Is a KPI like CSI?

I should probably start with something about web metrics. Web metrics are those bits of data like “pageviews” or “unique visitors” or “bounce rate.” Most analytics packages, like Google Analytics, VisiStat and so on have hundreds of these little data chunks.

We don’t all have time to look at all the reports. And many of the reports don’t contain information on which we can act. So one strategy of getting value from the analytics package without spending our day gazing fondly over medium/source performance charts, is to identify a handful of really important metrics.

And that’s pretty much what a KPI is: a really important metric. More completely, a KPI (just an acronym for “key performance indicator”), is a metric that is directly relevant to your business goals and is built on data that you trust enough to take action.

My favorite article on what makes a KPI special can be found at visual revenue.

The conversion conversation

I’m going to be mentioning conversions a lot in the following KPIs because I think that more conversions generally leads to more money. I think that conversions are better than page views or time on site or any number of other metrics. For lead-generating real estate sites, I like to use contact forms, user registrations and property details emailed to a friend as common conversions for real estate sites. But your site or strategy may have other conversion goals. The important thing is to set up those goals, measure them, track them and love them.

It’s also important to remember that a conversion is not a sale. Conversions turn ordinary human beings into potential customers on your lead list. They want you to tell them why they should work with you. And that’s pretty valuable (not as valuable as a sale, but still valuable).

Alright so we’ve got that part down. Now on to our list:

#1 Conversion Rate (aka Take Rate)

What it is:

This is the number of conversions divided by the number of people who visit your site (I like to use unique visitors).

What it indicates:

The higher your conversion rate, the better qualified your visitors are (your off-site marketing is working) and the better your site content is at encouraging visitors to convert (your site optimization is working). Hopefully, it also indicates a future increase in revenue.

Example actions to improve your conversion rate:

• Is your site designed to get people to contact you? Make more contact points and see if your conversion rate goes up (assuming contact is a goal, of course).
• Is the traffic to your site the kind that you want (the infamous “visitor quality”)? Make sure your marketing efforts are leading people to the right page. Make sure you are marketing to people who want, need and can afford your services.
• Is your offer any good? Try changing the wording you use to entice people to convert, explain to them the benefits of why they should contact you.

#2 Traffic Sources

What it is:

The percentage breakdown of how people find your site, usually broken down into broad groups of “Search Engines,” “Direct,” “Referrals” and “Other/Campaigns.”

What it indicates:

This one is all about your dependence. In particular, dependence on search engines. If the algorithm changes tomorrow, what percentage of your traffic is at risk of never finding you? Word of mouth and past clients? Those people are probably the ones who type in your web address and get put in the “Direct” bucket. It also lets you know who else is sending people your way and if your campaigns are working. Traffic Sources is a friendly little monitor on the main roads leading into your site. Which ones need repair?

Example actions to take based on Traffic Sources:

• No search traffic? Time to read all those SEO/SEM guidelines out there and put them to work.
• No direct traffic? Maybe no one knows you or your web address is hard to spell. Try some off-line advertising and other branding efforts so your market knows who you are and types in the address directly.
• No referrals? Start participating in online communities (your profile will usually allow you to link to your website) and blogs. Start making great content and letting others know it’s there.
• No campaigns traffic? Start advertising or start optimizing your advertising (that could be another blog post or three on its own).

#3 Top Conversion-page Exits

What it is:

A visitor gets to within one step of converting but decides to go somewhere else. For example, maybe they get to your contact page but don’t fill out the form and instead go to the “About” page.

What it indicates:

The nagging question your visitor from converting right then.

Example of what you can do with Top Conversion-page Exits:

• Is there anything from the Conversion-page Exit you can incorporate into your conversion page? Try to answer their question without making them leave the conversion page.
• Is there anything you can do to get a conversion on that Conversion-page Exit? From the example above, try putting a contact form on the “About” page.
• How can you get those questions answered before they get to the conversion page? Sprinkle content from the Conversion-page Exits on all the pages people arrive at (your home page will likely be the biggest of these).

Keep testing. Keep learning. Keep taking action.

So there are three things you can track about your website and it won’t take you long to figure out how. Track the results. Test new ideas. Adjust your site based on what your users are telling you when they come to your site, convert or don’t convert and go somewhere else on your site.

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G. Dewald is a software product manager and head of the analytics and site optimization for Union Street Media, a web design and development agency specializing in integrating MLS/IDX search into office and agent websites. He often spends his day lovingly gazing upon take rate and top performing content data. He writes regularly at the Union Street Media blog.