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Which Valuable Website Metrics You Should Focus on and Why

Digging into a web analytics package can be, for the average business owner, a bit like drinking from a fire hose. It doesn’t take much for the statistics and ideas to become overwhelming. With brutal force, you’re getting smashed in the face with numbers and charts and lines that go up and down. It looks like chaos. No, it feels like chaos. This is more daunting if you aren’t sure what you should be looking for in the first place. How can you know which set of website metrics matter the most?
 
However, you can find real insights within your analytics package. They’re easy to spot if you know what to focus on. You can zero in on the important trends and results that matter. The kind that make or break your online marketing campaigns.
 
With that in mind, we want to show you which website metrics you should focus on and why. Generally speaking, they fall into two different groups. We’ll break down each one.

Measuring Traffic

The first set of web analytics that matter have to do with bringing traffic to your website. After all, what can you do if people can’t find your company online? You can’t sell products or services over the web, or create conversions of any kind. You have designed your website to do all those things and then some. But users have to find you, first.

Most business owners peek at their overall visit statistics from time to time. But, we encourage you to go a little deeper and look at things like:

  • Unique Sessions – How many real visitors are you getting to your website each month?
  • Organic Traffic Sources – What keywords are users searching for that helps them to find your website? What websites are generating links to yours?
  • Paid Traffic – How many visits are you getting from your internet advertising campaigns? What is your cost-per-visit?
  • Mobile Traffic – What percentage of your website visits originate from smart phones and tablets? Are there certain devices that are more popular with your customers than others?

These statistics will all tell you if you’re doing a good job of acquiring visitors or not. As a result, you’ll have some leading indicators into your future sales or conversions.

Following Engagement

As important as traffic statistics are, they don’t tell you the whole story. More engaged visitors are the ones who are likely to do business with you. Good news. There are a handful of statistics you can look at to measure visitor engagement.

  • Bounce Rates – How many visitors are coming to your website and then leaving without clicking any links or taking any action?
  • Exit Rates – At what point are visitors leaving your website? Which pages have the most departures?
  • Page views Per Visit – Are most visitors hanging around to look at multiple pages and pieces of information? Generally, more activity is a higher sign of interest.
  • Conversion Rates – Which offers are visitors responding to? Are you getting enough leads or buyers to justify the resources devoted to your organic and advertising campaigns?

Attracting traffic without generating conversions won’t get you anywhere. You can’t get leads or sales until you have people coming to your website. So, both sides of your web analytics matter. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking one type of indicator over another.

Are You Getting Enough From Your Website?

If you feel like you aren’t getting all you could be from your website, you’re not alone. It might be time to work with a web development team that knows how to turn your plans and ideas into results. Contact the web design and online marketing experts at Atlantic BT, today. Let’s set up a free consultation and see exactly how we can help.

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