Wondering what website metrics matter? You’re in luck: there are easy ways not only to measure the activity on your site but to understand how they can impact your business. Staying aware and conscientious of your website metrics will help you understand your clientele. You’ll be able to see which of your sales strategies are working, and which ones to stop. Ads help everyone, of course, but this won’t be the only way that your customers will be able to find you. Word-of-mouth is still the best way to advertise, so always test your product, and make sure that it’s one that you would love to use yourself. If you’re not sure where to start, Google Analytics is a great, free tool that many, if not most, sites use to measure their traffic, among other metrics. You could also use OpenTracker, Monitor.us, and Uptime Robot, another e-commerce favorite.   

Traffic

You’ve got your website or e-commerce site up and running! Congratulations! You’re starting a new journey, and with the right tools, including patience and consistency, you could be well on your way to early retirement. Website traffic is probably the first and largest of the all-important website metrics, but certainly not the only one that you should carefully watch. To boost your traffic, make sure that your site is SEO-friendly - that is, your written content is simply-worded and concise, your images’ alt text is specific, and maybe most importantly, that your site is optimized for mobile. Most web searches this year were voice searches conducted on a mobile device. Get ready to see a high number of mobile numbers as your product takes off. 

Conversion Rates, and Their Sources

The traffic on your website is essential to the growth of your business. Knowing where your traffic is sourced is also important. You want to know where your traffic is sourced so that you’ll know where to focus your advertising. For example, if you’re attracting primarily women from the Mid-West, run your social ad campaigns in the large cities in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois. Between the word-of-mouth passes between your customers and their friends, and the new customers that find you through your ads, you’ll start to see results, and be able to track them with your site’s tracking software. The traffic on your site that leads to actual sales made is your conversion rate. Your conversion rate is a measure of growth for your business, and watching it grow or shrink will also help you understand what your site is missing, and what you’ve got down pat. 

You may notice that your products are attracting those Mid-Western women, but how many of them are purchasing your product? If your product is expensive, you might need to lower the price. If you’re selling out before you can replenish, it may be in your best interest to raise the price of your product. When changing your product prices, try to remain reasonable, and don’t price your Mid-Westen clientele out of the benefits that your product offers. 

Bounce Rate 

No business likes when a potential customer views the site and then leaves without making a purchase. The rate at which this happens is your bounce rate. Knowing your bounce rate may not seem important, but when considered with other metrics, it can help you figure out how you can improve your website metrics. Understand that average bounce rates vary from industry to industry and that you’re not the only business that deals with them. Retail and e-commerce sites, for example, generally experience bounce rates of 20-60%. 

While there is nothing you can do to prevent your bounce rate, make your site as appealing as possible to anyone who lands on your site. Edit the content on your site to make it straightforward, concise, and informative. Add short, fun videos about your company and your products. Make sure that your site speed is as fast as you can possibly afford. And again, make sure that your site is optimized for mobile. The world is increasingly dependent on mobile phones to connect, and taking advantage of the digital revolution isn’t just a good idea, its essential for the longevity of every business today.