Measuring Feed Performance: KPIs That Matter
You can't improve what you don't measure. Understanding the right KPIs for feed performance helps you optimize effectively and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.
Why Feed KPIs Matter
Feed management isn't just about getting products online—it's about maximizing their performance. The right metrics help you identify issues, spot opportunities, and prove the value of your feed optimization efforts.
Core Feed Health Metrics
1. Product Approval Rate
The percentage of products approved by each platform.
📊 Approval Rate Benchmarks
- Excellent: >98% approved
- Good: 95-98% approved
- Needs improvement: 90-95% approved
- Critical: <90% approved
2. Disapproval Categories
Track why products are being rejected:
| Category | Common Causes | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Data Quality | Missing fields, invalid formats | High |
| Policy Violations | Prohibited content, claims | Critical |
| Image Issues | Wrong size, watermarks, text | Medium |
| Pricing/Availability | Mismatch with landing page | High |
3. Feed Processing Time
How long it takes from feed submission to products going live:
- Target: Under 24 hours for standard updates
- Monitor: Processing delays, stuck items
- Alert: If processing exceeds normal timeframes
Performance Metrics
4. Impression Share
The percentage of available impressions your products are receiving. Low impression share indicates:
- Poor product data quality
- Bidding issues
- Missing products in feed
- Category coverage gaps
5. Click-Through Rate by Product
Analyze CTR at the product level to identify:
- High performers - Replicate successful elements
- Low performers - Optimize titles, images, prices
- Zero-click products - May need feed troubleshooting
6. Conversion Rate by Source
Track how feed-driven traffic converts compared to other sources:
\"Feed-driven traffic from Google Shopping converts at 2.5x the rate of our generic paid search. Understanding this helped us reallocate budget effectively.\"
— Performance Marketing Manager
Operational Metrics
7. Feed Update Frequency
Track how often your feeds are successfully updated:
- Daily minimum for inventory-sensitive products
- Multiple daily for high-velocity categories
- Real-time for flash sales and promotions
8. Error Rate Trends
Monitor error rates over time to catch issues early:
⚠️ Warning Signs
- Sudden spike in validation errors
- Increasing processing failures
- Growing backlog of pending items
- Rising disapproval rate
9. Data Freshness
Measure how current your feed data is:
- Average age of product data
- Time since last price sync
- Inventory accuracy percentage
- Time to reflect website changes in feed
Business Impact Metrics
10. Revenue per Product
Calculate revenue attribution at the product level to identify:
- Top revenue generators
- Products with optimization opportunity
- Underperforming inventory
11. ROAS by Feed Channel
Compare return on ad spend across different feeds:
| Channel | ROAS Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Shopping | 400-600% | Benchmark varies by category |
| Facebook Catalog | 300-500% | Include remarketing performance |
| Pinterest Shopping | 300-400% | Higher for visual categories |
| Marketplace Feeds | 200-400% | After marketplace fees |
Building Your Dashboard
Create a feed performance dashboard that includes:
- Health summary - Approval rates, error counts
- Trend charts - Week-over-week comparisons
- Alert indicators - Issues requiring attention
- Performance metrics - Impressions, clicks, conversions
- Revenue attribution - Business impact visualization
✅ Weekly Review Checklist
- Check approval rates across all channels
- Review top disapproval reasons
- Analyze performance of optimizations
- Compare week-over-week trends
- Identify products needing attention
- Plan upcoming optimizations
The key to feed optimization success is consistent measurement and iteration. Start tracking these KPIs today, and you'll have the data you need to continuously improve performance.