It’s monthly report time.
Buried in it: a 3.26% conversion rate. It’s a perfectly respectable number. It’s also, on its own, completely meaningless.
Because the question that follows is always some variation of the following:
“Is that good?”
It’s a fair question. It’s also one we can’t answer honestly with a shrug, a vibe or a number pulled from the top of our heads. So here’s how we actually answer it, and how you can too.
A number is not good or bad on its own
That’s the whole idea behind benchmarking, in one sentence: a metric only means something relative to a reference point. 3.26% isn’t strong or weak in isolation, it’s strong or weak compared to something. Benchmarking is simply the discipline of picking that something correctly.
Sounds simple, right? It isn’t, because the honest answer to “is that good?” is almost always "it depends." And it depends on more than most people expect:
What industry or vertical are we talking about?
What’s our own historical performance: month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year?
Do we have an agreed target that we’re being measured against?
Is the sample size big enough to mean anything?
What’s the traffic source or mix – apples and apples, or apples and oranges?
What external or market factors are at play (hello, seasonality)?
And there are loads more…
Skip a checklist like this, and “is that good?” gets answered with a guess dressed up as an insight. Which is worse than no answer at all.
Three ways to actually answer it
Once you’ve accounted for the above, there are three legitimate places to find a reference point and each comes with its own catch.
1. Your own historical performance
Think GA4, Search Console, CRM systems, social analytics… Whatever you use to track and collect your first-party data. “Traffic dropped 10% this time last year, in line with the school summer holidays” is a genuinely useful, indisputable benchmark because it’s your data, on your terms, with seasonality already baked into the story. This is the kind of benchmark you’re always in control of, and the one we lean on most.
2. Published industry reports
There are plenty of reputable sources just a Google search away that publish genuine benchmark data by industry, and it’s useful, but only directionally. Treat "our conversion rate is outperforming the industry average of 2.7%" as a compass, not a verdict. Always check the methodology first (a lot of industry benchmark surveys are US-centric), and check the age of the data too. A 2023 benchmark applied to 2026 performance can do more harm than good.
3. AI search
Yes, really. With one non-negotiable condition. If you ask ChatGPT, Claude (or your LLM of choice) for a benchmark, make sure it’s actually searched for and cited a real report rather than confidently answered from memory. An AI that’s pattern-matched its way to a plausible-sounding percentage is not a benchmark, it’s a guess. Push for the source, check the age of it and sense-check the methodology before referencing it.
Choosing the right comparison
Here’s the bit worth sitting with. A dashboard can show five green metrics and still be telling you very little. 18 conversions and 167 new users are just numbers until you know what a typical outcome looks like for a business your size, in your sector or on your budget. Even a comparison that looks solid (i.e. under the UK average cost-per-click for B2B services) is only as trustworthy as the source behind that average, and how recently it was checked.
The fix isn’t more caveats bolted onto every stat. It’s choosing the right comparison before the number ever forms part of the narrative.
What we’re building next
Off the back of this, we’re doing what any agency worth its salt should: building our own. Rather than relying solely on generic third-party averages, we’re pulling together peer benchmarks across the accounts we work with, grouped sensibly by sector, because pizza delivery and B2B security services, for example, should never be judged by the same yardstick.
The plan is to make it a living resource: agreed data criteria, a shared format and automated updates. Not a one-off slide that goes stale the moment it’s presented.
So, is that good?
Next time you come across a stat, ask what it’s being compared to first. Is it your own trend data? A named, dated industry report? Or is it just a number that feels like it should be impressive?
Get the benchmarking right, and the answer to “is that good?” stops being a guessing game and starts being something you can actually stand behind.
Want a proper benchmarking framework for your own business? Get in touch. We’d love to help you set yours.