"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." This quote, often attributed to John Wanamaker over a century ago, no longer has to be true.
Digital marketing's greatest advantage over traditional advertising is measurability. You can track exactly what's working, what isn't, and where your money is going. But only if you set up proper measurement from the start.
At its simplest, marketing ROI is:
ROI = (Revenue from Marketing - Cost of Marketing) / Cost of Marketing x 100
If you spend Rs 1,00,000 on marketing and it generates Rs 5,00,000 in revenue, your ROI is 400%.
Simple in theory. The challenge is accurately attributing revenue to specific marketing activities.
Every campaign should have clear, measurable objectives:
You can't measure what you don't track. Essential setup includes:
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Google Tag Manager
UTM Parameters
Call Tracking
Create a simple dashboard that shows your key metrics at a glance. You don't need expensive tools — Google Looker Studio (free) connects directly to GA4, Google Ads, and Google Search Console.
Include:
Track:
Calculate: Organic revenue or lead value divided by total SEO investment.
SEO ROI typically improves over time as your content library grows and rankings stabilize. Give it 6-12 months before evaluating.
Track:
PPC platforms provide most of these metrics natively. The key is connecting ad clicks to actual business outcomes — not just clicks to your landing page, but leads that become customers.
Track:
Social media ROI is often undervalued because it contributes to awareness and consideration stages that are harder to track. Use attribution models that give credit to assist interactions, not just last-click.
Track:
Email consistently delivers among the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Track it carefully and invest in growing your list.
Most customers interact with multiple marketing touchpoints before converting. They might find you through a Google search, follow you on Instagram, read a blog post, receive an email, and then finally click a Google Ad to make a purchase.
Which channel gets the credit?
No model is perfect. The important thing is choosing one and being consistent. For most small businesses, last-click attribution (Google Analytics default) is a reasonable starting point.
Executives and business owners don't need 50 metrics. They need to know:
Present data visually with charts and graphs. Highlight trends, not just snapshots. And always connect metrics back to business outcomes.
If you're not currently measuring your marketing ROI, start with these basics:
The businesses that measure their marketing are the ones that improve their marketing. Stop guessing. Start measuring.
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