The success or otherwise of any areas of your organisation should be quantifiable by some measure. And yet, very few website managers/owners seem to set goals for their website. The companies that do, generally sell online and goals are a vital part of their monthly reporting. But most companies don't set goals and without them it is difficult to get a through measure of how well your website is working and what areas need to be improved on.
When website owners are looking for a re-design, often times the concern with their current website is either:
- Out of date design;
- Out of date content;
- Need more functionality
But very rarely is the new design being led by a specifically underachieving goal.
What website goals should I set?
To get true return from your website, any re-design investment should be to done in a way that maximises the goal return for the budget available. So your goal is really your starting point. Knowing who your target customer is and what you would like them to do on the website is vital to the success of the website.
Examples of goals could be:
- % of visitors completing contact us form;
- % of returning visitors to website;
- Number of Visitors to the website;
- Average page views by a visitor to your website
Google Analytics and Website Goals
Googole Analytics is a great way of tracking your goal conversions. Visitor information can easily be viewed and even emailed directly to you on a reporting basis. If your goal involves a visitor completing a "call to action on your website" you should use the goals functionality in Google Analytics.
Goal tracking in Google Analytics works by simply nominating a "goal page". An example of a goal page could be a "thank you" page. When you complete a form on our website you usual get directed to a thank you page. So if your goal is to get visitors to complete the contact us form on your website, then the goal will be completed if people get to the "thank you" page.
Set your Goals Today
To get the most from your website:
- List what you want your website to achieve;
- Set yourself a quantifiable target measure;
- Focus website improvement on achieving these measures;
- Ensure you review your goal performance at set periods