March 2023 Performance by the Numbers

It’s March performance roundup time! Curious how your marketing efforts compare?…

The Numbers

March 2023 Paid Channel Share of Budget

  • Google: 33% (down from 41% in Feb)

  • Meta: 46% (up from 39% in Feb)

  • Pinterest: 3% (flat to Feb)

  • Programmatic: 8% (up from 6% in Feb)

  • TikTok: 8% (flat to Feb)

  • YouTube: 2% (flat to Feb)

March 2023 Average ROAS by Paid Channel

  • Google: 3.9 (down from 4.2 in Feb)

  • Meta: 4.1 (up from 3.7 in Feb) Advantage+ averages 4.5

  • Pinterest: 4.5 (Up from 3.1 in Feb)

  • Programmatic: 6.1 (down from 7.0 in Feb)

  • TikTok: 1.6 (flat to Feb)

  • YouTube: 0.7 (flat to Feb)

March 2023 Average Conversion Rate by Paid Channel

  • Google: 6.35% (up from 6.24% in Feb)

  • Meta: 1.17% (up from 1.10% in Feb)

  • Pinterest: 6.83% (up from 3.78% in Feb)

  • Programmatic: 3.38% (flat to Feb)

  • TikTok: 1.87% (up from 1.20% in Feb)

  • YouTube: 0.55% (flat to Feb)

March 2023 Average SEO Contribution to Total Business

  • Percentage of Total Site Traffic: 43.7% (up from 41.6% in Feb)

  • Percentage of Total Site Revenue: 40.3% (up from 39.8% in Feb)

  • Average Conversion Rate: 2.10% (flat to Feb)

March 2023 Average Affiliate Marketing Contribution to Total Business

  • Percentage of Total Site Traffic: 9.1% (up from 8.7% in Feb)

  • Percentage of Total Site Revenue: 10.0% (down from 11.1% in Feb)

  • Average Conversion Rate: 2.88% (down from 2.91% in Feb)

The Summary

Paid Media: Meta outperformed Google in terms of ROAS in March (opposite was true in Feb).

Programmatic WINS BIG for ROAS points; not surprisingly, more and more of our clients are diversifying into this channel and away from Meta.

TikTok conversion rate continues to exceed Meta’s as proof conversions are possible on the platform.

UGCs continue to be the best performing assets while carousels are making a comeback on Meta. Including user benefits in ad copy is the winning message pillar for March.

AOV is higher on Meta than on Google, likely because most Google campaigns are top-of-funnel (targeting users unfamiliar with the brand), and Meta has a greater reach for bottom-of-funnel audiences (users who are familiar with the brand and therefore more likely to spend more money on a trusted product). We also theorize that Google attracts more “entry-level” customers while Meta is better for more educated customers.

Performance Max and Meta Advantage+ Shopping are areas we’re seeing strong MoM ROI. Is there an opportunity for your brand to test these channels?  

SEO: we’re seeing an average of 9% more ranking keywords for our brands MoM, meaning we are continuing to get ranking positions for more diverse keywords. We are also seeing average position improve by 1.9% MoM.

More brands are utilizing backlink development and content syndication as a way to grow strength signals. And don’t discredit the value of disavowing low quality backlinks, this type of clean up has been paying off well in Q1.

Affiliates: New publisher growth has been 7% MoM. The majority of revenue is coming from existing publishers, not new publishers.

Q2 is all about re-evaulating campaigns, assets, and reviewing the structure changes made in Q1.

The Pennock WayNikki Lindgren