To know whether your website is working for you, four figures are enough: visits, landing pages, enquiries and the searches that make you appear on Google. Everything else is decoration, useful to specialists but rarely to a business owner.
Why too many statistics defeat the purpose
Analytics tools display dozens of curves: sessions, bounce rate, page views, sources, devices, cities. Faced with such a dashboard, many business owners look once, do not understand what it is for, and never come back. The problem is not the tool, it is the lack of a starting question.
The right question is simple: "Is my website bringing me enquiries, and where do they come from?" Any figure that does not help answer it can wait. A site with 300 visits a month and 6 quote requests is more profitable than a site with 3,000 visits and none.
Which four figures should you follow?
- Monthly visitors: this is the general thermometer. Do not watch it day by day; the trend over three months matters more.
- Landing pages: which pages do your visitors arrive on? If it is your main service page, that is a good sign. If it is an old article unrelated to your offer, there is a mismatch to fix.
- Useful actions: taps on your phone number, form submissions, appointment requests. This is the only figure that directly affects your turnover.
- Google searches: the words people type before your site shows up in the results.
Where can you find this information for free?
Two tools cover most needs. The first is Google Search Console: it shows the searches that display your site, the number of clicks, your average position and the pages with problems. It is free and takes a few minutes to set up. The second is an audience measurement tool, which counts visitors and their actions. Some privacy-friendly options can run without a consent banner, to be checked case by case against the rules of the CNIL, the French data protection authority.
Mind the legal side: in France, many analytics tools require visitor consent under GDPR. Our article on the things to check when choosing a partner shows why compliance questions are worth asking early.
How do you read the figures without being misled?
Three habits prevent wrong conclusions. First, compare like with like: a quiet August against a busy September says nothing about your site. Compare with the same month last year, or with the average of the last three months.
Second, do not confuse visits with results. A rise in traffic without more enquiries often points to a gap between what you say and what visitors are looking for. A contact form that is too long can also explain why interested visitors leave without writing.
Finally, give time a chance. The effects of search engine optimisation are measured in months, not days. Changing the site every week because a figure dropped by a few points is the best way to learn nothing.
What should you do when a figure looks bad?
Start from the observation, then form a single hypothesis. For example: few people ring from their phone? The number may not be tappable on mobile. Plenty of visitors but nobody writes? The contact button may be too discreet. Change one thing at a time, then wait four to six weeks before judging.
| Observation | First thing to check |
|---|---|
| Few visitors | Visibility on Google, thin service pages |
| Many visitors, few enquiries | Call to action, form, clarity of the offer |
| Mostly mobile visitors, few enquiries | Mobile display, speed, tappable phone number |
Where to start
The aim is not to become an analyst, but to keep a simple habit that tells you, calmly, whether your investment in the website pays off.
Start by opening Search Console for your site, if you have not already. Then, once a month and on a simple sheet, note the four figures above. After three months you will have a real trend, far more telling than a dashboard full of curves.
If your current site cannot track these actions, build it into the design from day one: our custom website design page explains how we prepare tracking from the start, and our method details each step. To discuss it, get in touch: the first conversation is free.