The No-Fluff Guide to Website Metrics: What to Track and Why It Matters
- Winnicki Digital
- Apr 17
- 4 min read
You Built a Website. Now What?
You created a website to grow your business, connect with customers, and make your life just a little easier. But instead of feeling like a business tool, it feels like a question mark.
You log into Google Analytics (or whatever platform you’re using), greeted by a sea of graphs, numbers, and terms that might as well be written in Morse code. It’s overwhelming, and you’re left wondering:
What metrics actually matter?
How do you know if your site is performing well?
Most importantly, what do you do with all this information?
This guide has the answers. Whether you’re a small business owner, a marketing manager, or an entrepreneur ready to take charge of your data, we’ll break it all down in simple terms. No jargon, no overwhelm. Just the key metrics you need, what they mean, and how to use them to make your website better.
🧭 1. Traffic: How Many People Are Visiting Your Website?
Metric to Track
Total Users or Sessions
Where to Find It
Google Analytics → Reports → Overview
Why It Matters
Traffic is the foundation of your website performance. Without visitors, your website isn’t working for your business. Tracking users and sessions tells you whether people are finding your site through SEO, ads, or other strategies.
💡 Pro Tip If your traffic is low, that’s a sign it’s time to boost your visibility. You can improve your SEO, invest in social media marketing, or explore a paid advertising campaign to drive more people to your site.
⏱️ 2. Bounce Rate or Engagement Rate: Are Visitors Sticking Around?
Metric to Track
Bounce Rate (GA3) or Engagement Rate (GA4)
Where to Find It
Google Analytics → Reports → Engagement
Why It Matters
If visitors are leaving quickly (a high bounce rate), your site may not be meeting their expectations. This could mean your content wasn’t relevant to what they were looking for, or your page layout wasn’t user-friendly.
💡 What’s a Healthy Benchmark? Aim for bounce rates under 50% or engagement rates above 50%, depending on your site type.
💡 How to Improve
Optimize page speed.
Use clear and engaging headlines.
Ensure that content matches what your audience expects (especially if they’re coming from search or ads).
📄 3. Top Pages: What Content Are People Actually Viewing?
Metric to Track
Pages Viewed / Page Performance
Where to Find It
Google Analytics → Pages & Screens (GA4)
Why It Matters
Knowing which pages get the most traffic can reveal what content resonates with your audience. Are your blog posts pulling in traffic? Are your service pages getting views? This can help you prioritize and refine your content strategy.
💡 Red Flags to Watch If your homepage or service pages aren't seeing traffic, it’s time to revisit your SEO and marketing strategies.
⏱️ 4. Average Time on Page: Are Visitors Engaging or Just Skimming?
Metric to Track
Average Engagement Time
Where to Find It
Built-in form analytics
Google Analytics → Engagement
Why It Matters
The amount of time visitors spend on a page can give you insights into their interest and how well your content delivers on their needs.
💡 Benchmarks
30–90 seconds for service pages.
Longer dwell time on blog posts is even better.
💡 Quick Wins
Break up text into smaller paragraphs.
Add visuals, such as images or videos, to keep readers engaged.
Ensure your page delivers on the promise of what brought visitors there in the first place.
📞 5. Conversions: Are Visitors Taking Action?
Metric to Track
Form Fills / Button Clicks / Add to Cart / Goal Completions
Where to Find It
Google Analytics → Conversions (Set up events/goals first)
Or use tools like Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, or built-in form analytics.
Why It Matters
Traffic is great, but if visitors aren’t converting into leads, your website isn’t doing its job.
💡 Start Simple
Track one key action, such as a contact form submission, email signup, or booking.
Set up conversion goals in Google Analytics to measure success.
🔗 6. Traffic Sources: Where Are Visitors Coming From?
Metric to Track
Traffic Channels (Organic, Social, Direct, Referral)
Where to Find It
Google Analytics → Acquisition → Traffic Source
Why It Matters
This tells you how visitors are finding your site. Are your SEO efforts paying off? Is your social media driving results? Is there untapped potential in referral traffic?
💡 Pro Tip Double down on what’s working (e.g., organic search or social). For channels that aren’t delivering, try a different strategy, such as optimizing blog posts for SEO or testing more engagement-driven social content.
🚀 7. Site Speed: How Fast Does Your Website Load?
Metric to Track
PageSpeed Score / Load Time
Where to Find It
Google PageSpeed Insights
GTMetrix
Google Analytics Site Speed Reports
Why It Matters
A slow website can be detrimental to your performance. Even a two-second delay can increase bounce rates and impact user experience, leading visitors to leave before they even explore your content.
💡 Quick Wins
Compress images.
Minimize plugins.
Upgrade to faster hosting.
Now, What Do You Do With All This?
We get it. Data can feel overwhelming, even when broken down into simple metrics. But the key is action. Here’s how to make sense of it all:
Start Small: Begin with 3–4 key metrics that align with your business goals, such as traffic, bounce rate, or conversions.
Check Monthly: Look for trends over time rather than focusing on daily fluctuations.
Focus on Progress: Use the insights to improve your pages, campaigns, or user experience.
And don’t forget, you don’t have to do it alone.
Book a Website Performance Check-Up
Not sure where to start or what your numbers even mean or need help with your audit?
We can review your audit or perform your Website Audit. Either way, you’ll get a clear, personalized action plan to fix what’s not working, leverage your strengths, and grow your business online.
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