How do I know if my digital marketing is working?
Working means one thing: you are getting sales or enquiries at a cost you can afford, and that cost is holding steady or falling. If nobody can tell you your cost per sale, nobody can tell you whether it's working.
ShoaibUpdated 3 min read
Which numbers actually matter?
| Number | What it answers | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per sale or per enquiry | Can I afford to keep going? | Ads manager, once tracking is set up |
| Total sales or enquiries | Is the business growing? | Your own records |
| Return on ad spend | Did every dinar come back with friends? | Ads manager |
| The trend over weeks | Is it improving or decaying? | Compare month to month |
Which numbers mislead people?
- Reach and impressions — they only go up, which is why weak reports lead with them
- Likes and followers — pleasant, but they don't pay salaries
- Click-through rate alone — a great CTR with no sales usually means the ad promised something the page didn't deliver, which is covered in why ads get clicks but no sales
What if I can't see any of these?
Then the problem is measurement, not marketing. Google Ads Help defines a conversion as "a specific customer activity that is valuable to your business" — so that activity has to be chosen and tracked before anything can be judged. Start with how to know which sale came from which ad.
What should I ask for every month?
- What did we spend?
- What did we get, and at what cost each?
- What changes next month because of it?
If a report can't answer all three in plain words, ask for a different report before you change your ads. For the benchmark itself, read what ROAS means.
Want reporting that answers those three questions? See our Meta ads service.