In order to make the most of your online marketing activities, you must be able to effectively analyse the success of your campaigns. This involves looking at the sources and volume of traffic to your site, as well as metrics like cost per click (the amount you are paying for each click on a PPC campaign), click-through rates (the number of clicks you are receiving as a fraction of the number of times the ad was viewed) and conversion rates.
PPC and affiliate marketing providers usually provide you with tools to help you track and understand these metrics. Similarly, software like Google Analytics or Mint helps you to keep track of natural search and other traffic sources.
The world of online marketing can be complex, particularly if this is your first foray into the field. But, if you are willing to spend some time getting to grips with the concepts, and deciding which elements might be of use to your business, you can derive massive benefits from these important techniques.