What Are Benchmarks?

Understanding Benchmarks

Benchmarks are the performance targets you set for your campaign before it launches. They define what success looks like—like aiming for a specific click-through rate, conversion rate, or cost per lead.

Think of benchmarks as your campaign's goals. You establish them upfront, then measure actual performance against them as the campaign runs. This gives you a clear way to know if your campaign is on track or needs adjustment.

Why Set Benchmarks Before Launch

Setting benchmarks matters because:

You stay objective. Without targets, it's easy to declare success on gut feeling. Benchmarks keep you honest.
You catch problems early. If performance drops below your target by day three, you can adjust creatives, audience, or budget instead of waiting until the campaign ends.
You compare fairly. Benchmarks let you compare campaigns to each other and to industry standards. "We got 2% CTR" means nothing until you know what you were aiming for.
You justify decisions. When reporting to clients, benchmarks explain why a campaign succeeded or where it fell short.

Common Benchmarks in Campaignly

The benchmarks you track depend on your campaign type. Here are typical ones:

Click-through rate (CTR) — percentage of people who see your ad and click it
Conversion rate — percentage of clicks that result in a desired action (purchase, signup, download)
Cost per click (CPC) — average amount spent per click
Cost per conversion (CPA) — average amount spent per completed conversion
Impressions — total number of times your ad is shown
Engagement rate — likes, comments, shares as a percentage of impressions

How to Use Benchmarks

Research your baseline. Look at previous campaigns you've run, industry averages for your vertical, or platform recommendations. If you're running Facebook ads for e-commerce, find out what typical CTR and ROAS (return on ad spend) look like for similar businesses.
Set realistic targets. Benchmarks should be ambitious but achievable. A 15% conversion rate might be unrealistic for cold traffic, but 2–3% could be solid. Be honest about your audience quality and creative strength.
Input benchmarks in Campaignly. Add your target numbers before the campaign goes live. Campaignly will track actual performance against these benchmarks as the campaign runs.
Monitor regularly. Check performance at least weekly. Campaignly will flag when you're trending below benchmark so you can troubleshoot.
Adjust if needed. If you're consistently below benchmark after a reasonable test period (usually 50–100 conversions), change something. Test new creative, refine your audience, or adjust your bid strategy.

Important Notes

Benchmarks aren't permanent. You can update them mid-campaign if your goals change, but document why you changed them. This helps you learn over time.
Avoid over-optimizing. One bad day doesn't mean failure. Give campaigns time to gather data before making major changes.
External factors matter. Seasonality, competition, and platform algorithm changes affect performance. Your benchmark might be perfect, but the market shifted.