The 8 Most Important KPIs to Measure Your Website’s Performance

Every business needs a website because the online presence of a business can really impact success, regardless of the industry. A website increases an organization’s credibility and is an opportunity to give people a good first impression.

The quality of your website is critical – there’s a lot of competition out there and consumers demand quality more than ever. A high-quality website will help you stand out if it looks good and clearly communicates the right information to visitors. Giving prospective customers a snapshot of your brand and the background of your business encourages a relationship to develop.

Of course, it costs money to have a website but a good one will generate leads and or sales. When people engage positively with your website and explore your offerings, they are more likely to contact you and of course that gives you a chance to increase business.

With everything becoming more tech based, having all the core information on your website simplified and easy for people to find, will lead to an improved user experience which can only be a good thing.

 

Consider These Factors for a Great Website

While creating or updating your website, some of the most important components to consider are:

• A Clear Purpose - determine what you want your website to achieve for your business and keep this in mind during the design and development process. For example, define your target audience and what your business goals are for success.
• Good design - people expect a website to look great. Include images, graphics, videos and suitable color themes. Make the visitor feel special and like they have found something they want to explore. Remember however, to keep the content relevant to your business.
• Great User Experience - people visit websites for information and are generally quite impatient, demanding instant results. So, if your website lacks sufficient content, web pages are slow to load or navigation is difficult, visitors will leave immediately - and likely go to a competitor. Users want to feel welcomed to a site and have what they’re looking for easy to find.

Keep the most important information “above the fold” - that’s an old newspaper term, but essentially it means on the first screen - users don’t want to scroll more than necessary. Something that conveys what your business does and what it offers - in an instant!

• Easy Navigation - as mentioned above, websites need to be super easy to navigate. So often, website visitors are out and about and want instant results - have clear, obvious navigation menus so products and services can be found easily.
• Easy Content Management System - websites almost live and breathe so if it is quick and simple to manage content, it will be easy for it to continue to evolve with your business. To ensure you have an effective website Content Management System (CMS), consider engaging experts like the Web Force 5 team. Our Continuum platform offers everything you need for content management, analytics and more.
• Analytics & SEO - a fantastic website is not much good just sitting there - you need visitors! Analytics will measure a whole range of data for your website so you can monitor and change as necessary to improve it. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ensures you have the right content and will help drive traffic to your website. Having this organic traffic access your website is great for increasing your customer base.
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Website KPIs to Track & Measure

So, you think your website is fine, but how do you know for sure? Below are some of the most important KPIs to use to measure your performance. A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a measurable value that shows how a business is performing.

There are many different metrics, however, there are a few to focus on. The central source for the majority of businesses is Google Analytics or another analytics platform and the KPIs to measure will vary between organizations, with ecommerce solutions differing to those for non-ecommerce.

 

1.Sales & Revenue

The volume of products you sell is a big one if revenue is your main goal. Whether they are physical or digital products, knowing how much people are buying is essential. This data can also be used to understand which products are selling well and those that aren’t as popular.

2.Average Order Value

The Average Order Value (AOV) is the average revenue earned per order. One way to improve your overall revenue is to increase the average order value. For example, it can be easier to get the sales you want by having 10 customers each spending $200 than 100 customers spending $20.

3.Sources of Traffic

Learning where your website traffic is coming from, especially the most relevant traffic, will help you understand your audience and where they are finding you. It may be via a particular search engine or social media platform. This information can be used in a strategic marketing plan in further increasing traffic.

4.Goals or Conversions

Focusing purely on the number of visitors to your website is not particularly useful unless you know how many of them are buying products from you or use your services. Tracking inquires using contact forms or quote requests, or phone calls allow you to see how much of your traffic is ‘converting’. You can then track and manage qualified leads using Customer Relation Management (CRM) software.

5.Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is considered one of the most important metrics to monitor. Measuring conversions to see how a visitor’s behavior converts to actions can help you understand whether your site is effective at converting traffic into meaningful action. This is not only applicable for purchases, but engagement with your business such as signing up for a newsletter or enrolling in a course.

6.Pages Per Session

Tracking how many pages your visitors go to on your website gives information about how interesting or useful they find your content. A higher number of pages per session may not necessarily be better - it may indicate the user is having trouble finding what they want. Use this data in conjunction with the average time they spend on the site along with the bounce rate.

7.Session Duration

How long a visitor stays on your website can indicate the quality of your website. If users are leaving your page immediately, it’s likely your website didn’t meet their needs and you can look into the reasons for this. Long session times show visitors are finding interest in your website.

8.Bounce Rate

The bounce rate measures visitors who leave your website after visiting only one page. If they don’t find what they are expecting, your bounce rate can be high - this could be due to poor design or usability, difficult navigation or technical errors. A high bounce rate also impacts on your website ranking.

 

Non-ecommerce businesses can also track some other website KPI data that is specific to their business. They may need specific conversion tracking to be set up, but the results will be useful. Consider KPIs to measure quote requests, contact form submissions, phone calls, and newsletter or email sign-ups.

Tracking your website KPI’s on a monthly basis at least is a good idea, however regularity depends on the business activity. The team at Web Force 5 can help define your specific KPIs to suit your company, as well as put in place reporting to help ensure you get the data you need. The Continuum software platform has Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager capability tracking built in.

Contact a specialist consultant for a free no obligation chat.