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Running an online business can be rewarding, but do you know how to measure its success? How well do you know your Google Analytics and other metric tools that enable you to remain at the top? Knowing your click-through rates, page views, traffic, among others, are critical in providing a wealth of information on how well your eCommerce is doing. According to LinkedIn research, 70-80% of Indian eCommerce businesses fail within the first five years. Now that is a startling percentage, but there’s hope once you can learn how to keep a close eye on yours.
In simple terms, a conversion rate refers to the degree or ratio to which your leads purchase products from your online store. Usually, when a visitor recognizes your marketing style and pays a virtual visit to your website, that person automatically enters your sales funnel. At this point, they’ll view your pages and, if anything appeals to their needs, will make a direct purchase from your eCommerce store.
As an eCommerce entrepreneur, the more this happens, the better it is for business. However, to measure how well this is happening, you will need to keep a close eye on your conversion rates and revenue. This involves an easy calculation; divide the total number of visitors to your website by the total of sales in a given period. For instance, if out of 1000 visitors to your online footwear shop, 45 people made purchases, then your conversion rate is 4.5%. As expected, you’ll want to improve an eCommerce conversion rate, which involves taking crucial steps to improve on a low conversion rate.
Website traffic refers to the number of web users who pay virtual visits to a particular site. For an eCommerce operator, this is the foundation for a successful business. It sits at the topmost part of every conversion funnel, as discussed in the previous paragraph. To successfully monitor and review your site’s traffic, Google Analytics (GA) is your best bet. Over the years, it has become a popular choice for online business operators. Moreover, because it’s a free online metric tool and easy to use, the masses prefer this choice.
Google Analytics offers users real-time numbers relating to site traffic. Additionally, it generates beneficial activity reports that give users in-depth information about their site’s performance. For example, after setting up your account, with just a click of the ‘Audience Tab,’ you can have immediate information on on-site visitors, pages visited, demographics, time spent on site, and bounce rates. It’s, however, recommended to set up Google Analytics regular reporting to capture traffic effectively.
Did you know there are four primary sources that GA uses to track your website traffic? The first source is the organic search, which refers to users brought onto your website through a search engine. The remaining three are;
Referrals: Users brought to your page by clicking a link on another website
Social: Web visitors led to your page through content posts and your social media profile
Direct visitors: This group directly typed your URL to find you. They usually bookmark your page and return frequently.
According to Wikipedia, eCommerce shopping cart abandonment rates range from 60% to 80%. With an average of 67.91%, this can turn out to be a headache for online business operators. In another breath, the same Wikipedia claims that if a virtual store has a 20% or less abandonment rate, it’s a measure of success for a business. Do you know yours at this point? It’ll be useful to learn how to do this on your own.
In conclusion, learning how to use metrics to measure your success is a must. Besides, online businesses are intensely competitive spaces, and you need to steer yours in a direction that produces good results.
This is a collaborative post.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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