Metrics. The measurement of all business relies on metrics. From historic metrics like revenue, costs of goods sold, and gross margin, to more granular metrics such as customer lifetime value, earnings before interest, tax and amortization, metrics commonly mean the difference between a thriving business and one on the rocks. It can mean the difference between a promotion, or a pink slip. Metrics are the only thing that matters.

On the web, a device built on measurement, our website performance is almost exclusively based on metrics. Sessions, time on site, bounces, cart abandonment, conversions; all of these metrics determine if what we are doing to promote our business online is showing a positive return, or causing us to lose sleep.

At WTM Digital, we love metrics; it is what we do. Everything that we do from search engine optimization to paid search advertising has to do with generating a return on investment for our clients. We are so focused on generating sites and campaigns that equal more sales because we feel generating traffic without conversions is not a recipe that keeps businesses around very long. To use the traditional retail world as an example, it is basically setting up a store and having everyone walk through the doors, but never make a purchase. This isn’t a smart way to run a retail store, so why would it make sense for a website??

Now most people associate measuring ROI with sites that have a finite conversion, through a transaction. This is usually means ecommerce sites and leaves out those organizations that require the customer to take that extra step in order to ‘complete a sale.’ Sites like business to business manufacturers, service oriented sites, sites that sell products to consumers, but in a brick and mortar location are generally seen to be sites where a conversion is unable to be obtained.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Conversions are REAL in EVERY website.

Microconversions help tell the consumer purchase journey

Microconversions (or common tactics that consumers engage in prior to a sale) can help tell the story of what is truly happening on your website today. Even sites who have ecommerce in place will see benefit from microconversions.

Microconversions are nothing new. The Godfather of Analytics, Avinash Kaushik has been talking about microconversions as far back as 2008 and even Google themselves try to get you to add microconversions to your site.

A microconversion could be something as simple as an email signup, understanding if a consumer watched your entire introduction video, or if they created an account or downloaded your price list.

Do you send a newsletter to your current or prospective customers? That’s a microconversion

Have you launched a new service and interested in who is viewing that page? That’s a microconversion

Do you have a downloadable buyers guide or white paper? That’s a microconversion

The easiest microconversion of them all… Contact us lead form.

If you are in business, chances are that you have a contact us form. Wouldn’t you like to know how many people visit your site from organic sources and fill out a contact us form?? That is a microconversion that is easily tracked.

Microconversions tell stories and measure success. My next post will tell you more about microconversions as well as how to set up a microconversion on your site. Let’s get back to the point of this post…

What metrics should I be paying attention to to measure my site’s success?

The answer to this question is… it depends. If you didn’t have a website, what would be the metrics you are interested in? If it is a brick and mortar store, is it foot traffic?? Then you should be focused on traffic and how that correlates to leads.

If you are a manufacturer looking for businesses to contact you via phone communication to request a quote? Then measure the amount of traffic as it relates to completed ‘Request Quote’ forms.

If you are a real estate agent looking for more prospective home buyers, then measure traffic as it pertains to completed ‘Request More Information’ forms.

Are you a software provider looking to gauge the impact of your new product description video? Look at the amount of people visiting that video’s page and then compare this to the amount of people who watched 3/4 of the product description video.

Measure the metrics that mean something to your business. This usually involves sales but there are many processes prior to a sale completion.

Discovery. Qualification. Conversion

  • Discovery: This is where consumers find you for the first time. Whether this is through Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, or other Offline Marketing, this particular phase is important as it fills the top of your purchase funnel.
  • Qualification: This is where the consumer finds your business as well as other businesses and qualifies which one they prefer.
  • Conversion: A sale is made.

Within each one of these purchase steps are opportunities to measure performance. Finding out where the consumer dropped out of the purchase funnel is mightily important to understand how to amend the process to prevent more from a similar exit.

Unlike traditional advertising where the mantra is build it and hope they come, internet marketing is about build it, measure it, optimize it, measure it, optimize it, and so on. With granular metrics available, the web allows us to understand every step of the purchase process, and work to make that step better for the consumer.

We take metrics very serious as they are the benchmark to our client’s success. We generate campaigns that require success. Metrics helps us showcase our successes.

Do you know what metrics you are watching today? Do you know what metrics you should be focusing on?? Give us a call and let us help report on the metrics that matter to you.