A website's performance is crucial to a user's journey in this highly competitive internet age. Visitors expect a site to load fast, have optimized content, and have a pleasant layout to look at, among many other factors. A site's performance only helps it to gain more dedicated visitors and increase conversion. Moreover, it also helps it rank in Google and other search engines. There are different metrics when it comes to measuring a site; we gathered the important ones.
What are website metrics?
Simply put, website metrics are measurement factors to track a site's performance. You can use these numbers to your benefit by inspecting your statistics. A website metric can be anything, including traffic, conversion rate, most popular pages, etc. The main benefit of tracking these metrics is getting a clear insight into your website. It can help you identify what works for your site and what does not.
Importance of website metrics
It is believed that tracking website metrics can lead you to success. Why is that? Well, tracking a website means several things. You are not just checking your performance but also the visitor's experience. Metrics help you with optimizing your time to its fullest. That could mean the load speed, data, page settings, and more.
Based on your past work, you can make successful decisions about your site's future. For instance, which page is the most popular on your site? Identify that and produce more content like that. Add more value to your website and learn from the mistakes by reviewing your website performance.
How do you measure website performance?
Third-party apps and websites provide basic results of how a website performs in terms of its loading speed and responsiveness. The best way to get detailed results about your site's performance is by analyzing its KPI metrics. KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators. These are measures to track website performance. There are several KPIs to worry about. However, some are more important than others.
Measuring KPIs can be different for all websites. That's because every site has its own goals and objectives. These can easily differ from other websites. But, some KPIs can remain constant.
By using these KPIs, you can get a better picture of what is working on your site and what needs improvement. Here are some KPIs to measure your website performance:
Audience measuring
The widely used yet very effective way to measure a site is by measuring its audience. It can be done by tracking the visitors to your website. Generally, Google Analytics is used to perform this task, as it is very easy to use and provides the closest results. Google Analytics can help you find different key factors to track. Like the number of old and new visitors daily, the most engaging content, the number of sessions, and where the traffic is coming from, among many other functions. It will give you a better idea of how your site is performing, what the audience likes the most, and which country or place the traffic is interested in your website.
Traffic origin and sources
Traffic is the most important metric for measuring website performance. It determines the number of new and returning visitors to your website. This metric is also linked to traffic sources. That means which channels are bringing how many users to your site. There are different ways to attract traffic to your website, like social media marketing, email marketing, or from organic google rankings. Analyzing the root source of the traffic can help you implement a successful strategy to help increase the website's performance.
Engagement and conversion
Engagement and conversions are different performance data metrics. But, they are often discussed together. Here's why. Engagement refers to the number of views and clicks on a post or page. Conversions, on the other hand, are defined by the CTA (Call to Action) elements. That includes subscribers, signups, bookings, turning on notifications, etc. Even a simple share can lead to a higher conversion rate on your site. Engagement and conversions help a website become successful together. That's why you need to focus on both metrics for overall growth.
Profits
Last but not least, the important part of measuring a site's performance is analyzing its profits. If you are spending more on improving the site performance than earning, then it will not be sustainable for the long term.
What are three key website performance measures?
Besides listed KPIs, we have three key website metrics that need to be paid more attention to when measuring a website's performance. Here are the three key website performance measures explained in detail:
- Bounce rate
Bounce rate is highly important when measuring any website's performance. The longer the visitor stays on your website, the more chances you have of having a conversion. If your site gets visitors but has very little session time, they bounce from the site. The most common thing that can lead it to happen is either non-optimization or below-average quality of the site.
There is no need to be upset about the bounce rate of your website. It is a key factor determining whether your site is not delivering to users. To minimize the bounce rate and improve session time, you need to ensure the content is relative to the keyword and has an optimized or mobile-friendly layout. Start with identifying which page or post has the highest bounce report. You can view it for each page separately from the landing page report.
- Top Pages
After seeing the bounce rate, it is time to check where your website excels. That can be viewed by checking the top pages of your website. These are the posts or web pages with the most traffic. Landing pages also play an integral role in this metric. You can make a lasting first impression by viewing and optimizing your landing pages separately.
- Unique visitors
Unique visitors are a website metric that shows your growth. Returning visitors is important, but new ones increase your site's popularity. You can view your unique audience on each page individually. Unique visitors help you identify the number of new users accessing your website within a timeframe. It could be weekly, monthly, or even yearly. The most important part is identifying which channel is bringing new viewers to your site.
What should be focused on to test the performance of a website?
Whether it's a website or mobile application, some key points among them are the same in their performance. These points can make or break the user journey. Here are some important factors to focus on when testing a website's performance.
Speed and stability
An optimized website that loads and works fast is crucial when testing a site's performance. Given the wide variety of online choices today, visitors turn away from a site that is slow or crashes. You can perform a speed test of your site using free third-party services. The good part is that the results indicate what needs to be improved to speed up the site and its performance.
Optimization
Providing optimal user experience to visitors is only possible when the site is well optimized on all platforms. An optimized site guarantees that when the user sessions increase on your site, it should be able to handle the volume of users without compromising on the quality.
Error pages
The worst experience for a user is to land on an error page. Many reasons can cause a page not to respond. But that should be fixed right away. You can use an analysis tool to recognize where the error lies. Inspect the root of the problem and fix it immediately. Having a functional website increases the chances of higher traffic. Hence, reviewing technical performance can be quite beneficial.
How do I know the traffic of a website?
Several tools can measure your website performance. Generally, traffic checking tools for websites are equipped with powerful features. They provide valuable data regarding every aspect of a website. For instance, you will see which post has higher traffic than others and why. The most popular options are Google Analytics, SerpStat, SEMRush, SimilarWeb, etc. Using these tools, you can easily find out the traffic on individual posts and pages of a website.
The important question is, why should someone check a website's traffic? Well, for example it helps in competitor analysis. You can identify which channels and keywords bring more traffic to your competitor and use it. These tools are not limited to checking competitors' websites only. You can also have an in-depth look at your website performance. Once you understand the highlights of your niche, it is easy to use them to your benefit. Checking competitor websites' traffic helps you with link building, keyword research, etc. You can build a better strategy for your site.
Conclusion
Understanding website metrics can lead to your site's success. If you have never given much attention to that, it might be the right time now. Focus on what's working for your website and what's not. It will help you to make better decisions for your site as well as your business. Track your website performance data, and point out your mistakes, which will help you reach new heights.
Focusing on the key metrics can be difficult but creating a website is an even harder process. Luckily, you can opt for a no-code platform that can help you with easy and fast creation. App Master no-code platform, which offers the most powerful no-code backend as of yet. A highly- productive backend gets you one step closer to the well-performed website.
