗ 100 - Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Across Channels
Estimate the average revenue per customer from multiple data sources:
CLV = Average Purchase Value (Shopify) ∗ Purchase Frequency ∗ (Shopify)
∗ Customer Retention Rate (CRM Data) - Blended Conversion Rate
Track overall conversion rates from traffic across paid ads and organic sources:
Blended Conversion Rate =
Total Conversions (Google Ads + Facebook Ads + Organic Traffic) Total Visitors(Google Analytics)
- Social Media Spend Efficiency
Measure how much engagement is achieved per dollar spent across social media platforms:
Engagement per Dollar = Total Engagements(Instagram + Twitter)
Total Spend(Facebook Ads + Instagram Ads)
- Gross Profit from Marketing Campaigns
Evaluate gross profit by combining revenue and total costs from various platforms:
Gross Profit = Total Revenue (E − commerce Platforms)
− (Ad Spend + Production Cost + Distribution Cost) - Multi-Source Conversion Value
Calculate the average value of conversions driven by paid ads and other channels:
Conversion Value =
Revenue (Google Ads + Facebook Ads + Organic) Total Conversions (All Sources)
Why Use Whatsdash™ for Custom Metrics?
With Whatsdash™, creating and using custom metrics becomes seamless. Here’s how Whatsdash™ enhances your reporting:
- User-Friendly Interface: Easily create formulas without complex coding.
- Drag-and-Drop Widgets: Transform your custom metrics into visualizations instantly.
- Integration Across Platforms: Aggregate data from multiple sources like Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, and more.
- Goal Tracking: Link your custom metrics to campaign goals for easy progress monitoring.
- Client-Friendly Reports: Generate visually appealing and insightful reports tailored to your clients’ needs.
The Future of Reporting Is Custom
Custom metrics are transforming how marketers track, analyze, and report performance. They enable unparalleled flexibility and precision, ensuring your reports reflect your strategy and goals.
With tools like Whatsdash™, building and visualizing custom metrics has never been easier. Whether you’re optimizing ad spend, tracking ROI, or visualizing engagement, custom metrics put you in control of your success.
Start using custom metrics today and take your marketing analytics to the next level!