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You can't fix what you don't measure.
So, today I'm going to show you a simple, yet powerful measurement system you can use for your website to objectively determine what's working and what isn't based on math and data.
Do You Know Your KPIs?
You've probably seen the terms business metrics or KPIs, which stand for Key Performance Indicators. They're essentially statistics telling you what's going on with your website, paid advertising, email marketing, or your business in general.
If I asked how many visitors you got to your website yesterday, last week, or last month, or if your website traffic is trending up or down, could you tell me?
If you're a service-based business, how many website visitors on average does it take for you to get a new client or patient?
Without this information, you're flying blind and just guessing, which is not a good place to be.
To minimize waste, maximize profits, and know exactly what's going on with your business, you need to track KPIs.
Why Businesses Don’t Track Website Metrics
Many businesses I’ve consulted with over the years were not tracking any statistics when I began working with them. The 4 most common reasons were:
If you're not currently tracking your KPIs, let me show you step-by-step how to measure key metrics for your website and business for maximum efficiency and profitability.
The good news is it’s not that hard.
You don’t need any fancy dashboards. A simple spreadsheet or pencil and paper will do. What you're after is the data.
Let’s begin with the question ...
What Website Metrics Should You Monitor?
The key is to start with the end in mind and work backward. Without this approach, you'll waste time collecting data that might be interesting but doesn't help improve your marketing efforts or profitability.
Here's an example:
Let's say you're a service-based business, like a medical or dental office, attorney, website designer, financial planner, or pressure washing company, where the end goal is to generate requests for appointments, consultations, or price quotes.
The minimum metrics you should track are:
- The number of appointments, consultations, or price quotes requested.
- Total website traffic.
- Which pages are visited on your site.
- Where your traffic is coming from.
While there are other metrics you could monitor, keeping it simple is key. You can get a ton of useful information just by measuring the basics.
How To Track Website Metrics
Most people have heard of Google Analytics. However, Google discontinued the long-running version of Google Analytics called "Universal Analytics" in July 2023 and replaced it with Google Analytics 4.
In my opinion, Google Analytics 4 is not very user-friendly, which is why I don't use it.
If you like Google Analytics 4 and want to use it, that's totally fine. Maybe one day I'll sit down and try to figure it out. In the meantime, I use a service called Clicky, which I’ve been using since 2010. It’s accurate, easy to use, and they offer a free version, which might be all you ever need.
How Clicky Works For Website KPIs
Clicky provides you with a unique tracking code you install on your website. This code sends data back to your Clicky account, where everything is stored and presented in a user-friendly format.
This is how most digital tracking systems work. For example, if you use Google Analytics 4, they provide you with a tracking code to install on your website, which sends data back to your GA4 account. If you're running ads on Facebook, you install a tracking code called the Facebook Pixel to send data back to your Facebook ad account.
By the way, if you need help installing any type of tracking script onto your website, we can do that for you quickly and inexpensively.
How to Use Your Website Data
Now that you have data coming in, what do you do with it?
Here are some real-world examples.
1. Identifying Traffic vs. Conversion Problems
If the number of leads and clients from your website is down, is this a traffic problem or a conversion problem?
How do you know?
And just so we're clear, traffic is about getting visitors to your site, while conversion is about what visitors do once they're at your site.
If the number of leads and clients is down, many businesses assume it's a website (i.e. conversion) problem, but on closer inspection the numbers might show it's actually a traffic problem.
For instance, if you're only getting 50 to 100 visitors per month to your website, you definitely have a traffic problem. Even a textbook perfect website can't perform miracles with just a trickle of traffic like this.
If you discover your website traffic is half of what it was a year ago AND leads are also down 50%, this data also suggests traffic is the root issue.
On the other hand, if your website traffic is pretty much at the same level as it was in the past, but your number of leads is down, you likely have a conversion problem (i.e. a website issue).
Without measuring your KPIs, there's no way to accurately pinpoint whether you have a traffic or conversion problem.
2. Planning and Forecasting with Website Metrics
One key ratio to know is how much traffic it takes to generate a new client. This makes client acquisition largely a function of website traffic.
For example, if your stats show you need 400 visitors to get one new client, then logically 800 visitors should result in two clients and so forth. That means, if you're running paid ads and want more clients, simply buy more traffic. If you're using an SEO strategy, getting more clients means publishing more articles.
On the other hand, if your website traffic is stable and consistent, but you want to attract more clients without increasing traffic, you'll need to improve your website's conversion strategy by implementing more effective lead magnets, email marketing, or retargeting ads.
Knowing your KPIs gives you peace of mind by knowing the cause and effect relationship between marketing activity and the number of clients it generates for your business.
3. Evaluating Marketing Channels with Website KPIs
Let's say you're using multiple strategies to drive traffic to your website traffic: SEO, Facebook ads, Google ads, and social media. It’s working, you’re getting clients, but which channel is getting you the most clients? Or the best clients?
Why is this important? Running ads costs money. If your data shows most clients come from your SEO efforts, you might to scale back on your paid ad campaigns and focus more on SEO.
On the other hand, if your data shows 85% of traffic is from your SEO efforts, you might mistakenly conclude that SEO is responsible for most of your new clients. But when you dig into the data a little further, you see that most new clients are actually coming from your paid ad campaigns, even though the amount of traffic from your paid ad campaigns represents only 15% of your total website traffic.
Numbers don't lie. Knowing what really moves the needle helps you make business decisions (based on data) that impact your bottom line.
Conclusion
Understanding and monitoring your website's KPIs helps you make data-driven decisions that drive real results.
Remember, you don't need fancy tools or endless spreadsheets—just a clear understanding of what to measure and why.
Whether you're looking to boost traffic, improve conversion rates, or identify the most effective marketing channels, the key is to keep it simple and expand as needed.
Knowing your KPIs helps you maximize profits and minimize waste — but perhaps most importantly, KPIs give you peace of mind.
