Traffic Source Analysis - Cost vs Benefit of digital marketing channels

Most edtech companies treat all traffic equally. They see 50,000 monthly visitors and celebrate. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: 96.9% of that traffic vanishes without a trace. And the remaining 3.1% that converts? Its quality and cost vary wildly depending on the source.

This is where traffic source analysis becomes a revenue multiplier. When you understand conversion rate by traffic source, you can fundamentally reshape your marketing budget allocation— moving money from traffic sources that look good on vanity metrics but bleed profitability, to channels that quietly deliver sustainable revenue.

Here's a quick summary of our findings from the traffic source analysis:

Before we dive into the data, please note – CR is Conversion Rate which indicates % of audience who convert into customer and CAC is Customer Acquisition Cost per customer.

The 3 Most Important Data Points:

1. Email (14.1% CR, ₹28 CAC) — Your ROI machine. Most edtech companies massively underfund it.

2. Organic Search (2.1% CR, ₹42 CAC at scale) — Looks terrible initially, becomes your best ROI channel by Month 6-12. Requires patience.

3. Retargeting (12% CR, ₹43 CAC) — The quick win. Highest ROI with immediate results. People who’ve already visited convert at 70% higher rates.

One controversial insight: PPC Search at ₹183 CAC often has worse long-term ROI than Organic at ₹42 CAC—but marketers keep pouring budget into Search because it shows results immediately.