• The Basics of Website Performance Monitoring for Searcy, AZ Business Owners

  • In today’s digital age, having a well-designed, functioning website needs to be a business priority. A website will serve as a one-stop shop for all important business goals such as making sales, brand promotion, and collecting customer data. But, every minute of website downtime can lead to a loss of customers and revenue. In this article by the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, we’ll explore the best strategies businesses should implement to ensure optimum website performance at all times.

     

    Track Important Metrics

     A metric is a set parameter that should be tracked daily to provide accurate insight regarding a select aspect of the website. Here are three important metrics which should be tracked by all businesses:

     

    • Number of Visitors: this metric will provide you with an idea of the daily traffic received by the website. Visitors can be divided into two categories – unique visitors, i.e. customers who are visiting the website for the first time, and returning visitors, which signifies the number of existing users who have come back to the site. Your goal should be to consistently bring in new unique visitors and convert them into repeat visitors.

     

    • Bounce Rate: the bounce rate signifies the percentage of visitors who leave the website after visiting a single page or triggering a single request to the analytics server. As reported by CXL, bounce rates for e-commerce websites fall between 20-45%, but dedicated blogging websites can experience rates as high as 90%. Hence, it’s important to regularly track this metric, find the optimal level for your business, and work towards reducing it over time.

     

    • Top Traffic Source: a traffic source specifies the place from where the customer landed on your website, which can include an email newsletter, social media advertisement, affiliate link, etc. If you notice a high amount of traffic being generated from one or two sources, consider channeling greater resources towards expanding promotions on those channels to rake in a higher number of unique visitors to the website.

     

    Utilize AI-Powered Tools

    According to research by Tech Jury, currently, there are more than 4.66 billion active internet users who generate more than 2.5 quintillions (2.5 followed by 18 zeros) bytes of data each day. On average, you can expect to generate 100s of GB of data through the website and other business practices within a week. Analyzing this data manually is a near impossible task, but here are two tools that can aid your data tracking efforts:

     
    • Process Mining Software:  having good task mining tools is important for any digital-oriented business as it combines the use of data science and the best process analysis methods to help you improve website performance. Process Maker explains that process mining software will read the data logs created by the website analytics and marketing tools to understand your current performance. Next, it will flag areas of inefficiency and provide a streamlined workflow that can be used to improve website user flows and plan better marketing campaigns.

     

    • Business Process Management: a major benefit of using a BPM tool is the functionality it provides to automate repetitive tasks such as data tracking, reporting, and visualization. By implementing this tool across your website monitoring and marketing efforts, you’ll be able to promptly spot threats, reduce bottlenecks and ensure that all-important business processes run smoothly. 

     

    Experience the Benefits 

    Regular tracking of website performance will require an investment in technology and manpower, but it will be worth it as your business will experience the following benefits that competitors won't, such as:

     
    • Data Protection: when it comes to avoiding cyberattacks, prevention is the best solution. By constantly tracking website performance, you’ll be able to spot any potential threats and take prompt action to keep data safe.

     

    • Consistent Growth: Making data-driven website improvements is bound to increase its performance in all aspects, especially in the abovementioned metrics. This will help your business generate higher revenue, reach a larger audience, and outperform competitors.

     

    You will find many benefits to monitoring your website, and it’s important to share key metrics with your primary stakeholders. Put together reports for departments that are directly involved in particular data sets or initiatives that are driven by these results. But collaborate with a few of your team leaders before sharing the report. You can try this PDF online editor to collaborate and revise drafts with these leaders by adding comments, highlighting passages, and using sticky notes to ask questions. This review process will ensure your report is thorough and relevant to the teams who will receive it.

     

    Use Your Data Strategically

     

    To ensure your business remains successful in a competitive market, it’s important to follow good website tracking practices and utilize tools such as process mining and BPM that help analyze large data sets with ease and provide you with actionable insights to work with. When you share your results with key stakeholders, be sure to use PDF editing tools to collaborate with your leaders on which information is presented and how. You want to be strategic about applying what you learn towards new initiatives to help your business grow strategically.

     

    Join the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce to connect with local entrepreneurs and resources that can help your business grow.