Make More Money From Your Ideas

"How do I really measure the effectiveness of my website?"

Good question, because many Web site owners really have no idea about whether their site is a success.

First, know what "effectiveness" means to you. Does it mean generating new leads, or selling products directly, or increasing customer loyalty, or ... ? Most of these things can be measured, as long as you put the effort into doing so. Then there are some other things - more nebulous - such as "increase brand awareness", which is tough to measure. Big companies love doing this sort of stuff (and advertising agencies keep telling them to keep doing it!). But I recommend that you stay away from these fluffy measurements and stick to the things that really count.

Remember to measure what really matters, not just what's easy to measure. If your Web site's main aim is to sell, then what really matters is how much profit you make. Although it's easy to measure hits, visits, repeat visits and conversion rates, it's only useful if you use these numbers to figure out the net profit.

For example, I have one Web site that sells an e-book for $27. I know that 1 in every 180 people buys it. That's a pretty poor conversion rate, but I also know that I only pay $9 in advertising for those 180 visits. So I'm making a good profit on every sale.

Labels: Web strategy