Whether the marketing channel is online, print, in store or broadcast, business is business. A key indicator of success is ROI – that is, dollars earned in sales revenue vs. dollars spent on marketing.
You can contract with a company to handle your website analytics, or you can bring it in-house using programs such as Google Analytics, and Omniture SiteCatalyst.
Web traffic is a good place to start. Unlike on the highway, lots of traffic online is a good thing. Measuring traffic alone is not enough; it must be combined with statistics on online behavior.
- number of visitors (can track by hour, day, month, etc.) – be sure to distinguish unique visitors from total visitors
- geographic location of visitors
- referring sites (what websites they came from)
- landing page (the web page they enter your site on – not always your home page)
- pages viewed
- time spent on your website
- bounce rate (visitors who access your website and leave it again without clicking further) – Is your site easy to navigate? Does it take long to load? Any broken links? Broken images? Can your server handle increased traffic?
- exit pages – the pages where visitors leave your site can be a real eye-opener
- the type of traffic – direct (those who typed your URL into their web browser), organic (those who found your site via a search engine), referral (those who ended up on your site via links outside your site), repeat visitors
- conversions (those who come to your site and become prospects or customers)
E-commerce sites will also want to look at browse rates (those who browse your site but don’t buy), abandoned cart rates (those who put items in their cart but never complete the online sale), average order value and more.
How visitors found your site is a key statistic. Did they click on a banner ad? If they used a search engine, did you purchase keywords to boost your rank? Do they access your site from mobile devices? If so, which ones?
Once they’re on your site, what do they do? What keywords do they use to search on your site? How does this compare to keywords used on search engines? Did they view any videos? Download any files?
When does traffic spike on your site? At lunchtime? Consider sending a promotional email for a lunch-hour special. After work? Use a happy hour theme. Late night? Create a night owl promotion. You get the idea. Build on your current successes.
Look beyond your site visitors for indicators of online success. Track backlinks – see which sites are linking to your site. You might want to consider advertising on those sites if they accept online ads.
While quantitative data gives you relevant numbers, qualitative data can provide additional insight into what’s successful – and what’s not – on your site. Keep tabs on customer service inquiries; these can pinpoint areas that need improvement.
Your analytical work is not over once the sale is complete. In fact, it’s just beginning. Product/service reviews, repairs, complaints and more will reveal what’s on customers’ minds.
Likewise, comments on social networks can be very telling. You should monitor these not only to acquire additional information, but also to respond when appropriate.
Whatever metrics you look at, don’t view them in a vacuum. Compare metrics week to week, month to month, year to year to paint a complete picture of your online success.
