OK, let’s start simple. How much do you think your website is actually worth to you? Right now – try to quantify it. Pretty tricky no? But you’d be hard pushed to find a business in the UK which doesn’t have one. One thing’s for sure, every marketer knows even based on gut feel, that yes, it’s very important that to have a website. (Told you I was starting simple)
But is gut feel enough? Would you apply the same logic to any other areas of your business? “Well my gut tells me that Mickey in the sales team is doing a great job – I mean, I haven’t actually looked at his sales figures in a few months, but I know that he’s there and I reckon he’s probably working hard – plus he looks great.” I think we can agree that it’s probably not the thought process of your average sales manager.
But then by the same token, isn’t your website the most important member of your sales team? And how much did you spend on your site last year, was it more or less that Mickey’s salary? Would you trade away your whole site for one extra head in the team? How about two? No, I didn’t think so. But then by that logic, how can your site not be held accountable if it’s failing to deliver true value back to your business. Everyone needs to earn their crust and your website is like every other investment ever made – it needs to deliver an ROI.
OK, so here’s the million dollar question (or maybe it’s £50k, or maybe £3million) - how can you quantify the value that your website brings to your company? Fine, if you’re dealing with ecommerce it’s easier to put a figure on it, but that doesn’t mean to say that the vast majority of other corporate sites that aren’t selling directly to consumers don’t have an equally big part to play in the sales cycle. Think about it, would you go into business with or purchase from a new supplier without at least checking out their website first?
So – let’s get to the nitty-gritty. Well for a start let’s assume at the very least that you have Google Analytics installed in your website. I mean, it is free and without it you truly are sailing blind. Every project needs a foundation to base KPIs on – so if you can’t answer the question of “How much traffic do you get every month?” then you really are living in the stone age (or perhaps just the ‘90s). But smart marketers know there is far more to analysing value that just how many people had a look through your shop window. Would you prefer Mickey to speak to 500 prospects in month, but close no new business, or spend quality time with 20 people, all of whom sign off on juicy contracts by the end of Q1?
Don’t get me wrong, a boost in foot traffic is rarely a bad thing, but there is so much more which needs consideration when looking through your site analytics. It goes deeper still than understanding things like ‘Top Content’ pages and ‘Bounce Rate’ – it’s about taking a holistic approach to the project as a whole. Your website needs a strategy, with clearly defined objectives and KPIs, just as much as any other aspect of your marketing activity. Think about your audience, after all that’s who the site is for. What would a positive journey be for them? Visit your site, like what they see, pick up the phone? That could be a 20 second interaction, but still a meaningful one if it sparks a conversation. How about downloadable content, video, rich media – not pages views in the top level sense but just as (if not more) important. How about blog entries, is anyone actually reading the fantastic content you’re producing (OK – that’s a key one in my mind right now) but the principle still stands, if you’re investing time and money into anything it’s crazy not to know exactly what you’re getting out of the relationship.
So when you next log-in, to check your Google Analytics account for the first time since last year, give it a little more thought. How much is your website actually worth to you?
