For marketing teams that use data to measure website performance, tracking conversion metrics is seriously valuable stuff.
And even if reporting isn’t your strong suit, there’s no denying how satisfying it is to see the impact your marketing activities have on making your numbers go up.
There’s more to website conversion metrics than watching numbers on a screen, though.
After all, it allows you to dig into data that really matters – metrics that tell you if your website is actually converting visitors into leads, customers, and sales.
By not keeping an eye on the most important metrics for you, it’s a bit like a pilot wearing a blindfold, not knowing if you’re heading into the clouds or into a mountain!
If your blinders have led you astray, it’s time to get back on course.
This blog explains what website conversion metrics you need to track to keep your business on track. For personalised advice about your website, contact our team at SGD today.
Why Website Conversions Matter
When it comes to improving your website’s performance, data is king.
But not just any old data – focusing on the right metrics will give you insights into what you should keep doing, start doing, and stop doing.
Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a larger team, tracking certain metrics ensures you’re opening your website up to perform at its best and attract the right visitors.
Track These Metrics Today
1. Conversion Rate
Your conversion rate is how many website visitors take the desired action compared to those who don’t.
Whether you want them to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or fill out a contact form, your conversion rate is one of those numbers you want to grow.
When it all comes down to it, your conversion rate is the most important metric to track.
This is because it directly shows how effectively your site turns visitors into customers – your ultimate goal. If your conversion rate is low, it signals that something in your funnel needs to change – for example, your web design, content, or user experience.
2. Bounce Rate/Engagement Rate
Your bounce rate tells you the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing one page. Unlike your conversion rate, you want your bounce rate to be low.
A high bounce rate can signify that your website isn’t engaging enough or matching visitors’ expectations. If you see yours is high, it might be time to look into your landing page to check for issues such as irrelevant content or poor design.
Meanwhile, your engagement rate can give you insight into how visitors interact with your content.
It measures actions like clicks, video views, and scrolling, giving you an overview of how engaged your visitors are with your content.
3. Average Session Duration
This metric shows how long website visitors stay, on average, during each session.
A high average session duration may mean that visitors find your site engaging, informative, and relevant – all great things!
This being high means that people are sticking around, which means it’s more likely that they’ll convert.
On the other hand, low session duration tends to mean that your site doesn’t offer what people are looking for.
While it’s hard to say with this metric alone what this means, when you combine it with other metrics, you may find some answers.
It could mean you need to make your navigation more intuitive, add internal links to guide people to relevant content or revamp your content to ensure it’s easy to read and digest.
4. Page Load Time
The fact of the matter is that if your website takes too long to load, people won’t stick around.
There are other options – your competitors – for them to look at, and if their page loads faster than yours, chances are you’ve already lost them.
Your page load time affects everything, including your conversion rate and bounce rate, so keeping it in check is crucial.
Improving your page load time involves technical fixes like adjusting your hosting and minimising JavaScript, so while it may be quite involved, it’s often well worth the time and effort.
5. Conversion Source
Knowing where your conversions come from helps you recognise which marketing channels are most effective for you.
Whether it’s organic search, social media, email marketing, or paid ads, your conversion source shows where your conversions are occurring so you can focus your efforts – and your budget – accordingly.
After all, if your email marketing conversions are low while your paid ads are high, it wouldn’t make sense to pour more money into email marketing.
However, it’s not just about tracking each source – it’s also about optimising them.
If those paid ad conversions are high but come at a high cost, it may be time to rethink your digital strategy.
6. Return on Investment (ROI) Per Marketing Channel
ROI measures how much revenue you’re generating compared to how much you’re spending on marketing.
This makes it a must-track metric for understanding the effectiveness of each marketing channel you use.
By tracking your ROI across different channels like SEO and social media, you’ll be able to see where you should allocate your resources and where you should cut back.
A positive ROI means you’re making more than you’re spending, while a negative ROI means the opposite – and it’s time to rethink your strategy.
7. SEO: Impressions Through Google Search Console
While impressions don’t directly equate to clicks or conversions, they’re incredibly helpful as they show how often your site appears in search results.
Used as part of your SEO strategy, growing impressions means that your SEO efforts are paying off as search engines recognise your content and draw more eyes to your site.
It also shows new opportunities by identifying where you’re making impressions through keywords but you’re not yet ranking well.
Time to focus on improving those keywords and increase your visibility and potential for conversions!
8. SEO: Click Through Rate (CTR) from Google Search
Your CTR shows the percentage of visitors who came to your site after seeing it in their search results.
A high CTR indicates that something pulled them in, like compelling titles and meta descriptions, while a low CTR might mean you need to make elements like these more appealing.
Improving your CTR often looks like refining your on-page SEO, enhancing your meta descriptions, and targeting keywords that searchers are searching for. A higher CTR tends to lead to more traffic, and as we know, more traffic is what we need for more conversions!
9. Google Ads: Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC shows how much you’re paying per click for your Google Ads. While it’s essential to drive traffic, you want to make sure you’re not overpaying for ‘petrol’! A high CPC could mean a competitive market, whereas a lower one suggests you’re getting more kilometres out of your tank.
Monitoring your CPC helps you to fine-tune your ad campaigns in the best way. By targeting less competitive keywords and optimising your ad copy, you can bring your CPC down and make your ads more cost-effective without sacrificing those quality leads.
10. Google Ads: Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Your CPL shows how much you’re spending on ads to generate new leads. This is essential to understanding whether your ad spend is leading to actual business growth, or costing you more than it’s worth. A high CPL might indicate that your ad campaigns need optimising, so your goal should be a low CPL.
Reducing your CPL involves going through everything from your ad copy to your landing pages with a fine-toothed comb. You want to attract qualified leads without overspending, helping you get a strong return on your investment.
11. Google Ads: Cost of Acquisition (COA)
COA goes one step further than CPL by showing how much it costs to convert a lead into a customer. This is possibly the most important metric within a Google Ads campaign because it tells you whether your marketing spend is justified by the revenue it generates.
Lowering your COA means optimising your entire sales funnel, from ad targeting to your website’s user experience. If your COA is too high, it might be time to look at your strategy and search for ways to streamline it.
12. E-commerce: Revenue Per Channel
If you run an e-commerce site, tracking revenue per channel tells you which platforms are driving the most sales. Whether it’s email marketing, social media, or Google Ads, knowing where your revenue is coming from will help you focus your marketing efforts on the most profitable channels.
You can use revenue per channel to adjust your budget and marketing strategy, ensuring you’re investing in the channels that drive the highest returns.
13. E-commerce: Cart Abandonment Rate
A cart abandonment rate measures how often visitors add items to their cart but leave before checking out.
A high cart abandonment rate can mean there are issues within your checkout process. For example, complicated forms, a lack of payment options, or that their total came to more than they expected or wished to spend.
Lowering your cart abandonment rate involves rectifying the issue likely causing it, whether this is offering more payment methods or allowing alternative payment options.
You could also consider sending reminder emails to customers who leave without completing their purchase. Remember, every abandoned cart is an abandoned opportunity, so seize them when you can!
Need Some Seriously Good Metric-Tracking Help?
No matter what industry your business is in, tracking your metrics will be well worth your while. Keeping an eye on some, most, or even all of the above can give you actionable insights to see where you can improve.
If you’re looking for help with making data-driven decisions, SGD is here to help. If you’re ready to take your website’s performance to the next level, contact us today.
