Performance Analytics Skill
Frameworks for measuring, reporting, and optimizing marketing performance across channels and campaigns.
Key Marketing Metrics by Channel
Email Marketing
| Metric | Definition | Benchmark Range | |--------|-----------|----------------| | Delivery rate | Emails delivered / emails sent | 95-99% | | Open rate | Unique opens / emails delivered | 15-30% | | Click-through rate (CTR) | Unique clicks / emails delivered | 2-5% | | Click-to-open rate (CTOR) | Unique clicks / unique opens | 10-20% | | Unsubscribe rate | Unsubscribes / emails delivered | <0.5% | | Conversion rate | Conversions / emails delivered | 1-5% |
Paid Advertising (Search and Social)
| Metric | Definition | |--------|-----------| | Click-through rate (CTR) | Clicks / impressions | | Cost per click (CPC) | Total spend / clicks | | Conversion rate | Conversions / clicks | | Cost per acquisition (CPA) | Total spend / conversions | | Return on ad spend (ROAS) | Revenue / ad spend | | Quality Score (search) | Google's relevance rating (1-10) |
SEO / Organic Search
| Metric | Definition | |--------|-----------| | Organic sessions | Visits from organic search | | Keyword rankings | Position for target keywords | | Organic CTR | Clicks / impressions in search results | | Domain authority | Third-party authority score | | Backlinks | Number of external sites linking to you | | Organic conversion rate | Organic conversions / organic sessions |
Overall Marketing / Pipeline
| Metric | Definition | |--------|-----------| | Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) | Leads meeting marketing qualification criteria | | MQL to SQL conversion rate | SQLs / MQLs | | Pipeline generated | Dollar value of opportunities created | | Customer acquisition cost (CAC) | Total marketing + sales cost / new customers | | Marketing-sourced revenue | Revenue from marketing-originated deals |
Reporting Templates
Weekly Marketing Report
- Top 3 metrics with week-over-week change
- What worked this week (1-2 bullet points with data)
- What needs attention (1-2 bullet points with data)
- This week's priorities (3-5 action items)
Monthly Marketing Report
- Executive summary (3-5 sentences)
- Key metrics dashboard (table with MoM and target comparison)
- Channel-by-channel performance summary
- Campaign highlights and results
- What worked and what did not (with hypotheses)
- Recommendations and next month priorities
- Budget spend vs. plan
Trend Analysis and Forecasting
Trend Identification
- Directional trends over 4+ periods
- Inflection points and what caused them
- Seasonality patterns
- Anomalies and their causes
- Leading indicators
Simple Forecasting Approaches
- Linear projection: extend the current trend line forward
- Moving average: smooth noise by averaging last 3-6 periods
- Year-over-year comparison: use last year's pattern as baseline
- Funnel math: forecast outputs from inputs
- Scenario modeling: best case, expected case, worst case
Attribution Modeling Basics
| Model | How It Works | Best For | |-------|-------------|----------| | Last touch | 100% credit to last interaction | Understanding final conversion triggers | | First touch | 100% credit to first interaction | Understanding top-of-funnel effectiveness | | Linear | Equal credit to all touchpoints | Fair representation of all channels | | Time decay | More credit closer to conversion | Balanced view favoring recent interactions | | Position-based (U-shaped) | 40% first, 40% last, 20% middle | Valuing both discovery and conversion | | Data-driven | Algorithmic credit | Most accurate (requires high volume) |
Optimization Recommendations Framework
Optimization Levers by Funnel Stage
| Funnel Stage | Problem Signal | Optimization Levers | |-------------|---------------|---------------------| | Awareness | Low impressions, low reach | Budget, targeting, channel mix, creative format | | Interest | Low CTR, low engagement | Ad creative, headlines, content hooks, audience targeting | | Consideration | High bounce rate, low time on page | Landing page content, page speed, content relevance, UX | | Conversion | Low conversion rate | Offer, CTA, form length, trust signals, page layout | | Retention | High churn, low repeat engagement | Onboarding, email nurture, product experience, support |
Prioritization Framework
Priority order:
- High impact, low effort (do immediately)
- High impact, high effort (plan and resource)
- Low impact, low effort (do if capacity allows)
- Low impact, high effort (deprioritize)
Testing Best Practices
- Test one variable at a time
- Define success metric before launching
- Calculate required sample size before starting
- Run tests for minimum one full business cycle
- Document all tests and results regardless of outcome
Continuous Optimization Cadence
- Daily: monitor paid campaigns for budget pacing and anomalies
- Weekly: review channel performance, pause underperformers, scale winners
- Bi-weekly: refresh ad creative and test new variants
- Monthly: full performance review, identify new optimization opportunities
- Quarterly: strategic review of channel mix, budget allocation, and targeting