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The one question any B2B marketer should be able to answer at any time is: “How is the campaign doing?” And with the ever-increasing wealth of analytics data available to us, we can keep track of a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that will tell that story in real time. 

The beauty of B2B marketing KPIs, when you're using the right ones, is that they provide a simple, focused way to gauge and course-correct campaign performance. But tracking the wrong KPIs can keep you from fixing problems and building upon successes in your campaign. 

Let’s take a look below at how to get things right from the start or check out our pocket guide,  “10 Most Common B2B Marketing KPIs and How to Use Them.” 

What are B2B marketing KPIs?

Key performance indicators bring focus to your B2B measurement strategy, making optimization opportunities clear to see. These are the specific success and efficiency factors that are prioritized and treated as “north star” metrics for your campaigns, in alignment with the goals you want to achieve. 

Marketers should be able to measure and track KPIs in real time, helping the team monitor performance while a campaign is underway and make adjustments in-flight. 

59% respondents say they have the right measurement tools at their disposal to deliver what their managers expect. (B2B Marketing Benchmark)

How to set B2B campaign goals and KPIs

Before you can set KPIs for your B2B marketing campaign, you need to set the goals that these metrics will be indicating progress toward. And to do that, your goals need to be smart—that is to say, SMART. 

The SMART method for setting goals says each goal should be:

• Specific: As specific, narrow, and clear as possible. 
• Measurable: Tracked by defined criteria that are quantifiable and measurable. 
• Achievable: Not every goal will be achieved, but it should be possible to achieve given your resources and timeline. 
• Relevant: Align your goal to support your broader objectives. 
• Time-bound: A timeline for completion sets out a finish line. 

Once you have set a SMART goal, it’s time to set your KPIs. Although this may seem straightforward, there are many factors—and many different types of KPIs—to consider. 

The first thing to remember when setting your KPIs is that ROI is not a KPI. Return on investment is an after-the-fact metric, and as such it won’t help you optimize an active campaign that isn’t meeting its targets. (In fact, making assumptions or drawing conclusions based on measuring ROI too early can be harmful to your ultimate results.)

This list comprises 10 of the most common KPIs and how they can help you measure, communicate and (most importantly) improve the success of your marketing campaigns. You’ll also find expert tips mixed in, sourced from LinkedIn’s guide to the future of B2B marketing measurement.

1. Website Traffic

Website traffic is the total number of visitors to your website. On its own, this KPI does not provide much detailed information. However, it is useful as a baseline to provide context for other traffic metrics, such as organic and paid traffic. 

What it tells you: Your campaign is driving people to your website.

How to improve website traffic:

• Review key channels (SEO, social media, email) to identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Invest in SEO for long-term traffic growth and paid media for short-term gains.
• Include links to your website on your LinkedIn Page, email signatures, etc.

2. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the total number of visitors who arrived at your website from a search engine. This metric doesn’t include paid ads. It’s one of the most useful KPIs for measuring how well your content marketing and SEO strategies are working. Increasing organic traffic is a valuable goal because these visitors have qualified themselves via search intent and do not require any additional cost to acquire. 

What it tells you: Your content is successfully being discovered in searches.

Expert tip: Aim for impact, not just keyword rankings.

“I have a long background in search engine optimization, and I’ve always felt that search engine ranking position is a vanity KPI. People always like to say that they rank number one for this or that keyword, but the crucial question to ask is whether such keywords and search queries generate traffic and, subsequently, revenue.” - Julian Sappelt, Senior Manager, PwC Germany

How to improve organic traffic:

• Conduct SEO research and optimize around keywords with intent, relevance and volume.
• Identify pages with declining performance and refresh them for renewed value.
• Earn backlinks from authoritative sources.

3. Paid Traffic

Paid traffic is the total number of visitors who arrived at your website through paid promotion. These include campaigns like sponsored content, paid search, and display ads. Paid campaigns are targeted based on advertiser-defined demographics, which allows them to be shown to the audience the advertiser considers most valuable—which is to say, most likely to convert.

What it tells you: Your ads are driving traffic to your content and landing pages.

How to improve paid traffic:

• Refine audience targeting based on demographics, behaviors and interests.
• Test different ad formats, creatives and copy.
• Increase budget allocation to highest-performing campaigns.

4. Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is the total amount spent divided by the number of clicks a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign had. More simply: it’s how much an advertiser pays for each click. Setting a target or benchmark CPC is useful for determining whether your paid B2B marketing campaigns are making efficient use of your ad spend. 

What it tells you: Your campaign is generating clicks at an efficient cost as a result of effective targeting, bidding, and creative.

How to improve cost per click:

• Optimize ad quality or relevance score.
• Experiment with different bidding strategies.
• Run A/B tests to find out which variations drive lower CPCs.

5. Click Through Rate (CTR)

Click through rate (CTR) the number of total impressions divided by the number of clicks. This metric is used in multiple B2B marketing contexts, including email marketing, paid search, sponsored content, and any other campaign where the total number of impressions can be measured along with the number of click throughs. CTR is one of the most common KPIs to optimize around on the fly.

What it tells you: Your messaging, creative, or CTA are compelling viewers to take the desired action and click. 

How to improve click through rate:

• Write compelling, action-oriented copy and headlines.
• Ensure CTAs are tied to genuine audience motivators and pain points.
• Explore different ad formats.

6. Conversion Rate 

Conversion rate is the number of visitors to a page divided by the number of conversions, with a conversion being whatever action you want them to take on a page. This could be anything from downloading an ebook, filling out a form, or making a purchase. 

What it tells you: You’re doing an effective job of guiding users toward the campaign’s intended goals.

How to improve conversion rate: 

• Optimize landing pages for speed, clarity and mobile-friendliness.
• Use persuasive, benefit-driven copy for ads and CTAs.
• Reduce friction in form fills (e.g. fewer fields, autofill options).
• Learn how LinkedIn Conversion Tracking helps you measure and optimize around the results that matter.

7. Cost Per Lead (CPL)

Cost per lead (CPL) is the total amount spent divided by the number of leads generated. As with CPC, this KPI will help you understand the trajectory of your B2B marketing campaign and whether or not the results justify the cost. For some organizations, the target CPL will be significantly lower than the expected revenue generated from a single sale. However, other organizations may factor in customer lifetime value (CLV) when setting this KPI. 

What it tells you: Your campaigns are making a positive impact on the pipeline at an efficient cost.

How to improve cost per lead:

• Refine ad targeting to reach a more qualified audience.
• Leverage content marketing and lead magnets such as ebooks, events and reports.
• Embrace a culture of testing and optimization.
  

Expert tip: Don’t discount the influence of upper-funnel brand marketing on lower-funnel metrics like CPL.

“We know that market share is linked to your share of voice in the market and that awareness and fame are very important. We can measure this through brand lift studies. However, we can also run experiments where we increase brand investment and look at the impact it has on reducing our cost per lead (CPL) or increasing our lead volume.” - Vivek Khandelwal, Director Digital Acquisition, Strategy and Operations, Asia Pacific and Japan, ServiceNow

8. MQL to SQL Conversion Rate

The marketing qualified lead (MQL) to sales qualified lead (SQL) conversion rate is the total number of MQLs that become SQLs. Some companies use different but roughly equivalent terminologies, such as lead to opportunity conversion rate. This KPI is useful for understanding the relevance and readiness of audiences being reached through a campaign

What it tells you: Your campaigns are attracting the right kinds of audiences, and priming them to move forward in the sales funnel.

How to improve MQL to SQL conversion rate:

• Align sales and marketing on lead qualification criteria.
• Implement lead scoring systems that prioritize high-intent prospects.
• Deploy personalized nurture campaigns and retargeting ads.

9. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total amount spent divided by the number of customers acquired. At a very high level, it indicates how much each customer costs to acquire. CPC is important for obvious reasons but can be limited in its usefulness without added context, such as the long-term impact of brand campaigns on customer acquisition, and the lifetime value of a customer acquired.

What it tells you: Your sales and marketing efforts are converting new customers with efficiency.

How to improve customer acquisition cost:

• Enhance customer segmentation and personalization strategies.
• Increase organic efforts (SEO and social) to reduce dependence on paid.
• Focus on optimizing conversion rates to lower acquisition costs.

10. Customer Lifetime Value 

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total value of a customer over their entire relationship with your brand. It can account for ongoing subscriptions, upsells, referrals and more. Gaining a complete view of CLV helps your company understand the true ROI of marketing efforts, and tracking it as a KPI helps you optimize around tactics, approaches and personas that produce the most profitable long-term customers.

What it tells you: The customers your business is acquiring are providing value and profitability beyond the initial sale.

How to improve customer lifetime value:

• Strengthen customer relationships and retention through loyalty programs and customer marketing.
• Develop strategies for cross-selling and upselling within existing accounts.
• Encourage referrals and advocacy.
  

Expert tip: Use CLV as a gauge for channel effectiveness.

“If the lifetime value of our customers start to dip relative to how much we’re investing in a channel, this helps us diagnose if we need to make changes to our messaging, audience targeting, or offering.” - Valerie Kile, Performance Marketing Manager, Alma

Get the full story on how to measure what matters most in B2B marketing: download The Future of B2B Marketing Measurement.