Ever since the first banner ad appeared and asked the question "Have you ever clicked your mouse right here?" (AT&T ad on HotWired in 1994), agencies and marketers have tracked and talked about the click...but is that really a valuable measurement?

Now, before I raise too many hackles, I do believe that clicks are an important metric, but it's a relative measurement and doesn't necessarily equate to business success. I recognize as an agency, we really only have one goal— helping our clients' businesses be more successful. If you lose sight of that, you might as well get into a new line of work.

So what should we be measuring? Business impact, of course. As digital marketers, we need to expand our range of metrics. We can't just stay in our safety zone by focusing on impressions, clicks and engagement (try to tie that to a business goal). Spend a little more time with your analytics team, you'd be surprised at how much more you can learn by taking your metrics to the next step. Changing your mindset from clicks to conversions is the first step, but don't stop there; there are  lots of other things you can track.

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