GlossaryFailure Modes

Vanity Metrics

Also known as: Fluff

Vanity Metrics are data points that make you look good but do not help you make decisions. Examples: Clicks, Impressions, Likes, Total Revenue (without context), ROAS (on branded search). They are the enemy of financial truth.

The Short Version

Metrics that stroke your ego, not your bank account.

Optimizing for Nothing

You optimize for lowest CPC (Cost Per Click). You get millions of clicks from bots and accidental taps.

Your CPC is amazing ($0.05). Your Sales are Zero. You optimized a vanity metric.

How it works

1

Identify metrics that correlate with Revenue (True North)

2

Identify metrics that correlate with Ego (Vanity)

3

Hide Vanity metrics from executive dashboards

Common Misconceptions

Reporting 'Impressions' as 'Brand Awareness' (It's just ad server requests)

Celebrating High ROAS on Retargeting (It's just harvesting)

Thinking 'Video Views' equals 'Mental Availability'

In SpendSignal

SpendSignal greys out vanity metrics by default. We highlight 'North Star' metrics like Incremental Profit and CAC.

Related Terms

Cfo Grade Marketing MetricsDecision Metrics Vs Execution Metrics

Frequently Asked Questions

QAre clicks ever useful?

Yes, for the media buyer debugging a creative issue. But never for the CFO. They are an input, not an outcome.

Learn more about SpendSignal

Ask about ROAS, Attribution, or Budget...