Your Marketing Agency is Probably Lying to You
I’m going to be blunt: most of the reports Brisbane business owners receive from their marketing agencies are filled with absolute rubbish.
I see it every week. A local plumber or a boutique law firm gets a shiny PDF showing that 'Impressions are up 40%!' and 'Engagement is at an all-time high!' The business owner feels good for five minutes, but then they look at their bank account and realize the phone hasn't rung any more than usual.
If you are measuring your success based on how many people saw your ad rather than how many people bought from you, you aren't marketing—you’re participating in a very expensive popularity contest. In 2026, with the cost of living biting and ad costs rising, you cannot afford to track junk data.
The Vanity Trap: Digital High-Fives Don’t Pay Rent
Vanity metrics are data points that make you feel good but don’t correlate to revenue. They are the 'participation trophies' of the digital marketing world.
Impressions: This just means your ad appeared on a screen. If someone scrolled past it while looking for a cat video, that’s an impression. It’s a measure of reach, not impact. Social Media Likes: A 'like' is the lowest form of human interaction. It takes zero effort and almost never leads to a sale.
- Total Page Views: Who cares if 10,000 people visited your site if they all left within three seconds because your page didn't answer their question?
The Metrics That Actually Fill Your Calendar
If we’re going to ignore the fluff, what should we actually look at? Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, these three areas are the only ones that truly matter.
1. Conversion Rate (The Efficiency Metric)
Your conversion rate tells you how good your website is at its job. If 100 people visit your site and 5 call you, you have a 5% conversion rate. If that drops to 2%, it doesn't matter how much you spend on Google Ads; you have a 'leaky bucket' problem.2. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
How much does it actually cost you to get a new customer? If you spend $1,000 on ads and get 10 customers, your CPA is $100. If your profit margin on a job is only $80, you are literally paying $20 for the privilege of working for that customer. This is why following fixed marketing benchmarks is dangerous—your CPA needs to be unique to your specific profit margins, not an industry average.3. Lead Quality over Quantity
This is where most people get tripped up. A hundred 'cheap' leads that never pick up the phone are worth significantly less than five high-intent leads ready to book. Don't be fooled by high volumes; lead volume is a lie if it isn't backed by actual sales data.How to Clean Up Your Data Today
You don't need a degree in data science to fix this. You just need to be ruthless. Here is how you can start seeing the truth in your numbers:
1. Define a 'Win': Is a win a phone call? A form submission? A shop checkout? If it isn't one of those three, stop putting it on page one of your reports. 2. Ask for 'Bottom of Funnel' Data: Next time your agency sends a report, ask them: "How many of these clicks turned into a qualified lead?" 3. Check Your GA4 Setup: Ensure you aren't just tracking 'clicks' but specific actions, like someone clicking your 'Call Now' button or finishing a contact form.
Conclusion
Marketing in Brisbane is competitive. Whether you're a tradie in Chermside or a consultant in the CBD, your competitors are likely wasting money on vanity metrics. You can win by being the one who actually understands the math of their business. Stop looking at the 'likes' and start looking at the leads.
Confused about whether your marketing is actually working? At Local Marketing Group, we cut through the noise to show you the numbers that actually impact your bottom line. Contact us today for a straight-talking audit of your digital performance.