So, have a read through, and decide which Key Performance Indicators matter to you and your website.
If you’re running a website with a eCommerce function, selling your company’s products or services, the main Key Performance Indicator you’re looking for is of course sales. We won’t spend much time explaining the importance of sales on a website – because if you run an eCommerce website… you probably already know sales are important.
Websites aren’t cheap, so in some way or another, you want your website to not only break-even, but be a profitable asset for your company – whether it’s through sales or lead-generation. Sales are of course a really clear indicator of your website’s performance. If you’re seeing plenty of sales, then your website is probably doing its job.
If your website isn’t selling then there’s something wrong somewhere on your website. You can look at our blog piece covering what makes an eCommerce website successful or not for more information on this topic. However, to summarise, if your website is not selling, it could be any combination of factors including: lack of quality website traffic, poor navigation and sales funnel, poor use of media, wrong products and pricing, lack of quality content and information on your website. There are other reasons, such as slow website speed, poor website security, and lack of quality marketing too.
If you’re a business offering professional services, or high-value goods, you might not be looking to ‘sell’ on your website – instead you’re looking to generate enquiries aka leads. Much like sales, if you’re relying on visitors to your website to be proactive and take an action – such as make an enquiry – then your website is going to have to be designed to entice the visitor to do so.
Enquiries can be done in a matter of ways, such as ‘book a consultation’ or something like ‘let’s have a call?’ – but it typically requires the visitor to click on something, like a Call To Action or your company’s telephone number.
You’ll want to monitor how often visitors are making enquiries… and how often you’re able to convert them into a paying customer. When trying to generate leads that will provide big sales, your website is going to have to be built to establish trust between you and your potential client – so that they have the confidence to buy from you when they make that enquiry. You’ll also need a strong sales team, to push them over the line when they book a ‘consultation’ or make an enquiry.
One of the strongest returns on investment is mailing. Getting people to subscribe to your mailing list is gold dust, giving you permission to contact them directly about your business. Emails can be used to establish trust, generate leads, and make sales – not just once, but over long periods of time if you can nurture the lead.
If you’re seeing a high amount of mailing list sign-ups, then you know people are interested in what you have to offer – but perhaps aren’t willing to commit straight away. Bear in mind, you can increase the number of mailing list sign-ups by offering an incentive. Try offering a free resource, such as a downloadable pdf or video, or perhaps offer a cash incentive such as discounts or vouchers.
Either way, mailing list sign-ups is a really good Key Performance Indicator – and a really useful asset for your business.
There’s a whole range of website data that can be collected, picked apart, and analysed… but a really telling indicator of your website’s performance is how many visitors are new visitors or returning visitors.
You’ll have to accept the hard truth that not everybody who comes onto your website is going to become a returning visitor, let alone a customer or client. However, if your website traffic is typically new visitors, this could indicate that your website is not making a lasting impression. On the other side of the coin, if all your website’s visitors are returning visitors then your marketing and brand visibility may be under-performing – your website is not being seen by new people. Try running paid ads campaigns and reassess your SEO and website content.
You’ll probably want to find a healthy balance of new and returning visitors, so that you know your marketing is working, and that your website is able to generate potential leads and entice people back.
Bounce rate is a very important key performance indicator but can be easily misinterpreted. In the simplest terms possible, the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on your website and choose to leave your website, rather than continuing to browse other pages on your website.
It’s a great key performance indicator for your homepage or a landing page, especially if you’re running adverts directing people to those pages. It shows people aren’t willing to invest their time and energy into finding out more about your website, company, products, services etc.
However, bear in mind that a visitor may not visit other pages on your website but spends a long time scrolling and reading through the one page they’re on. This is why it’s crucial to have a strong landing page and homepage, so that visitors can find most of the information they need straight away without having to navigate around your website.
Typically, you can expect a bounce rate of 60-70%. Anything above 80% should cause alarm bells to ring, and can indicate some big problems on your website – such as page load speed, or poor website ‘fold’.
Visitor habits are a crucial key performance indicator. Much like the bounce rate, average session time can tell you a lot about your visitors behaviours. If your visitors are spending lots of time on your website, GREAT! On the other hand, if they’re typically spending a handful of seconds then that’s not so great.
If they’re on the website for less than 10-15 seconds, then they’re either not satisfied with what they’re seeing, or they’re not interested in what you offer. But always take it with a pinch of salt. High bounce rates and high conversions, sign-ups or enquiries is better than low bounce rate but low conversions, sign-ups or enquiries. Goals and conversions matter the most.
If you’re actively marketing, improving your SEO, and driving traffic to your website through ads then total weekly sessions is a Key Performance Indicator. If you’re seeing increasing levels of traffic through your website, and increased conversions and goals, then your marketing is successfully generating leads and your website is successfully converting.
Keep an eye out for long-lasting drops in traffic, because this can mean poor performing marketing, ad campaigns, or SEO – which you’ll need to rectify.
There are several different Key Performance Indicators for your website, and they provide different values depending on your website. It’s worth keeping an eye on all of them is possible. Google Analytics provides a good overview of your website’s traffic, and is a tool every company utilises when making decisions about their website, as well as their marketing and sales strategy.
At the end of the day though, if your website is built to generate conversions, or achieve similar goals such as enquiries or sign-ups, those are the Key Performance Indicators that matter the most.
If you’d like to get in touch with Vertical Plus to discuss how a partnership would help to grow your ecommerce sales, please contact us at info@verticalplus.co.uk