{"id":186,"date":"2023-04-16T15:18:08","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T15:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/71three.com\/blog\/?p=186"},"modified":"2023-04-16T15:18:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T15:18:10","slug":"boost-website-success-key-metrics-to-elevate-seo-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/71three.com\/blog\/boost-website-success-key-metrics-to-elevate-seo-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost Website Success: Key Metrics to Elevate SEO & Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having an effective website isn\u2019t just about glossy good looks, engaging writing, and on-point brand messaging. If you really want to maximize your website\u2019s potential, then you can\u2019t afford to ignore key metrics.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what makes an effective website, many of us will instantly think of looks and interface. Who doesn\u2019t appreciate a website that\u2019s gorgeous to look at and easy to navigate? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a business point of view, however, a website\u2019s effectiveness is better judged by crunching the numbers. After all, you didn\u2019t build a pretty website without expecting it to deliver some ROI! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll discuss what key metrics are and which ones your business should be using to optimize your website so that it is delivering on its full potential for a better ROI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Key Metrics and Why Do They Matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to website effectiveness, key metrics are recorded actions from traffic and the resulting numbers that come from that action. Key metrics are like KPIs in that they provide data that offer insights into website performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By analyzing these key metrics, businesses can get a good idea of the health of their website, gauge its effectiveness, and switch strategies where the data indicates that their website is underperforming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do you find these key metrics? On Google Analytics<\/a>, which your web developer should already have set up to measure your website\u2019s performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Metrics for Traffic: Keep Things Flowing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traffic is the first and most important determiner of whether your website is effective. Your Overall Traffic<\/strong> measures how many people visit your site over a given time period. What\u2019s a healthy number? You shouldn\u2019t expect to have the same level of traffic as the New York Times<\/em>, but you should have some idea of what a healthy number of visitors is based on your business size, location, and audience interactions elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at your Organic Traffic<\/strong> is a good way to see whether your SEO is truly optimized or needs a little work; this metric simply refers to traffic that comes from unpaid search results, rather than from ads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both these key metrics clue you into whether your website is doing a good job of attracting your target market or not. With these metrics, you always want to see higher numbers, but also be aware of what a good range is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a good range? This can be a \u201chow long is a piece of string?\u201d question, but having a good idea of average traffic for a normal business of your size in your industry is a good place to start. There are other things that can affect traffic too, such as seasonality (for example, if you sell ice creams) as well as the population size of your target area: a business website targeting a large metro area is likely to have more traffic than a website targeting a rural area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On-Site Metrics: Or, Why Bouncing Isn\u2019t Always Fun<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever visited a site then left almost immediately? If you did, you added to that website\u2019s Bounce Rate<\/strong>, a key metric which measures how quickly a visitor leaves. When someone bounces, your website\u2019s effectiveness for you and<\/em> the visitor is nil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bounce rates should be kept as low as possible. The better looking a site, the more engaging the content, the less likely it is to have a high bounce rate. However, even with this, sites can still underperform, in which case you might want to check that your content matches what the visitor is expecting \u2013 if traffic is looking to buy Christian Louboutin heels but finds used car parts instead, it isn\u2019t going to stick around!\u00a0Do you understand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll also want to keep tabs on the Average Time on Site <\/strong>and Average Page Views Per Visit<\/strong> metrics. Put together, these give you a great idea of how engaging your site is. The longer your traffic stays on site and the more pages they visit, the better your chances of building a relationship with them and turning them from a cold lead into a happy, paying customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep your on-site metrics healthy and effective, your website should be an attractive place for people to visit that offers real value to them with engaging, relevant content that keeps them reading \u2013 and away from your competitors\u2019 websites!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Metrics for Growth: It\u2019s All About the Conversions, Baby<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you have a good idea of what your traffic looks like and what it\u2019s doing, it\u2019s time to see if it is doing the most important thing of all \u2013 boosting your Conversions<\/strong>. These can also be measured with Google Analytics by checking completed actions, such as signing up to your newsletter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike with sales conversions, not all conversions here result in revenue. However, those that don\u2019t do give you a good idea of where your traffic is in their buying journey \u2013 and whether your site is performing when it comes to nudging them along that path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also a good idea to keep a close eye on your Calls to Action (CTAs) and their Click-Through Rates<\/strong>, which show you how many people click on the all-important buttons instructing them to \u201corder now\u201d or \u201cdownload now\u201d or \u201cfind out more\u201d. If your Click-Through Rates are low, then it might be time to take another look at your sales copy \u2013 or even at whether your offer was completely misjudged. We wrote an article about this very topic that you will find helpful: 6 Keys to Increasing Your Website Conversion Rate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Professional Help to Boost Your Website\u2019s Effectiveness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, your key metrics show that your website is in great health and performing effectively. But what if it isn\u2019t? Depending on how poor your business website\u2019s performance is according to the key metric data, getting professional help might be your best next step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 71Three, we work with Google Analytics & Google Console<\/a> every day \u2013 and our team knows how to build websites that perform. One reason for this is our focus on data analysis<\/a>; by keeping a close eye on key metrics and responding to changes in performance, we make data-driven decisions rather than putting faith into unreliable guesswork when it comes to tweaking websites.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out how we can help to transform your website\u2019s effectiveness and deliver serious ROI by making your website a powerhouse when it comes to meeting your business goals \u2013 contact us<\/a> today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having an effective website isn\u2019t just about glossy good looks, engaging writing, and on-point brand messaging. If you really want to maximize your website\u2019s potential, then you can\u2019t afford to ignore key metrics. When asked what makes an effective website, many of us will instantly think of looks and interface. Who doesn\u2019t appreciate a website […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n