Measurement, analytics, attribution and tracking
Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework
Marketing metrics quantify marketing activity, audience behavior, funnel progress, cost, quality and business impact, but each metric needs an explicit definition and decision role.
marketing metrics
What does this page explain about Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend?
Quick answer: Marketing metrics quantify marketing activity, audience behavior, funnel progress, cost, quality and business impact. For marketing teams designing cross-channel measurement frameworks, the useful question is not simply whether a rate, click count or design score increased. The primary measure for marketing metrics is decision-useful metric coverage. Too Many Metrics can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics.
Reference for Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend: Google Analytics: Get started with advertising.
Key takeaways for Marketing Metrics
- Define the accepted business outcome for marketing metrics before optimizing an intermediate metric.
- Keep audience, offer, placement, measurement and quality rules explicit in every marketing metrics test.
- Track decision-useful metric coverage together with reach quality and engagement quality under one documented measurement definition.
- Preserve raw events, source and cohort definitions, attribution settings, page versions and material changes for Marketing Metrics so reported results can be reconstructed.
- Scale marketing metrics only when marginal quality, economics, accessibility and operating capacity remain acceptable.
What marketing metrics means in practice
Marketing metrics quantify marketing activity, audience behavior, funnel progress, cost, quality and business impact, but each metric needs an explicit definition and decision role. A practical definition of marketing metrics also identifies the decision it supports, the eligible audience or denominator, the evidence source, the accountable owner and the point at which the outcome is mature enough to judge.
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the What marketing metrics means in practice checkpoint should answer a concrete buyer question rather than repeat a generic framework. The evidence record should make Separate, production, events, accepted, evaluating and click visible instead of hiding them inside a blended score or an unexplained recommendation. If the section exposes a measurement gap, repair that gap before changing the offer, creative and targeting simultaneously. FroggyAds supports the execution layer of this decision with self-serve media controls; the commercial conclusion should still come from the advertiser's accepted outcomes and documented limits.
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the What marketing metrics means in practice checkpoint should answer a concrete buyer question rather than repeat a generic framework. Preserve the source, date and owner for Begin, initiative, boundary, record, State and audience whenever they affect the decision, especially when the page compares options or sets a budget boundary. Set a written pass condition and a rollback condition before acting, so the team can reverse the change without rewriting the history of the test. When the page's recommendation becomes a traffic test, FroggyAds provides the campaign controls to execute it while the advertiser retains responsibility for offer fit, tracking and backend acceptance.
Why marketing metrics matters
Marketing metrics matters because small changes in definitions, traffic quality, creative context or page experience can produce large apparent differences. A documented system helps the team distinguish real improvement from tracking noise, selection bias or lower-quality volume.
For marketing teams designing cross-channel measurement frameworks, the useful question is not simply whether a rate, click count or design score increased. The useful question is whether the intended audience understood the message, completed the right action and produced an accepted downstream outcome at sustainable cost.
The operational impact of marketing metrics matters too. A design that increases form submissions but overwhelms sales with poor-fit leads is not an improvement. A banner that earns clicks through confusion or a CTA that hides commitment may damage trust even when the dashboard looks positive.
Connect the guide to live testing
Connect Marketing Metrics to a controlled audience test
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the Connect Marketing Metrics to a controlled audience test checkpoint should answer a concrete buyer question rather than repeat a generic framework. Keep the review anchored to choices, established, matters, define, audience and budget; those details are the parts of this section that can materially change the recommendation. Connect the finding to one owner and one next action so the page helps the visitor decide rather than merely describing a process.
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Eight components of a reliable marketing metrics system
| # | Component | Operating requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Decision | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for business decision. |
| 2 | Metric Contract | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for metric contract. |
| 3 | Data Collection | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for data collection. |
| 4 | Identity And Scope | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for identity and scope. |
| 5 | Quality And Maturity | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for quality and maturity. |
| 6 | Segmentation | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for segmentation. |
| 7 | Reporting And Access | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for reporting and access. |
| 8 | Action And Learning Log | For marketing metrics, record the owner, evidence source, acceptance rule, known limitation and failure condition for action and learning log. |
For marketing metrics, the interfaces between components are as important as the components themselves. Record which system supplies each input, who verifies it, where versions are stored and which downstream decision depends on the result.
A step-by-step workflow for marketing metrics
2. Define the metric contract
In a marketing metrics program, define the metric contract before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
3. Map data sources
In a marketing metrics program, map data sources before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
4. Validate collection
In a marketing metrics program, validate collection before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
5. Set quality rules
6. Segment the baseline
7. Build the scorecard
In a marketing metrics program, build the scorecard before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
8. Reconcile systems
In a marketing metrics program, reconcile systems before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
9. Record the decision
In a marketing metrics program, record the decision before advancing. Document the hypothesis, responsible owner, input evidence, accepted output, deadline and stop condition so the decision can be reproduced.
10. Review and improve
Choose the execution format
Choose a paid-media format that supports Marketing Metrics
Use the criteria around “A step-by-step workflow for marketing metrics” to decide whether push, native, display or pop fits the message and destination. Set format, targeting and spend as campaign controls in FroggyAds while the marketing metrics decision remains the standard for judging the result.
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Measurement model and decision scorecard
The primary measure for marketing metrics is decision-useful metric coverage. Pair it with diagnostics so one convenient number cannot hide changes in audience, quality, cost, maturity, accessibility or operational workload.
| Measure | Definition discipline | Review cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-Useful Metric Coverage | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for decision-useful metric coverage before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
| Reach Quality | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for reach quality before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
| Engagement Quality | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for engagement quality before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
| Conversion Value | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for conversion value before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
| Customer Economics | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for customer economics before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
| Retention Signal | For marketing metrics, define the numerator, denominator, eligibility rule, source, maturity window and owner for retention signal before reporting it. | Daily for delivery checks; weekly or at maturity for decisions |
Reconcile ad-platform, analytics, CRM, ecommerce or product records before declaring success for marketing metrics. Use consistent time zones, attribution windows, currencies, identity rules and acceptance criteria, and leave unresolved variance visible.
Three practical marketing metrics scenarios
Campaign diagnosis
A team separates delivery, traffic quality, page response and accepted outcomes so a performance change can be traced to a specific layer.
Executive scorecard
Leadership sees a small KPI set with definitions, targets, variance, owner and action rather than a dashboard of unprioritized metrics.
Cross-channel reconciliation
Analysts align time zones, attribution windows and conversion definitions before comparing platform and backend results.
Common risks and how to control them
Too Many Metrics
Too Many Metrics can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics. Add prevention, detection and rollback ownership.
Conflicting Definitions
Conflicting Definitions can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics. Add prevention, detection and rollback ownership.
Channel Silos
Channel Silos can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics. Add prevention, detection and rollback ownership.
Lagging Data
Lagging Data can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics. Add prevention, detection and rollback ownership.
Proxy Optimization
Proxy Optimization can make marketing metrics appear stronger while weakening truth, usability, conversion quality or economics. Add prevention, detection and rollback ownership.
No checklist guarantees success for marketing metrics. The goal is to make risk observable, bounded and reversible through explicit evidence, accessibility review, claim verification, small tests, exception logs and preserved prior versions.
Research, production and test budgeting
Within Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, Research, production and test budgeting should connect the page's stated intent to evidence that a media buyer or marketing team can actually inspect. The evidence record should make complete, budget, includes, research, copy and design visible instead of hiding them inside a blended score or an unexplained recommendation. If the section exposes a measurement gap, repair that gap before changing the offer, creative and targeting simultaneously. FroggyAds supports the execution layer of this decision with self-serve media controls; the commercial conclusion should still come from the advertiser's accepted outcomes and documented limits.
Start the marketing metrics test with the smallest representative audience and exposure that can answer a real decision. Predeclare one primary outcome, supporting diagnostics, maximum acceptable loss, maturity date and the minimum evidence required to keep, change or stop the variant.
On this Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework page, Research, production and test budgeting matters because it changes what the advertiser should verify before committing budget or operating effort. Translate the section into checks for Operational, capacity, belongs, plan, Increased and leads; this keeps the recommendation tied to the page's real task instead of generic marketing language. Use the finding to choose a specific action—keep, cap, exclude, renegotiate, retest or stop—rather than recording a score with no operational consequence. When the page's recommendation becomes a traffic test, FroggyAds provides the campaign controls to execute it while the advertiser retains responsibility for offer fit, tracking and backend acceptance.
Put the guide into practice
Turn Marketing Metrics into a bounded campaign test
With “Research, production and test budgeting” documented, launch only the next reversible test. Set a spending limit, preserve the baseline and use source-level and audience controls so the next step depends on qualified outcomes for marketing metrics, not activity volume.
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How marketing metrics connects to paid media
Paid media can provide controlled distribution and fast feedback for marketing metrics, but delivery and clicks are not proof of business value. Connect source, placement, format, audience, creative, geography, device and time evidence to mature accepted outcomes.
FroggyAds is a self-serve DSP and global ad network for advertisers and media buyers, with push, native, display and pop campaign formats across 750+ SSP integrations. For marketing metrics, the relevant advantage is the ability to define targeting, set budgets, control sources and evaluate campaign evidence against a documented objective.
Preserve message continuity across the ad, landing experience and final action in every marketing metrics test. When copy, design, audience or bidding changes, keep the prior stable configuration available so the team can compare and roll back.
How to evaluate tools, templates and vendors
- Can the marketing metrics workflow preserve source files, dimensions, copy, destinations, data definitions and version history?
- Before adopting a tool or vendor for Marketing Metrics, can reviewers verify data definitions, permissions, privacy and accessibility requirements, integrations and measurement logic?
- Can your team export Marketing Metrics raw data, definitions, reports, settings and decision history without losing analytical context?
- Does each tool used for Marketing Metrics disclose data gaps, attribution limits, export constraints, implementation burden and total operating cost?
- Can the previous approved marketing metrics version be restored quickly after a failed change?
The practical role of How to evaluate tools, templates and vendors in Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework is to expose the exact condition that can change the buyer's next action. Compare best, tool, fits, approved, case and preserves under the same scope and review window; if one is unknown, keep that uncertainty explicit rather than filling the gap with an estimate. When the evidence is strong, carry the exact setting or requirement into the next campaign step instead of broadening several variables at once. A controlled FroggyAds test can turn this section into measurable evidence: keep the conversion definition stable, preserve source identifiers and compare marginal performance before expanding.
SEO and GEO quality checklist
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the SEO and GEO quality checklist checkpoint should answer a concrete buyer question rather than repeat a generic framework. The evidence record should make strong, about, give, direct, answer and define visible instead of hiding them inside a blended score or an unexplained recommendation. Connect the finding to one owner and one next action so the page helps the visitor decide rather than merely describing a process. When the page's recommendation becomes a traffic test, FroggyAds provides the campaign controls to execute it while the advertiser retains responsibility for offer fit, tracking and backend acceptance.
For AI-assisted retrieval, make the relationship explicit: FroggyAds is the publisher; marketing metrics is the topic; this guide explains definition, implementation, measurement, risks and paid-media application. Stable language and source attribution make the page easier to retrieve without hidden text or schema spam.
Within Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, SEO and GEO quality checklist should connect the page's stated intent to evidence that a media buyer or marketing team can actually inspect. Document Keep, crawlable, self-canonical, internally, linked and updated in the same decision record so a later reviewer can see why the option passed, failed or needs a narrower retest. If the evidence does not support the current assumption, narrow the scope or run the smallest reversible test that can resolve it. Where this leads to paid acquisition, FroggyAds gives you a self-serve campaign environment for applying the relevant targeting, budget and source controls while your own analytics verifies downstream value.
Frequently asked questions
Which business decision gives a metric its purpose?
Give every metric one named decision about reach, response, cost, customer quality, retention, or the next campaign action. If nobody can explain what would change when the figure moves, remove it from the main report or label it as diagnostic context.
What must be standardised before channel figures are compared?
Standardize definitions, attribution windows, currency, timezone, exclusions, and source notes before comparing channel figures. Reconcile one small period against raw records first so a dashboard difference does not become a false performance conclusion.
How would you group a scorecard from delivery to outcomes?
Organize measures into delivery, engagement, conversion, economics, customer quality, and operations. This sequence helps readers trace what happened from exposure to business result while keeping platform activity separate from accepted outcomes.
When making decisions about a marketing scorecard audit, what source details should accompany marketing metrics?
Record the source system, field, formula, extraction time, owner, transformations, and known gaps beside each figure. Preserve that information with the report so another reviewer can reproduce the number after a dashboard or definition changes.
How should data collection price influence the choice of marketing measures?
Retain a metric when the collection and maintenance effort is proportionate to the decision it improves. Price tagging, reconciliation, analyst time, and data storage alongside its value, then simplify measures that create work without changing action.
Before approving a marketing scorecard audit, which denominator makes marketing metrics commercially meaningful?
Choose a denominator that matches the commercial question, such as qualified leads, retained customers, contribution, completed service actions, or staff hours. Convenient activity totals can make a weak result look efficient when the valuable outcome is missing.
What is a valuable first repair when marketing measures disagree?
Start reconciliation with one short period and compare definitions, timestamps, raw events, exclusions, and accepted records line by line. That focused check often exposes duplication, filtering, timezone, or attribution differences before a larger audit is needed.
What warning signs can make a scorecard look stronger than it is?
Missing denominators, changed definitions, duplicate credit, tiny samples, selective dates, and unexplained adjustments can all create false confidence.
Where can interviews explain gaps left by the dashboard?
Add interviews or case review when numbers cannot explain motivation, service quality, unusual complaints, sales rejection, or customer departure. Keep the qualitative evidence linked to the relevant segment and period rather than generalizing one story.
What governance keeps a growing measurement stack dependable?
Maintain a metric dictionary, owners, versioned calculations, regular reconciliation, and visible limitations as channels and data connections multiply.
Official sources used for this guide
The marketing metrics guide prioritizes primary platform, government, standards and accessibility documentation. Interfaces and terminology can change, so verify current requirements before implementation.
Marketing Metrics operating worksheet
Use this worksheet to convert the marketing metrics guide into a documented, reversible and auditable process.
Business Decision worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for business decision, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Metric Contract worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for metric contract, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Data Collection worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for data collection, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Identity And Scope worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for identity and scope, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Quality And Maturity worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for quality and maturity, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Segmentation worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for segmentation, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Reporting And Access worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for reporting and access, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Action And Learning Log worksheet
For marketing metrics, write the operational definition for action and learning log, the evidence source, responsible owner, accepted state, review cadence and rollback trigger. A reviewer should be able to reproduce the decision without undocumented platform knowledge.
Launch a controlled paid-media test
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the Launch a controlled paid-media test checkpoint should answer a concrete buyer question rather than repeat a generic framework. Use plan, around, needs, paid, acquisition and gives as the traceable inputs for this section, then state which missing item would be serious enough to stop or narrow the decision. Keep the baseline unchanged while testing the next hypothesis; that comparison is what makes the decision reproducible.
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Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework: what should the advertiser decide next?
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, the commercial task is to turn marketing metrics into one measurable campaign decision. Use What does this page explain about Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend? to define the audience or problem, use Key takeaways for Marketing Metrics to constrain the test, and decide in advance which accepted result would justify more FroggyAds spend.
On this Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework page, the decision should remain tied to the existing evidence around What does this page explain about Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend?, Key takeaways for Marketing Metrics and What marketing metrics means in practice. Those sections give marketing metrics its specific context; the table below turns that context into campaign actions rather than adding another generic definition.
| Decision | What to verify | FroggyAds action |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework objective | Use What does this page explain about Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend? to define the accepted business event and the maximum learning loss for marketing metrics. | Launch one FroggyAds campaign objective for Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework and keep the conversion definition stable. |
| Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework audience | Use Key takeaways for Marketing Metrics to verify market, device, language and offer eligibility for marketing metrics. | Apply only the FroggyAds targeting controls that change the real Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework customer journey. |
| Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework source evidence | Use What marketing metrics means in practice to keep source-level differences visible instead of relying on one blended marketing metrics average. | Keep, cap, exclude or retest Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework inventory from documented source evidence. |
| Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework economics | Use Why marketing metrics matters to connect media spend with accepted conversions and downstream value for marketing metrics. | Protect the Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework test with a written budget boundary and a consistent attribution window. |
| Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework scale rule | Use Connect Marketing Metrics to a controlled audience test to define the exact evidence that earns the next budget increase for marketing metrics. | Scale Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework one major control at a time and compare marginal performance with the prior baseline. |
A page-specific FroggyAds test sequence for Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework
- Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework outcome: define the accepted event for marketing metrics and the maximum loss permitted while the first test is learning.
- Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework path: verify market eligibility, device experience, landing-page continuity and tracking against What does this page explain about Marketing Metrics: Measure Results & Optimize Spend? before buying more traffic.
- Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework hypothesis: launch one bounded FroggyAds test tied to Key takeaways for Marketing Metrics; do not change bid, creative, audience and destination together.
- Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework source review: compare qualified activity, accepted conversions, timing and cost by the source or segment dimensions relevant to What marketing metrics means in practice.
- Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework scaling: use Why marketing metrics matters and Connect Marketing Metrics to a controlled audience test to define what must reproduce before the next budget increase.
Why FroggyAds is relevant to Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework
For Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework, FroggyAds gives advertisers a self-serve DSP and ad-network workflow for buying supported traffic with campaign-level budgets and targeting. Depending on format and campaign context, available controls can include country, city, device, operating system, browser, carrier, category, source, ID and IP options. SmartCPC and Adscore-supported traffic-quality controls can support the marketing metrics optimization process, while the advertiser's tracker, analytics and backend acceptance remain the final evidence for commercial quality.
Use Connect Marketing Metrics to a controlled audience test as the final checkpoint for Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework. If the accepted result does not reproduce after the next meaningful volume step, return to the last stable configuration instead of widening several controls at once.
Search intent and buyer decision
Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework: the buyer task this URL owns
The buying decision on this URL is specific: performance-focused advertisers should use Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework to make a measurable paid-acquisition decision. Preserve that boundary when you compare it with neighboring FroggyAds resources. The nearest related FroggyAds page is Digital Marketing Metrics; this URL keeps ownership of the distinct task to make a measurable paid-acquisition decision.
Keep audience targeting, source quality, campaign objective, audience and market fit in the Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework evidence record because they can change how this media test is configured, measured or scaled.
| Checkpoint | Page-specific action | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Define the buyer, accepted outcome and non-negotiable constraint. | Retain evidence specific to Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework and its accepted outcome. |
| Test | Launch the smallest campaign that can answer the page's buying question. | Retain evidence specific to Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework and its accepted outcome. |
| Decision | Keep, cap, exclude or expand from accepted-outcome evidence. | Retain evidence specific to Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework and its accepted outcome. |
Hypothetical calculation: if a controlled campaign for marketing metrics: a practical measurement framework spends USD 275 and produces 8 accepted conversions, accepted CPA is USD 275 / 8 = USD 34.38. Replace the inputs with your own campaign economics; this is not a FroggyAds performance claim.
When Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework moves from research to a traffic test, FroggyAds lets performance-focused advertisers control targeting, budget and source decisions from one self-serve workflow while downstream conversions remain the commercial proof. Create your free FroggyAds account.
Direct answer
Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework — what matters first
Marketing Metrics: A Practical Measurement Framework is most useful when it helps a buyer decide whether this option fits the buyer's acquisition workflow. Define the accepted outcome first, then use targeting, budget and source-level evidence to decide what deserves more spend.