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The internet is a powerful place. With more than 1.8 billion websites online today, however, it can be hard to get noticed. Growing and tracking your digital presence requires more than simply setting up a beautiful, functioning website; you must also know how to measure your website's performance. If you're not tracking the right key performance indicators (KPIs), you're missing out on the most critical data required to determine your website's success.
Before diving into the top website KPIs you should be tracking, it's vital to understand what KPIs are and why they are essential to your website's overall success.
What are website KPIs?
Website KPIs are metrics that measure a website’s success. They are used to determine the website’s quality, the user experience, and the user's ability to convert.
They are also used to quantify the impact of marketing efforts and campaigns. For instance, if your new landing page isn't generating the conversions you desire, you know that something isn't sitting well with your audience and that you need to try a different approach.
In short, KPIs are the essential data points for measuring the success of your marketing strategies and your website.
Why are KPIs so important?
Your website reflects the quality of your business. It is the first impression that you will make on your customers, so if your website is not effective, it sends a poor message. This could even be the difference between a customer choosing to stay with your business or go to your competitors.
KPIs can also help you understand how your customers are engaging with your website, including what information or products/services they are searching for, which helps you identify what they find valuable.
As a small business owner, you know that every dollar you spend on your website is intended to foster growth initiatives. Therefore, when it comes to your website’s performance, you want to make sure you're getting a return on your investment. If you’re not tracking your website’s KPIs, then you have no way of knowing if the money you’re investing is paying off.
Here are five of the top website KPIs you should be tracking.
1. Number of visitors
The number of visitors to your website is an excellent measure of how effectively it is capturing prospective customers. If you're not capturing enough visitors, you're missing out on potential sales.
Tracking your number of website visitors gives you an idea of how much traffic you're getting, where your website is ranking, and which pages perform best and worst.
2. Conversion rate
Your conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who take an action. This could be anything from signing up for your newsletter to spending money in your store.
Tracking this number tells you which pages on your website are converting well and which are not. Then, you will know which pages you need to improve to increase your conversion rates.
3. Bounce rate
Your bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website without taking action. This is an important metric to track because it tells you whether your website effectively captures people's attention. If you have a high bounce rate, it could mean that your audience is not engaging well with your website.
4. Traffic distribution
Tracking your traffic distribution helps you understand how visitors find your website and how they engage with your content.
- How are visitors finding your website?
- Are they finding you via search engines or social media?
- Are they finding you through a specific product or service?
This information helps you understand which channels are the most effective for your business and most preferred by your customers.
5. Pageviews per session
This metric shows you how many pages your visitors view on your website during their session. It helps you understand how people engage with your website and what content they are most interested in.
If you're not tracking this metric, you're missing out on the opportunity to understand exactly how your audience is engaging with your website.
Tracking and measuring KPIs is essential to your website's success
If you're not tracking and measuring the right KPIs, you're missing out on the most critical data to determine your website's success, as well as vital data on your target audience.
The good news? Measuring and tracking your website's KPIs isn't difficult. In fact, there are dozens of helpful tools (both free and subscription-based) to help you carefully monitor how your audience interacts with your website.
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BBB of Southern Piedmont and Western N.C. contributed this article.