Digital Marketing Analytics and Data-Driven Marketing Syllabus

What is a conversion funnel?

The step-by-step path a user takes toward a conversion (e.g., visit → product view → add to cart → checkout → purchase), used to identify where users drop off.

What is 'attribution' in marketing analytics?

The process of assigning credit for a conversion to the marketing touchpoints (channels, ads, campaigns) that contributed along the user's path.

Compare last-click vs first-click attribution.

Last-click gives all conversion credit to the final touchpoint before conversion; first-click gives all credit to the first touchpoint that introduced the user.

What is data-driven attribution?

An attribution model that uses machine learning to distribute conversion credit across touchpoints based on their actual measured contribution, rather than a fixed rule.

What are engagement metrics?

Metrics that measure how actively users interact with content, such as engaged sessions, engagement rate, average engagement time, likes, comments, shares, and saves.

What is an 'engaged session' in GA4?

A session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a key/conversion event, or includes at least 2 page/screen views.

What is the formula for engagement rate in GA4?

$$\text{Engagement Rate} = \frac{\text{Engaged Sessions}}{\text{Total Sessions}} \times 100\%$$

How does engagement rate relate to bounce rate in GA4?

They are complements: $$\text{Bounce Rate} = 1 - \text{Engagement Rate}$$ In GA4, bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that were NOT engaged.

Define bounce rate (Universal Analytics definition).

The percentage of single-page sessions in which the user left without triggering any further interaction. $$\text{Bounce Rate} = \frac{\text{Single-page (non-interaction) Sessions}}{\text{Total Sessions}} \times 100\%$$

What is social media engagement rate, and one common formula?

The share of an audience that interacts with content. A common formula: $$\text{Engagement Rate} = \frac{\text{Total Engagements}}{\text{Total Followers}} \times 100\%$$

Give the formula for engagement rate by reach (ERR).

$$\text{ERR} = \frac{\text{Total Engagements}}{\text{Reach}} \times 100\%$$ where engagements are likes, comments, shares, saves, etc.

What is the difference between reach and impressions?

Reach is the number of unique people who saw content; impressions is the total number of times content was displayed (one person can generate multiple impressions).

What is follower growth rate and how is it calculated?

The percentage increase in followers over a period. $$\text{Growth Rate} = \frac{\text{New Followers}}{\text{Followers at Start}} \times 100\%$$

If an account starts a month with 8,000 followers and ends with 8,600, what is the follower growth rate?

$$\frac{8600 - 8000}{8000} \times 100\% = \frac{600}{8000} \times 100\% = 7.5\%$$

Why is follower growth rate a better metric than raw follower count?

Growth rate is relative and comparable across accounts of different sizes, showing momentum, whereas raw count ignores starting size and pace of change.

What is net follower growth?

The number of followers gained minus followers lost (unfollows) over a period. $$\text{Net Growth} = \text{New Followers} - \text{Unfollows}$$

What is content performance analysis?

Evaluating how individual pieces of content (posts, pages, videos, emails) perform against goals using metrics like views, engagement, shares, conversions, and time spent.

Name key content performance metrics for a blog post or web page.

Page views, unique page views, average engagement time (time on page), scroll depth, bounce/engagement rate, entrances/exits, and conversions attributed to the page.

What is average engagement time per session in GA4?

The average time the app/site was in focus (actively engaged) per session, replacing Universal Analytics' 'average session duration.'

What is 'exit rate' and how does it differ from bounce rate?

Exit rate is the percentage of sessions that ended on a given page (of all views of that page). Bounce rate applies only to single-page/non-engaged sessions. Every bounce is an exit, but not every exit is a bounce.

What is open rate in email marketing?

The percentage of delivered emails that recipients opened. $$\text{Open Rate} = \frac{\text{Unique Opens}}{\text{Emails Delivered}} \times 100\%$$

An email is delivered to 5,000 people and opened by 1,250. What is the open rate?

$$\frac{1250}{5000} \times 100\% = 25\%$$

Why should open rate use 'delivered' rather than 'sent' in the denominator?

Because bounced emails never reached inboxes; using delivered emails gives an accurate measure of how many reachable recipients actually opened.

What primarily drives email open rates?

The subject line, preview/preheader text, sender name/reputation, and send timing, since these are what the recipient sees before deciding to open.

Why have email open rates become less reliable recently?

Privacy features like Apple's Mail Privacy Protection pre-load tracking pixels, inflating and obscuring true opens, so many marketers now emphasize click-based metrics.

What is click-through rate (CTR)?

The percentage of people who clicked a link out of those who saw or received it. $$\text{CTR} = \frac{\text{Clicks}}{\text{Impressions (or Delivered)}} \times 100\%$$

An ad receives 20,000 impressions and 500 clicks. What is the CTR?

$$\frac{500}{20000} \times 100\% = 2.5\%$$

Differentiate email CTR from click-to-open rate (CTOR).

CTR = clicks ÷ delivered emails; CTOR = clicks ÷ unique opens. CTOR isolates how compelling the email content was to those who actually opened it. $$\text{CTOR} = \frac{\text{Unique Clicks}}{\text{Unique Opens}} \times 100\%$$

In paid search/ads, why is CTR important beyond clicks?

CTR is a key signal of ad relevance and quality; a higher CTR improves Quality Score/ad rank, which can lower cost-per-click and improve ad positioning.

What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?

The systematic process of increasing the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, using techniques like A/B testing, funnel analysis, and UX improvements.

What is A/B testing and how does it relate to conversion rates?

A controlled experiment comparing two versions (A and B) of a page, ad, or email to see which produces a higher conversion (or click/open) rate, isolating the effect of a single change.