The Only 5 Brand KPIs You Need to Track Early

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Most startup founders can tell you their CAC, LTV, and MRR off the top of their head. Ask about brand performance, though? The answers get fuzzy. Or worse, you’ll just get a blank stare or a shrug.

We get it. Brand can feel squishy. Hard to quantify. Something you “just know” is working when your site looks slick and your Instagram feels on-point.

But brand isn’t just creative. It’s strategic. And if you want it to grow, you need to measure it like any other part of your business.

The good news? You don’t need a full-blown brand tracker built by McKinsey to get started. Just a few focused KPIs, a bit of setup, and a regular habit of review.

Here are the only five brand KPIs that matter in the early days—what they are, why they matter, and how to track them without a multi-million dollar brand budget.

1. Direct Traffic (aka: Do they know your name?)

What it is:
The number of people who visit your site by typing your URL directly into the browser—without clicking an ad, Google result, or referral link.

Why it matters:
This is one of the clearest signs that your brand is working. If someone skips Google and types you in directly, they didn’t just find you—they remembered you.

"Direct traffic is brand awareness in action. It’s your name living rent-free in someone’s brain."
— Rand Fishkin, SparkToro

How to track it:

1. Open Google Analytics (GA4)

2. Navigate to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition

3. In the Session default channel group column, find “Direct”

To get the most from it:

• Track the percentage of total traffic coming from “Direct,” not just the raw number.

• Watch for steady growth over time. This indicates increasing brand awareness.

• Use Annotations in GA to mark spikes from things like press hits, podcast mentions, or social virality.

2. Repeat Visit Rate

What it is:
The percentage of users who come back to your site more than once in a given timeframe.

Why it matters:
Good branding creates emotional resonance. It makes people want to return—even if they’re not ready to buy yet. High repeat visit rates suggest that your brand is sticky, credible, and offering perceived value.

How to track it:

1. In GA4, go to Reports → Retention

2. Under Returning Users, set a time window (7 or 28 days)

3. Calculate:
   Returning users ÷ Total users × 100 = Repeat Visit Rate

To benchmark:

• For early-stage B2B SaaS: Aim for 25–40%

• For DTC or content brands: 40%+ is healthy

Review this metric weekly or monthly, and note changes after launches, brand updates, or messaging shifts.

3. Branded Search Volume

What it is:
The number of times people search for your brand name (or close variants) on Google.

Why it matters:
This is the ultimate signal that people are not only aware of you, but actively looking for you. It reflects top-of-mind awareness, word-of-mouth referrals, and a growing reputation.

How to track it (free):

1. Use Google Search Console

2. Navigate to Performance → Search Results

3. Filter by Queries, then search for:

   • yourbrandname

   • yourbrandname + review

   • yourbrandname + pricing/product name

Optional (for deeper tracking):

• Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to monitor branded keyword trends and search volumes over time.

To interpret:

• Rising branded search without a corresponding spike in paid media usually means organic buzz is building.

• If volume is stagnant, your brand isn’t sticking yet—or word-of-mouth isn’t scaling.

4. Referral Quality

What it is:
A qualitative KPI that tracks not just how many people are referring you—but whether those referrals are high-fit, high-intent, and aligned with your ideal customer.

Why it matters:
Strong referrals are the gold standard of brand equity. They mean your brand is trusted enough to be shared—and accurately understood.

How to track it:

1. Add a required field to your signup or onboarding form, like:

   • “How did you hear about us?”

   • Or even better: “What made you decide to check us out?”

2. Categorize responses manually (in a spreadsheet or CRM):

   • “Friend / Colleague”

   • “Slack / Discord / Community”

   • “Twitter / LinkedIn”

   • “Podcast”

   • “Blog post or newsletter”

3. Analyze:

   • Which referral sources convert best?

   • Are people coming from word-of-mouth, or just through paid ads?

   • Are you seeing qualitative indicators like:

     • “Saw your founder on X”

     • “My CTO sent me this”

Tool tip: Use tools like Typeform, Tally, or native signup forms in your CRM with tags that auto-categorize responses for easier tracking.

5. Conversion Rate from “Cold” Traffic

What it is:
How well completely new visitors (not referred, not repeat) convert on your site—whether that’s a signup, a waitlist join, or a product purchase.

Why it matters:
This is where branding meets performance. You’ve got seconds to convince someone you’re worth trusting. A strong brand doesn’t just attract attention—it drives action. If your design, messaging, and experience are aligned, conversion rates go up.

How to track it:

1. In GA4, navigate to:
   Reports → Acquisition → User Acquisition

2. Filter by First user source / medium

   • Focus on:

     • Organic Search

     • Organic Social

     • Direct

     • Referral

   • Exclude traffic from Paid, Email, or CRM sources to isolate cold audiences.

3. Monitor:

   • Bounce rate: % of people who leave immediately

   • Engagement time: Time on page and scroll depth

   • Primary conversion metric (e.g., signups, demo requests)

Calculate conversion rate:
Conversions ÷ Unique visitors × 100

To act on insights:

• If conversion from cold is low, review your homepage hero, value prop clarity, and visual trust signals (e.g., testimonials, logos).

• Tools like Hotjar or FullStory can show you where cold users are dropping off in real-time.

Final Thought

Early brand signals aren’t found in ad impressions or Instagram followers—they’re found in how people remember, revisit, and refer you.

These five KPIs won’t give you the whole story—but they’ll give you the right early signals. They’ll help you spot when your brand is resonating, where it’s falling flat, and what’s worth doubling down on.

So track them. Revisit them monthly. And use them to guide how you write, design, and deliver every customer experience.

Because when brand is measured, it can be improved.

Until next time—build it, brand it, then track it.
 

Best,

Edwin