Performance marketing is a powerful strategy for businesses looking to drive measurable results and boost conversions. By focusing on data, targeted advertising, and continuous optimisation, companies can maximise their marketing budgets and achieve tangible growth. Whether you have just founded a new company or looking to improve your existing campaigns, performance marketing offers a scalable, results-driven approach to achieving your business goals.
What is performance marketing?
Performance marketing is a results-driven approach to digital advertising, where businesses pay only for specific actions, such as clicks, leads, or sales. Unlike traditional advertising, where businesses pay for ad placements without a guaranteed outcome, performance marketing ensures that every pound spent contributes towards a tangible result.
Common channels for performance marketing include:
- PPC: Appearing at the top of search results on Google or Bing based on targeted keywords
- Social media advertising: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer highly targeted ads to reach specific audiences
- Affiliate marketing: Partnering with third-party publishers who promote products and services in exchange for a commission on successful conversions
- Native advertising: Blending promotional content within editorial pieces for a more natural approach
Key principles of performance marketing
- Clear objectives and KPIs: A successful campaign starts with clearly defined goals which relate directly to your business or team. These could include increasing website traffic, boosting online sales, generating high-quality leads, or improving customer engagement. Key performance indicators (KPIs) ensure that progress is measurable, allowing for data-driven adjustments and providing consistent feedback for you to implement improvements.
- Data and analytics: Performance marketing thrives on data. Using analytics tools, businesses can track and measure performance in real-time. This allows marketers to make informed decisions, optimising campaigns for maximum return on investment (ROI).
- Targeted advertising: Reaching the right audience is crucial. By using segmentation to target customers based on demographics, interests, online behaviour, and purchase history, you can ensure that ads are shown to those most likely to convert.
- A/B Testing and continuous optimisation: Successful performance marketing campaigns require ongoing testing and refinement. A/B testing ( which compares two versions of an ad or landing page) helps identify what resonates best with the audience. Regular optimisation also ensures campaigns remain cost-effective and relevant, aligning with your business and future growth.
Performance marketing metrics you should be tracking
Performance marketing’s biggest advantage is its measurability. By tracking the right metrics, businesses can assess their campaign performance and focus on the right data to ensure that marketing budgets are spent effectively.
- Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): CPA measures how much it costs to acquire a new customer or lead. This metric helps businesses determine the efficiency of their campaigns and adjust their budget to maximise return on investment (ROI).
- Return on ad spend: ROAS indicates how much revenue a business earns for every pound spent on advertising. A higher ROAS means the campaign is generating significant value compared to its cost.
- Click-Through Rate: CTR is the percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it. A high CTR suggests the ad content and targeting are relevant to the audience, while a low CTR may indicate the need for creative adjustments.
- Conversion Rate (CVR): This metric tracks the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service, after clicking on an ad. Improving the conversion rate often involves optimising landing pages and refining targeting strategies.
- Customer Lifetime Value: CLV measures the total revenue a business can expect from a customer over their lifetime. Understanding CLV helps businesses assess long-term campaign success rather than focusing solely on immediate conversions.
- Impression Share: This metric reveals how often your ads appear compared to the total available impressions in your target market. It’s a helpful indicator for understanding visibility and reach in competitive markets.
Performance marketing agency
We help you to understand the customer journey around products in your category and then plan a strategy to get in front of customers every step of the way, giving you much higher ROI than solely focusing on transactional keywords.
Our team would love to go through our methodology on a call with you, book in for a free chat today!