How to Track What’s Really Working in Your Marketing (and Stop Wasting Money)

Marketing your business can feel like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. You’re posting, advertising, and investing in strategies, but how do you really know what’s working? If you’re not tracking your marketing data correctly, you might be wasting money without even realizing it.

In a recent episode of The Seed, I sat down with Jeff Greenfield—an expert in marketing analytics—to talk about why so many business owners feel lost when it comes to tracking their marketing efforts. The truth is, even big corporations struggle with understanding which half of their marketing is actually driving results.

Why Tracking Marketing Success is So Hard

For years, marketers have relied on Google Analytics and click-through rates to measure success. But Jeff explained that this method leaves out a huge piece of the puzzle.

The biggest mistake? Relying only on clicks. Marketing doesn’t work in a straight line where a person sees an ad, clicks, and instantly buys. Instead, marketing is a journey:

Awareness – Someone sees your content, but doesn’t engage. Engagement – They interact with your brand, maybe watching a video or visiting your site later. Conversion – When they’re ready, they finally make a purchase.

But here’s the kicker: most analytics tools only track steps 2 and 3—and completely ignore awareness. That’s why Jeff recommends a shift in mindset from tracking only clicks to also measuring impressions (the number of people who see your marketing content).

How to Track What’s Really Working

Instead of obsessing over clicks, Jeff suggests using this simple DIY method to track marketing effectiveness:

✅ Create a Google Sheet with these columns:

• Date
• Impressions (How many people saw your content)
• Clicks (How many clicked on your link)
• Sales (Or another conversion metric like downloads or sign-ups)

✅ Look for patterns. Does an increase in impressions lead to more clicks and sales a few days or weeks later? If so, you’ll start to understand what’s really driving conversions.

✅ Test and refine. Once you identify what’s working, focus more on those strategies and ditch the ones that aren’t getting traction.

Where Should You Be Focusing Your Marketing Efforts?

Marketing algorithms are changing constantly, making it harder for small business owners to get organic traffic. Here’s where Jeff sees the most success: