Too Many Metrics? Here’s What to Track (and What to Ditch) in 2025

If you’re a marketer, you’re drowning in data.

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We know it, because we are too. 

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Every platform, every campaign, every click brings on an absolute flood of metrics, and as much as you want to be able to pay attention to each and every one, there’s a truth you need to know — not all of them are worth your attention.

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In fact, some of the most commonly tracked marketing KPIs in your dashboard might be doing more harm than good by distracting you from the good stuff that really moves the needle for your business.

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So, as we continue rolling through 2025, we find that the smartest marketers are shifting their focus. They’re cutting through the noise and using their data not just to report but to optimize every decision they make.

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And today’s blog is here to help you do the same.

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Today, we’re breaking down the KPIs you can safely ignore, the ones that actually matter, and how you can turn your data into smarter strategies and better results!

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The KPI Trap: What You Can Stop Obsessing Over

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Some metrics might look impressive on paper, but they’re not actually telling you much about how your marketing campaigns are performing. 

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We call these vanity metrics — numbers that beef up reports and look good, but really offer little strategic value when it comes to optimizing your campaigns or driving more revenue for your business.

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Here are five of the most common vanity metrics that marketers cling to and why it’s time to stop giving them so much weight.

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Pageviews (without context)

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Sure, it’s nice to know how many people are landing on your website.

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But without understanding what they’re actually doing once they get there, tracking pageviews is just tracking surface-level noise. You might get excited about a sudden spike in pageviews, only to realize that they’re coming from bots, accidental clicks, or irrelevant sources that don’t convert

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Unless you’re tying pageviews to engagement metrics like time on page, scroll depth, or conversion actions, then you’re really only seeing a fraction of the story.

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Social Media Likes and Follows

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It’s warm and fuzzy to get likes and follows on your social media channels but ...they’re not keeping the lights on.

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High follower counts and a constant stream of heart and winky face emojis might suggest more brand awareness, but they don’t really translate into clicks, purchases, or customer loyalty. 

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Instead of focusing on your likes and follows, focus instead on more meaningful engagement like comments, shares, and saves, and how you can use your social media posts to contribute to conversions, email signups, or traffic to your website.

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Email Open Rates

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Thanks to Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), open rates aren’t what they used to be.

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MPP hides whether or not an email was actually opened, which means that many email clients now auto-load tracking pixels instead, leading to inflated open rate numbers that aren’t reliable.

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So while open rates used to be a decent sign of interest, these days, they’re inconsistent and misleading.

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Shift your focus instead to click-through rates (CTR) and conversion from email, since these are way better indicators who clicked and what they did afterward.

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Bounce Rates

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Bounce rates used to be a go-to metric for insight on how engaging your web page was, but with the G4A’s rollout and other shifts in user behavior, its context has changed.

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Now, a “bounce” might not mean that your visitor didn’t find anything worth sticking around for on your site — it might just mean that they quickly got what they needed and left perfectly satisfied.

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So, high bounce rates aren’t necessarily bad.

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Instead, shift your focus to time on page, scroll depth, or specific events (add some) that reflect actual engagement.

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Click-Through Rate (Without Downstream Data)

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Don’t get us wrong here.

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Click-through rates (CTR) can absolutely be helpful — but only when you pair them with what happens next. A high CTR on an ad might seem like a win, but if that traffic doesn’t convert, drops off at the landing page, or doesn’t complete any action, it’s not doing much for you.

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So, treat CTR as more of a directional signal, not a success metric by itself. Always look at what happens after the click.

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The Most Valuable KPIs to Track This Year

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Alright. 

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Now enough about vanity metrics. Let’s talk about the KPIs that are worth your attention; the ones that give you real, usable insight into your campaign performance, efficiency, and long-term growth.

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The following KPIs are the metrics you need to help your marketing team make smarter decisions, not just pad out reports.

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Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

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CLTV is the metric that tells you how much revenue a customer brings in not just in a quarter or a year, but over the entire course of their relationship with your brand.

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And it’s a metric you definitely want to track because it helps you understand the long-term impact of your marketing efforts, not just the first sale. The higher your CLTV, the more you can justify spending on customer acquisition and retention.

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Marketing-Sourced Revenue

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Marketing-sourced revenue is a KPI that measures how much revenue can be directly tied to your marketing efforts like a campaign, a certain blog post or whitepaper, or an ad.

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Pay attention to this because knowing what exactly is leading to more closed deals gives you the power to be able to double down on what’s working and lay off of what’s not.

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Return on Ad Spend

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Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is what shows you how much revenue you’re generating per every dollar you spend on advertising.

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It’s a simple thing but very crucial to track..

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If you're spending $1 and making $5, then you’re clearly doing something right! On the other hand, if you’re spending $1 and making 75 cents, then 

ROAS shows you how much revenue you're generating for every dollar spent on advertising. It’s simple but powerful: if you're spending $1 and making $5, you're doing something right. Track this across different campaigns and platforms to see which ones are delivering real value.

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Engagement Rates

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Like we said, likes and follows and heart emojis are nice, but engagement rates are what measure actual, meaningful interaction.

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Things like comments, shares, saves, and clicks. This is what shows you how well your audience is taking to your content and whether its drumming up interest or getting scrolled right by.

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Conversion Rates by Channel

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Not all marketing channels are going to perform the same.

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But by breaking down conversion rates by each different channel (email, paid search, social media, organic, etc.) you can really see where exactly your efforts are paying off and where there’s room to improve or reallocate your budget to something more effective.

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Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) vs. Customer Retention Cost (CRC)

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This metric lets you track how much it costs to get a new customer (CAC) versus how much it costs to keep them around (CRC).

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And knowing this is important because it helps you find a better balance between growth and loyalty. In 2025, retention is just as critical as acquisition (and maybe more so!)

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How to Make KPIs Actionable

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Knowing which KPIs to track and which to ignore is only half the battle.

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The other, more important, half is how to turn your metrics into data-driven decisions. So, if your KPIs are just sitting in a dashboard or getting sprinkled into your monthly reports without context, you’re missing out on their full potential.

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Here’s how to make your marketing KPIs work for you:

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1. Align KPIs with Specific Business Goals

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Don’t track your metrics for the sake of tracking your metrics.

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Make sure each KPI ties directly to an objective, whether that’s more lead generation, increasing customer retention, boosting ROI, or growing brand awareness. If the KPI isn’t helping you measure your progress toward one of your goals, it’s probably not a KPI worth tracking.

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2. Segment Your Data

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Looking at your KPIs as a whole can sometimes hide what’s really going on.

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So, break down your data; audience segments, marketing channel, location, device, behavior, however you need to break it down.

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For example, your overall conversion rates might look good, but wait, is it tanking for mobile users? That’s the kind of useful info that segmenting your data could reveal.

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3. Focus on the Trends, Not One-Offs

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Look, a single spike or drop in performance can happen for a lot of reasons.

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It could be seasonal, one of your Instagram posts could have gone viral, it could be nothing more than the result of correcting a tech issue or tracking error. So, don’t panic over a sudden swing. Instead, focus on the trends over time. If a metric is consistently improving or declining over weeks and months, then that’s when it’s time to do something.

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4. Experiment Based on What Your KPIs Tell You

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Sometimes, it’s okay to treat your marketing campaigns a little like a chemistry lab.

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We don’t mean to blow things up, of course. But we do mean to use your KPIs to form hypotheses, test new strategies, and measure results. Maybe try a new subject line or CTA if your email CTR is low. Then track what improves or doesn’t. Let your data guide your next move, not just explain your last one.

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5. Build a Feedback Loop

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Metrics aren’t only for marketing.

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They should also be influencing your messaging, your design and content, sales, and the overall customer experience. Share your KPIs across different departments of your organization to make sure that everyone is on the same page and working together toward the same goals.

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Tools and Tips to Track Your Marketing KPIs More Effectively

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Having the right KPIs is one thing— but tracking them in a way that’s clear, accurate, and actionable?

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That’s a whole other ballgame. But we can help out here, too. Whether you’re running paid ads, email campaigns, or multi-channel brand strategies, using the right tools can make all the difference.

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Here are some of the top platforms marketers are using in 2025 to monitor KPIs, spot trends, and make smarter decisions faster:

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• Google Analytics 4 — A go-to for web performance tracking, GA4 offers event-based tracking and deeper audience insights, especially useful for monitoring engagement, conversions, and site behavior.
• HubSpot — Great for inbound marketers, HubSpot’s dashboards combine CRM data with campaign performance, making it easier to track marketing-sourced revenue and lead attribution.
• Tableau — Tableau powerful data visualization platform that turns raw data into intuitive charts and dashboards—ideal for presenting performance trends across teams.
• Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) — Google’s free BI tool that connects to multiple data sources, perfect for building customized KPI dashboards without advanced dev work.
• Sprout Social — Sprout Social is excellent for tracking engagement rates, response time, and social media performance metrics—all in one place.
• Klaviyo — A favorite for eCommerce email and SMS, Klaviyo’s reporting helps you dig into revenue per recipient, open rates (with MPP adjustments), and customer segments.
• Ad platforms' native dashboards (Meta, Google Ads, LinkedIn, etc.) — While not perfect alone, these tools give you direct insight into ROAS, CTR, and cost per result—just make sure you’re combining this with downstream data to get the full picture.
  
  

Pro Tip: Whatever tools you use, the key is setting up clean, consistent naming conventions and goals from the start. Messy data leads to messy decisions.

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Ready to Start Hitting the Marketing Goals That Matter?

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If you’re ready to stop chasing vanity metrics and start focusing on what really matters, then congrats, friend.

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And if you’re ready to do all that, only you need some extra support to handle things like ad creative, strategy, copywriting, and more, then Designity has the support you’re looking for.

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Designity is an innovative Creative as a Service platform that connects you with all the creative and digital marketing support you need—from smarter ad creative to strategic content and campaign execution. All led by a designated Creative Director so you can stop worrying about design and marketing projects and keep your focus on the big-picture items that help your business grow.

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Book a demo call today and see how we can help you focus on the KPIs that actually move the needle for your brand.

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Are you ready to start tracking KPIs and hitting the goals that matter?