When it comes to measuring website performance, there are several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be used. By closely monitoring the following metrics, you can determine which areas of your website are doing well vs. those areas which may need some improvement.

Measure your audience

One of the most important things to measure on your website is your audience reach and impact. The good news is that this is easily done. You can use Google Analytics or some other analytics tools… and Google Analytics is free!

You’ll want to track the number of visits (Google Analytics refers to these as “sessions”), and unique visitors (Google Analytics calls these “users”) that come to your website each day. Google Analytics will also tell you the number returning visitors, which provides an indication that your visitor is definitely looking for something (and may be thinking about making a purchase).

By measuring users and sessions and comparing your numbers periodically (monthly, quarterly, annually) you can determine if your audience is growing, and if so, how quickly (or slowly). It’s important to have a mix of new and returning users, though the exact percentages vary by industry.

Analyze the Source of Your Traffic

In addition to tracking the number of visitors and the number of visits they are making to your website, it’s important to determine how your visitors are getting to your website. Are they coming through a Google search? A social media marketing campaign? An email blast that you sent out? Paid advertising such as a Facebook, Google, YouTube or LinkedIn ad?

More good news. Google Analytics automatically groups visitors into different categories based on demographics, geography, interests, etc. In addition, this tool identifies visitors by traffic sources, referrals and more. Analyzing your traffic sources and audience behaviors allows you to get to know your potential audience behaviors better, and improve your marketing techniques based on that knowledge.

The traffic sources that you will want to monitor (and Google Analytics can assist) include:

• Organic – Traffic generated by relevant keywords and/or your business name
• Referrals – Traffic that comes to your site through websites that link to your site
• Direct – Traffic generated by those who type your exact URL into their browser
• Email Marketing – Traffic generated by links in email marketing campaigns
• Paid Traffic – Traffic generated by Pay-Per-Click search engine ads, retargeting ads, etc.
• Social Media – Traffic that comes to your site through social network links or ads

Measure Bounce Rate and Average Session Time

Generally speaking, the longer a user spends on your site, the more likely they are to make a conversion of some sort. If a person visits your site and immediately leaves (bounces), it is unlikely that they found what they were looking for. It’s also less likely that they will return to make a purchase, book a consulting call, or even opt in to your free ebook, report, newsletter, or whatever else you may be offering.

We see this a lot with clients who haven’t clearly thought out their marketing plan. They run an ad sending potential prospects to their website. If the ad is designed correctly, the offer relates to solving a pain or problem that the prospect is having, or a product type or service that they are looking for. If the page the ad sends them to on your website doesn’t look like it even relates to the ad that sent them there … they’re going to leave.

As long as your website is relevant, user-friendly, and easy to navigate, a user will likely stay for longer. They may even view several pages on your site. The potential prospect may not make a purchase right away, but the longer you are able to keep them on your site, the more likely they are to eventually reach out. In addition, lower bounce rates and longer session times increase your search engine ranking with Google, which increases the likelihood of your website being found.

The next step…

Now that you have an idea of how many users are visiting your site, how many times they are visiting, where they are coming from, and how long they are staying, you need to determine what they’re doing once they get there. Are they requesting your free report? Booking a consultation? Requesting a quote? Sending a message? Or not taking any action.

Getting people to your site is half the battle. In order to increase conversion rates, you need to have clear call-to-actions (CTA) on your site in the places where people are likely to look for them.

Can’t generate leads or convert clicks to cash?

Let 4 Chicks take a look with our Conversion & Monetization Website Review. Our 42 point report covers 4 vitals areas for high visibility and conversion. Plus we’ll throw in a 30 minute strategy call to review your results! Normally a $349 value… but currently we’re offering a limited number of free reviews.