Getting potential customers to your website is the first order and the goal of any search engine optimization strategy.  The bigger goal is to then convert those visitors into paying customers.  That is the primary goal of a conversion rate optimization strategy.

But what constitutes a conversion?  Is it only when the customer actually pays?

Converting a first-time visitor to your website into a paying customer is not normally a quick one-step process.  Most of us go through a series of steps when we make a buying decision, often referred to as the buying cycle.  For your business simply capturing the name and a maybe an email address could be a big win.  If all you measure is sales then you could be short changing the value of your website to your business.

What should you be measuring?

Determining what to monitor will depend largely on the type of business you are in.  There are some more universal indicators of success or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will indicate if you are successfully bringing visitors into your site and giving yourself a chance to convert them to paying customers.

Think about how you typically shop.  You usually start out doing some research and looking for options.  The time a visitor spends on your site indicate their interest and whether you are providing the right kind of content.  Are they finding what they want?  A good way to measure this is looking at bounce rates and exit rates.  If they come to your site and immediately move on they are considered a bounce.  If they stay, you can monitor how long they stay and what they do once there.  Do they click to other pages?  Are some better than others?  Monitoring exit rates can help you capture the percentage of visitors who leave your website after visiting more than one page.

Now that you have a visitor engaged with your website you want to find out who they are.  Offer some information that you potential customers might want.  Maybe you offer a case study about a similar company in Denver that used SEO to increase traffic 75%.  Getting them to fill out a simple form with a name and email address (so you have a way to deliver the case study) is a win.  Now that visitor has become a lead.  So measuring form conversion rate, the percent of visitors who filled out your form is important.  Remember to keep the information you request to a minimum.

E-commerce sites might have KPIs that look at average order value, or shopping cart abandon rate.  These KPIs are particularly important because this where the customer is actually making a buying decision.  If visitors ultimately don’t buy, it is important to know when they dropped off and try to figure out why so it can be corrected.

The end goal is to increase conversion rates on your website, but analyzing your KPIs gives you the information necessary to optimize your website so you can optimize profits.