Ad Creative Metrics That Actually Matter

Stop drowning in vanity metrics. Here are the KPIs that tell you if your creative is actually working — and what to do when it isn't.

Get Creative Scoring

Primary Performance Metrics

The metrics every marketer must track

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it.

Formula:(Clicks / Impressions) × 100

Benchmark:1-2% for Facebook, 0.5-1% for Display, 2-5% for Search

Why it matters:High CTR = compelling creative. Low CTR = creative or targeting issue.

Conversion Rate

Percentage of clickers who complete the desired action.

Formula:(Conversions / Clicks) × 100

Benchmark:2-5% for e-commerce, 10-20% for lead gen

Why it matters:Shows if your ad attracts the RIGHT clicks, not just any clicks.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

How much you pay for each conversion.

Formula:Total Spend / Conversions

Benchmark:Varies by industry — know your target CPA

Why it matters:The ultimate efficiency metric. Lower = better (usually).

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Revenue generated per dollar spent.

Formula:Revenue / Ad Spend

Benchmark:3-4x minimum for e-commerce, varies for other models

Why it matters:The money metric. Everything else supports this.

Creative-Specific Metrics

Metrics that tell you about the creative itself

Thumb-Stop Rate

Percentage who pause scrolling on your ad (video). 3+ seconds watched.

Signal: Your hook is working (or not).

Video Completion Rate

Percentage who watch your entire video ad.

Signal: Content is engaging throughout (or drops off).

Engagement Rate

Likes, comments, shares, saves combined.

Signal: Creative resonates emotionally.

Frequency

Average times each person sees your ad.

Signal: Above 3-4 = creative fatigue risk.

Ad Relevance Score

Platform's quality score for your ad (Facebook: 1-10).

Signal: How well your creative matches your audience.

Creative Fatigue Warning Signs

Indicator

Severity

CTR declining week-over-week

Early warning

Frequency above 3

Monitor closely

CPM rising without targeting changes

Take action

Conversion rate dropping

Refresh creative

20%+ performance decline from peak

Replace creative

When you see multiple warning signs, it's time to refresh your creative.

Creative Scoring

AI-powered performance prediction.

Creative Fatigue Solutions

Combat declining performance.

Ad Intelligence

Complete analytics suite.

Get AI-Powered Performance Predictions

Don't wait for bad metrics. Predict creative performance before you spend.

Try Creative Scoring

← Ad Intelligence