In the Pirate Metrics (AARRR) framework, acquisition is the first critical step toward growth. It’s all about strategies for getting potential customers to discover your brand and visit your website. To do this effectively, businesses must meet customers where they are, using a mix of SEO, content marketing, paid ads, and social media to stand out.
Acquisition is the first major touchpoint in the Pirate Metrics funnel and plays a critical role in sustainable growth. In simple terms, it’s how people first discover your business. Without acquisition, there’s no one to convert, activate, or retain. The goal is to bring the right people into your ecosystem through intentional, measurable efforts.
It's NOT the entirety of your customer acquisition strategy. It's one of five major marketing KPIs, three of which are connected to revenue generation.
(What are Pirate Metrics? Click HERE)
Before launching any campaign, understanding your ideal audience is key. What are their pain points? What terms do they search? What triggers their buying behavior?
Use tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, and even community platforms like Reddit or Quora to uncover how your audience thinks and speaks. Keyword research and social listening will help you build content and campaigns that resonate.
Be sure to document your buyer personas, including job title, motivations, obstacles, and preferred content formats. These insights will inform everything from targeting to creative messaging.
Your most effective acquisition channels depend on your industry, offering, and audience. That said, here are four channels that consistently drive results:
SEO: Ideal for capturing long-term, high-intent traffic. Optimize your website and blog content for keywords that reflect your audience’s needs and search behavior. Focus on topic clusters and intent, not just search volume.
Paid Search & Social Ads: Platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn, and Meta allow for precise targeting. These channels can jumpstart traffic while your SEO gains traction. Just be sure to track ROI — not just impressions.
Partnerships & Influencer Marketing: Reach new audiences by leveraging the credibility of those they already trust. This could be through co-marketing webinars, guest content, or social media collaborations.
Content Marketing: Educational and problem-solving content builds trust and authority. Use blog posts, downloadable guides, and video to draw in users during their awareness stage.
Focus on just 1–2 channels to start. Build traction and refine before expanding.
One of the best tools for prioritization is ICE. With it, you forecast the potential impact (I) an idea could have on the North Star, the confidence (C) that it will work, and the level of ease (E) in making it happen.
Acquisition experiments are the furthest away from customer exchange, and therefor, have the lowest potential for making an impact to the North Star vs any other stage. Because of this, the score for (I) will be based on a lower range. To see that range in detail, click HERE.
Once you begin driving traffic, it's time to measure performance and optimize. Key metrics include:
New Users: Track where they come from (organic, paid, referral, social)
Cost per Acquisition (CPA): Calculate spend vs. the number of leads or sign-ups
Click-through Rate (CTR): Gauge ad and CTA performance
Bounce Rate & Time on Page: Assess content quality and relevance
Look beyond raw traffic — your goal is qualified visitors who are likely to engage with your funnel.
Acquisition is often the most misunderstood stage of the funnel. Here are common traps to sidestep:
Chasing Vanity Metrics: High traffic numbers mean little without conversions.
Neglecting SEO Fundamentals: Weak title tags, missing internal links, or slow page speeds hurt discoverability.
Untargeted Ad Campaigns: If you’re not segmenting by intent or persona, you're wasting budget.
No Post-Click Strategy: Getting visitors is one thing — activating them is the next challenge. Don’t leave them hanging on weak landing pages.
Acquisition is the front door to your growth engine. Once people arrive, the next critical step is Activation — delivering a “wow” experience that makes them want to stay, engage, and convert.
Want to dive deeper into how Acquisition fits into the bigger growth picture? We’ve got a free course that breaks down the full AARRR metric framework and shows you exactly how to implement it.