Define Success

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This post relates to an older post on the MarketR blog "Do I Really Need An Online Strategy?"
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How do I measure the ROI of my website, if I am not selling anything?

This seems to be the big question in terms of online marketing. It basically means, how do I know that my online marketing strategy is making me money?

If you run an e-commerce site it is relatively easy. You can measure where your customers are coming from and how much they are spending. With this information you will have a very good understanding about how much money your online marketing is making you.

Example: On average you receive 200 clicks from Google Adwords and these clicks spend $100. You know you are paying Google $20 a day, therefor your Google advertising is making you $80.
*Note: This is a very simplified explanation.

Unfortunately most of us are not selling anything online, therefore it is a lot harder to find out if our website is making us money. New ways to measure ROI are constantly being discussed. Here are some of my favorites.

Online Bookings:
Allow customers to book their appointments online. This is a great way to grow your business and a great way to measure ROI. You can now track how your customer found your website and how many booked an appointment.

How To Find Us:
If someone looks up how to find your business, chances are they will be visiting your store. Make sure your site has a designated page with a map , address, phone number, etc. Make it easy to find on your main page, but do not put it directly on your main page. I have seen this done so many times. It is almost impossible to measure how many people showed an interest in visiting your offline store if you put your location information on your main page.

Unique Contact Information:
This one is mostly for medium sized businesses. Use a different phone number for inquiries coming from your website. Instead of listing the same phone number everywhere, list a unique number on your website.

Online Coupons:
If you have read my previous posts you would know that online coupons are on the rise. Use them to track the effectiveness of your website.

Ask:
Easier said then done, I know. However it is sometimes the best way. Ask your customer how they heard of your business and if they visited your website. If the answer is no, chances are they will visit it when they get home. If the answer is yes, then you know your website is working for you.

Goals Goals Goals
One of my mentors said, "If you go ahead and run with something without establishing your goals, its basically like saying Fire, without the Ready Aim." If you go ahead and establish a website and online marketing campaign without first deciding what you want to get out of it, you are going to be spending huge amounts of money in the long run redesigning your website.

Consult with MarketR when designing your website and online marketing strategy.