If you have a website, then you should be checking your web analytics. Web analytics is the collection, measurement and analysis of data for the purposes of understanding how a website is performing.
When people first start reviewing their web analytics they typically focus on number of visits and hits. While looking at these numbers will give you an idea of how well you are directing traffic to your site, focusing on the number of hits and visits is not a good way to measure your website’s effectiveness.
If you are like most business owners, you developed your website with the hope that it would generate sales or leads. People who simply go to your website and quickly leave do not result in sales or leads. These people got to your website and either didn’t like what they saw, didn’t know how to take action, or weren’t interested in your product or service. You can see then the hits and visits are nice, but…
Website Effectiveness = Conversion to Sales or Leads
Our philosophy is that we begin each new website development or website redesign with the end in mind. Everything starts with the end goal in mind. End goals can take many forms:
- Generating a call to your office
- Selling you product online
- Eliciting a donation for your organization
- Signing up for your training program
- Adding someone to your newsletter list
Once the goal is firmly established, we are then able to design a website and write content in a way that produces the results you are seeking. Then you will be able to focus on the numbers that really matter.
If your website is attracting visits and hits but not resulting in sales, you should work with a website company that knows how build a website that converts. Because that is a clear signal that it is time to change something – and fast!
