Guide

How to Measure Campaign Performance

Judge campaigns beyond vanity numbers — and know which ones deserve more budget.

Step 1: Define success before launch

Write down the target metric and number before going live. "More brand awareness" is not a target. "500 leads at under $40 CPL" is.

Step 2: Layer the metrics

1. Reach — impressions, sends, views
2. Engagement — clicks, opens, CTR
3. Conversion — form fills, signups, purchases
4. Pipeline — qualified leads, demo requests, sales activity
5. Revenue — closed deals attributed to the campaign

Strong reach + engagement + no conversion = targeting or offer problem. Strong conversion + no pipeline = lead quality problem.

Step 3: Use cohort timeframes

Don't judge a 4-week campaign on revenue in week 4. Follow the cohort for 30, 60, 90 days.

Step 4: Cost efficiency per stage

• Cost per impression (awareness)
• Cost per click (engagement)
• Cost per lead (CPL)
• Cost per qualified lead (CPQL)
• Cost per customer (CAC)

Step 5: Qualitative review

• What did sales hear from leads?
• Any objections that need addressing in creative?
• Any target segments that converted unexpectedly well?

Step 6: Decide: scale, fix, or stop

• Scale — CAC < target, conversion stable: add budget
• Fix — one funnel stage underperforms: iterate that stage
• Stop — multiple stages underperform after 2 iterations: move on

Frequently asked questions

How many metrics per campaign?

One headline metric, 3-5 supporting. More than that and nobody reads the report.