For More Power, Turn on Your Website Scoreboard

Hey there, it's Chris, your friendly neighborhood Internet Sherpa, back again with another one of those tips on how to bring bodies through the door, put cheeks in the seats and of course, build your list. Today, I want to hit you with some geekery. We're talking analytics.

I know, not the most thrilling topic, but I'm all about making sure you have what you need, to do what you need to do. Sometimes that means talking about stuff that's just not entertaining.

This is one of those times. My apologies in advance.

The Website as Your Central Hub

Your website is the heart of your online presence. It's where all the magic happens. It's the one spot online that you control and it's the best tool you have for getting people offline and through the front door.

Whether you're active on social media, running an Instagram account, creating TikTok content, or hosting a YouTube channel, all roads still lead to your website so your website needs to be on point.

The Importance of Measuring

Now, let's talk numbers. You may be diligently posting on social media day after day. Maybe you're an Instagram person, maybe you're a TikTok person and you're doing tons of short form video. , or maybe you'll do YouTube. What if you're posting religiously on Facebook but as soon as they get to your site, they just bounce right out of there? That’s a lot of effort for a whole lot of nothing.

There is good news though. Small adjustments in how you do what you do can make a big difference. There’s just one little catch…

You can't optimize what you don’t measure.

The Scoreboard Effect

Remember this: just because you're doing something doesn't mean you're actually doing something.  

It’s like that expression - Don’t confuse motion with action.  If you don’t measure what you’re doing, it’s like playing a game without keeping score. To truly succeed online, you need to turn on the scoreboard. 

That’s the only way you’ll be able to tell if your strategy is working or needs to be tweaked a little.

Counting the Essentials

So, what do you need to measure? What’s the down and dirty?

1. You need to know how many people are actually visiting your website.

2. You really ought to know where they're coming from.  If you’re posting a ton on Instagram but it turns out that most of your traffic is coming from YouTube, that could get a little frustrating.

3. Next you need to have a look at what people are doing when they get to your website.  If they’re not doing the things you want them to do (taking actions that move them down the road to buying from you) then you’ve got some digital rearranging to do.

The Predictability of People

The reason you need an insight on what needs to be adjusted is because, believe it or not, people behave very predictably online. Because they behave in predictable ways, you can move them in the right direction by adjusting what you put in front of them.

Translation? You can affect how well your website converts anonymous visitors into leads and then customers. You’ve got way more control over your online success than you may have thought.

Beyond Google Analytics

So let’s touch on how you’re going to do all of this measuring.  Chances are you’ve heard of Google Analytics. I know professionals that swear by this program.  

Personally, I’m not a fan. Never have been.  It seems to me that this using this software is just geek on geek crime.  Complicated for the sake of being complicated.

You shouldn’t need a Ph.D. in Geek to find out what’s going on on your website. All you need to be effective is a simple breakdown of who's visiting, where they're coming from, how many, and where they go on your site.  That shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Meet Statcounter

My software of choice comes from the folks at Statcounter.com.  It simplifies the entire analytics process and the price is right.

Unless you’re a power user (and trust me, you’re not) or you track a lot of websites like I do, then their free tier will cover just about everything you need. 

If I'm building your website, I've probably got this tool installed on your site.  If you're managing your site yourself, head to Statcounter.com, sign up, and start tracking.

A Final Thought: Building the Sales Funnel

Before I bounce out of here, let me give you something to percolate on.

What if you knew that two out of every 100 visitors ended up becoming customers.  It makes sense that you’d probably want to get as many new people over to your website as you could.

But what if you knew that with one or two changes you'd get 10 customers from those same 100 visitors?  That’s five times the results from the same amount of traffic. 

Imagine how it would feel if every month, you had a solid idea of the number of sales to expect based on the number of prospects who passed through your website. 

That's very possible. It's also why you need to turn on the scoreboard.

If you're an Independent, it makes no sense to have a website and not use it to its full potential. 

A little geekiness goes a long way.

In future posts, I'll walk you through the specifics of using data to optimize your online strategy. But if patience isn’t your thing, go to https://chriscarter.net/appointments, schedule a 20 minute strategy call and lets chop it up a little. 

You tell me about your current marketing and I’ll introduce me to the cheat code that will take it to the next level.

Go forth and do good things.  I’ll talk to you next time.