(|H|A|K|) By Emma Grace Brown | Image Source: Pexels

From monitoring security risks and tracking daily performance to writing great copy, managing a business website is no easy task. Additionally, any glitch in website functionality can cost the business dearly, both in terms of money and reputation. But with the right approach and tools, you’ll be able to stay on top of your website performance, outperform competitors, and reap the benefits of increased revenue and growth. This article by Hakeem Alexander will explore important points relating to tracking website performance that business owners should keep in mind.

Know the Important Metrics

Here are the top five website metrics your business should track at all times:

• Average Time on Page: This metric shows the average time spent by users on a particular page on your website, as reported by MetricHQ. Naturally, some pages will have higher times than others, but if you notice low times on pages where users should ideally spend more, experiment with adding new content, changing the messaging, or tweaking the design to find the best way to achieve the desired engagement.

• Bounce Rates: The bounce rate captures the percentage of users who leave the website after visiting a single page. Ideally, a user should land on the home page or a landing page, take the desired action such as registering or adding a product and move on to another page. As reported by RocketFuel, bounce rates between 45%-55% are considered ideal, but with consistent improvements, you can bring it down to 25%-30%.

• Page Load Speeds: All pages on your website should load within 2 seconds, as any time higher than that can lead to users abandoning the website and reduces the likelihood of them coming back. Slow load speeds can be caused due to faulty code, hosting issues, excessive media, and a host of other factors. If you spot any of these issues, take prompt action to solve them.

• Unique Visitors: A unique visitor is a user who is visiting your website for the first time. This metric provides a good indication of the number of new customers you are drawing to the website daily. A high number of unique visitors is a sign that your marketing efforts are paying dividends.

• Website Traffic: This metric provides the total number of website visits for a particular period. Ideally, the website should experience traffic growth on a month-on-month basis. More traffic translates to better brand awareness and increases the chances of making higher registrations and sales.

Utilize Process Mining

The responsibility of maintaining the website will be on the shoulders of numerous teams, such as:

• The marketing team will be responsible for keeping the content updated and in line with customer demands.

• The product team will need to consistently make improvements to the user flow and overall website experience.

• Your IT team will serve as the backbone of the website and ensure that it is functional 24/7 and safe from cyberattacks

Using process mining tools will streamline the process of coordination between all stakeholders. Here’s how:

• The tool reads the log data created by applications used by each team.

• It will then analyze the data to create a workflow of your end-to-end processes and find inefficiencies to be fixed.

• Using the power of data visualization, the tool will present workflow graphically, which can easily be shared and understood by stakeholders.

Following the workflow created by the process mining tool significantly reduces bottlenecks, improves website performance, and minimizes the chances of human error. To further learn about how to use this tool for your business and website, we suggest reading this process mapping best practices guide.

Tracking the above-mentioned metrics and using a process mining tool for your website will provide the following benefits:

• Faster detection of page errors leads to maximum website uptime
• A deeper understanding of customer behavior results in better page designs, content, and user flows
• Higher SERP (search engine results page) rankings lead to higher month-on-month traffic

As a business owner, it is important to treat website performance as a business priority. The use of process mining will make the process much simpler, but you’ll need to consistently track key metrics and take corrective action when needed.