By: Tim Haas
Owner/Web Developer
Haas Consulting
Web Development Services
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Welcome to our new and current subscribers! This newsletter is published monthly by Haas Consulting. It is here to be a source of information for anyone who would like to learn about webpages and how they relate to a business or other organization. Please feel free to email us with topics you would like to learn more about. Enjoy!

Measuring For Success

A vital component in a successful website lies in monitoring its performance. Just what is it that determines if a website is successful or not? There are websites out there that receive thousands upon thousands of hits per day that are not particularly successful. Others receive comparably few hits per day and are very successful. A website may be constructed to provide information, generate income for the owner, or provide a service to the end user. Most websites will generally cover all three of these areas, but only one will be the main goal. The only true way to determine if a website is a success is to have a clear goal for what the website is there to accomplish, then gauge whether or not the goal has been met.

Let’s start by examining the most common type of website on the net today; a website that is there to generate a profit. A website such as this can be an online store, relying on sales made electronically to generate a profit. This type of website is designed to showcase products, pitch the sale, then follow through by completing the sale while the customer is online. They may also generate profits through the sale of advertising on their webpage. The sales of advertising is supported largely by historical information relating to how many people view the webpage; obviously the more viewers the more valuable the advertising space is. Overall you measure the success of this website in the amount and number of sales placed online; that is generally where the bulk of the profits are.

Worthy of equal consideration is a website that doesn't’t make any online sales at all; still it generates a good deal of income for a brick and mortar store. This type of website provides information of value to its viewers and entices them to stop in to the store; where they can become paying customers. The goal here is to create customer loyalty and increased sales by bringing people into the store frequently. Measuring the success of this one is a bit difficult, but still it is possible. You will need to compare historical sales information from the same period in previous years then make some judgment calls. Can the differences (if any) be attributed to the website? The key to measuring this one is to make this as obvious as possible. Using online coupons that are available nowhere else is one way to help pinpoint how much traffic is being generated by your website. Even something as simple as listening to comments people make about your website will help you determine if it is effective.

Other websites don't try to generate a profit at all. These websites are there to provide information or services. A good example of this is the website for the Internal Revenue Service. They aren't concerned with generating income; its a given that they have it already. They are providing online services to make filing tax forms easier. You can file your tax forms online, download forms you may need to use, and even research how to do it all properly. Measuring the success of a website like this generally is done by examining the web logs for the site. How many visitors? How many pages did the visitors view? Where did they enter the site? Exit the site? How many forms were downloaded? and so fourth. They can also measure financial savings in such things as printing costs for forms. If the online forms are being used their printing costs for hard copies should be reduced.

It isn't enough to pay someone to create a website and put it out on the web. You must monitor the performance of your website, examine it for cause and effect, then make changes where needed to maximize its effectiveness. Examine your monthly web log reports; they are loaded with valuable information. (If you don't get these you may want to find another hosting provider.) Make comparisons to your sales reports and see if you can link them together. Put some thought into them and reap the rewards. If this is something you don't want to do, you can always hire someone to lend a hand. Many web developers offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) services. The cost of services like these can vary, but they are well worth the money. A website is a powerful marketing tool. It is just like any other tool you may have, if you just leave it sit in your toolbox, it won't do much for you. Success doesn't just happen, you have to make it happen.