Track the performance of your website with Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

I have heard it time and time again. Why get a website when it is just an expensive billboard. Or, why should I have a website if no one knows it exists. I agree with both of those sentiments. You should not get a website if you plan on making it a billboard.  It's also a bad idea to get a website if you don't plan on telling anyone it exists. 

When you get a website, you have to lay the groundwork to make sure that you get a return on investment. The way you do that is by making sure that the website is working for you. But you might ask, how do you make sure the website is working for me. The way to confirm that the website is working for you is by tracking its performance.  

Two of the best ways to track a website's performance are through Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
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Track your SEO performance with Google Search Console. 

Google Search Console is a tool provided by Google that monitors the performance of your website on their search engine. Some of the key stats that it shows are;

1. How many pages of your website you have indexed on Google.
2. What keywords you are ranking with on Google.
3. How many impressions you had for the week/month on Google.
4. How many click-throughs you have had to your site from Google.
5. Comparison of how your website is performing over time.
6. Back-links to your website.
7. Internal links on your website.

Many tools can give you these stats, but the Google Search Console tool is provided free from Google. By using this tool, you will understand how your website is performing on Google and get additional insight into how to fix any issues that are preventing your website and its pages from being indexed.
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Track your site visitors with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a tool used to track the user interactions on your website and the overall performance. Some of the key performance data tracked by Google Analytics are;

1. What are the most popular pages on your website.
2. How do users browse your website.
3. How users are finding your website.
4. Pages that are browsed before purchase or inquiry is made.
5. How many users visit your site before purchase or inquiry is made .
6. Where your users are coming from.
7. The bounce rate of your website.
8. The average time a user stays on your website.
9. Which social media platforms are generating the most traffic to your website.

The list above is just the tip of the iceberg when tracking user interaction with your website.  There is way more information that can be tracked, but at a minimum,  the ones above are a good start. 

As a business owner, I know that you already have a million other things to do.  But to use your website to its full potential, it’s a good practice to review your website data at least once a month if you can.   It will give you invaluable insight into where your clients are coming from and how to optimize your client acquisition efforts.

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