How will I know if my website is working?
Key takeaways
- Enquiries and orders are the real measure of a website, not visitor numbers alone.
- Google Analytics shows how many people visit, which pages they view and where they come from.
- Google Search Console shows what people search for and how often they click through to you.
- Compare each month with previous months instead of with other businesses.
- A simple thirty-minute monthly check is enough for most business owners.
Once your website is live, it is natural to wonder whether it is actually doing anything for the business. A website is like a shop on a busy street: you want to know how many people walk past, how many come in, and how many buy. Online, free tools can tell you all three, and you do not need to be technical to read them.
What is website analytics and tracking, in plain words?
Analytics is a tool that counts what happens on your website: how many people visit, where they came from, which pages they look at and what they do. The most common free tool is Google Analytics.
It works quietly in the background and turns visits into simple charts and numbers. You do not need to understand every report. A handful of numbers, checked once a month, tells you most of what you need.
How many visitors is "good"?
There is no single right number. What matters is whether visitors are growing over time and whether they are the right people for your business.
A local clinic with a few hundred visitors a month from its own city may be doing very well. A national online store with the same number has work to do. Compare each month with the previous months and the same month last year, not with other businesses.
Where do my visitors come from?
Analytics shows the source of each visit. Knowing this tells you which efforts are paying off.
- Search: people who found you on Google. Growth here usually means your SEO is working.
- Direct: people who typed your address or used a bookmark, often existing customers.
- Social: visits from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and similar.
- Referral: visits from links on other websites, such as directories or partners.
- Ads and email: visits from paid campaigns or newsletters.
What is the real measure of whether a website works?
The real measure is enquiries and orders. Visitors are only the first step. A website with fewer visitors that brings in more calls, form messages and sales is doing a better job than a busy one that brings none.
Count the actions that matter to your business:
- Contact form messages and quote requests.
- Online orders, for an online store.
- Clicks on your phone number or WhatsApp button.
- Newsletter sign-ups and downloads of your brochure.
Every website we build runs on our own CMS, the admin panel you use to edit your website. For online stores, orders and newsletter subscribers are kept there, so you can see real orders in the same place where you update your content.
What is Google Search Console and why should I use it?
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your website appears in Google search. Analytics tells you what people do once they arrive; Search Console tells you how they find you.
- Search words: the actual words people typed before finding you.
- Impressions: how often your site appeared in results.
- Clicks: how often people clicked through to you.
- Problems: pages Google cannot read, and speed or mobile issues.
If your site appears often but few people click, your page titles and descriptions may need work. Our article on SEO for a new website explains the basics.
What should I look at, and what does it tell me?
You do not need every report. This short table covers the numbers worth knowing.
| What to look at | Where to find it | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors per month | Google Analytics | Whether more people are finding you over time |
| Where visitors come from | Google Analytics | Which channels (search, social, ads) are working |
| Most-visited pages | Google Analytics | What customers care about most |
| Phone vs computer visits | Google Analytics | How important the mobile experience is for you |
| Enquiries and orders | Your admin panel and inbox | Whether the website is bringing in real business |
| Search words and clicks | Google Search Console | What people search for and how often they choose you |
| Page problems and speed | Search Console and PageSpeed Insights | Technical issues that may be losing you visitors |
What simple checks should I do every month?
Set aside thirty minutes once a month. Doing the same checks each time makes changes easy to spot.
- Note the number of visitors and compare it with last month.
- Count enquiries and orders, and compare them too.
- Look at the top search words in Search Console. Are they the right ones?
- Check for any new problems Google reports.
- Open your website on your own phone and send a test message through the contact form.
- Make sure news, offers and opening hours are still correct, and update them in the admin if not.
What if the numbers are not good?
Low numbers usually point to one of a few causes: not enough useful content, slow pages, unclear calls to action, or a site that is hard to use on phones. Our articles on what makes a website slow and how often to update your website are good places to start.
If you would like a second opinion on your numbers, contact us and we will help you read them and decide what to improve first.
How Kensoftware approaches this
- We can help set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console when your site launches, so you have data from day one.
- Every site runs on our own CMS; for online stores, orders and newsletter subscribers are kept in the same admin panel you use to update content.
- We show your team which few numbers to watch and how to read them, without the jargon.
- When the numbers point to a problem, such as a broken form or a slow page, we help you find the cause and fix it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Analytics free?
Yes, Google Analytics and Google Search Console are both free to use. They need to be connected to your website once, and then they collect data automatically.
How soon after launch will I see results?
You will see visitors in analytics within a day, but search traffic usually builds over several months. Judge trends over three to six months rather than week by week.
Why did my website traffic drop suddenly?
Common reasons include a holiday period, a broken page or form, or changes in Google search. Check your contact form and Search Console first, then look at which traffic source fell.