Select the appropriate KPIs for the website

KeyPerformanceIndicators (key performance indicators) seems to be a very familiar term. many enterprises have set a variety of KPIs as indicators for daily performance evaluation. The company uses KPIs to evaluate employees' performance. Similarly, the website also needs

KPI (Key Performance Indicators) seems to be a very familiar term. many enterprises have set a variety of KPIs as Indicators for daily Performance evaluation. The company will use KPIs to evaluate the performance of employees. Similarly, the website also needs KPIs to measure the performance of the website. selecting the appropriate KPIs is conducive to correctly grasping the website's operation status, quickly make adjustments and improvements.

Website KPI definition

KPI settings are based onTarget managementOn the basis of, using quantitative methods to assess the implementation of the target. For websites, KPIs are directly linked to website targets (Goal). Below are some of my understanding of website KPIs:

KPIs are not the same as the website goals, but indicators that reflect the performance of network sites in various aspects during the implementation of the goals. each website may have different KPIs. KPIs are often ableDirectIt reflects the implementation of the website's objectives and can be quantified. Analysis of KPIs can identify problems in operation and direct decision-making and behavior execution.

At the same time, the website can set multiple KPIs to evaluate the website performance from multiple levels, which is also why I use KPIs in the title.

KPI selection principles

Based on the definition of website KPIs, we need to pay attention to the following principles when selecting KPIs:

First, according to the definition of KPI, know that KPI is determined by the website target, so you must first select KPIClarify website strategies and objectives. What, you don't know what your website's target is? Ask what the meaning of your website exists or what the purpose of your website is.

Since the website target determines the KPI, and the strategic objectives of each website are different, even if the website type is similar, it must be different in terms of marketing, operation and development strategies, as a result, the second item of KPI definition is different, and the website strategy is constantly changing.KPI should be adjusted based on changes in website objectives.

What are the indicators for website analysis? what are the indicators we should choose as KPIs? Therefore, we must grasp this principle:KPI can directly reflect the implementation of website objectives. In fact, many website analysis indicators can reflect the basic status of the website, such as the number of Visits (Visits), but it can only reflect the popularity of the website, not the goal, for example, the number of Visits cannot directly determine the profit of e-commerce websites, or determine whether users can become loyal readers of blogs. Therefore, we need to find metrics that are closer to the target. in his blog, Mr. Avinash Kaushik has repeatedly stressed that more in-depth and effective metrics need to be explored during analysis.

KPI is a quantitative indicator that can be measured. Therefore, when selecting a KPI, we mustClearKPI indicator definition, calculation logic and formula, and specific measurement problems.

The ultimate goal of KPI is to guide us to Make Decisions or Take Actions. Therefore, we must Make sure they can Make effective judgments in this regard during the selection, so we have Avinash Kaushik's So What Test (sometimes the self-answer mode is quite effective ).After the answer is completePropose effective solutions before 3 So What, Then this indicator will pass.

Most KPI indicators can be subdivided based on. Because aggregated indicators are ineffective in decision-making and behavior, you may not be able to take any action if you look at the overall Conversion Rate of your website, however, by segmenting the conversion rates of organic search, PPC, and websites from different sources, you may be very clear about whether to strengthen SEO or SEM, or focus on link construction.

KPI selection for several types of websites

Obviously, the goal of e-commerce websites is to create more profits (of course, in some specific periods, they may also focus on increasing the number of orders or creating more buyers ); web websites are constantly making content, aggregating content, and transmitting content. Their goal is to quickly and normally transfer information; however, search engines certainly want more users to use their search services, so they are concerned about whether users can quickly find the desired information through the search engine. Next, let's take a look at the KPIs available for these three types of websites:

For e-commerce websites, I may chooseAverage order value (Average Order Value, AOV)OrAverage sales per access (Sales Per Visit, SPV)As the KPIs of the website, because these indicators direct to the website target-profit. At the same time, these two indicators can be subdivided based on the source Channel, user type, product type, you can see more clearly which channels bring the most valuable traffic; what kind of users the website attracts, we should pay attention to the development of which market, or what kind of products of the website are core products. The website should stick to the 20/80 rule or take the long tail route. These are all issues that should be considered in strategic decision-making. KPIs may have provided intuitive reference answers.

Let's take a look at blog websites. The authors all hope that their articles will be read by more readers. Therefore, they aim to have more loyal readers, more comments, and more subscriptions to their blogs, so theyLoyal user access rate,Subscription probability of each accessOrComments per articleAs KPIs, and for blog platforms such as Blogger.com, the basis for attracting more visits is that users can continuously create higher quality content, so they willAverage number of articles published by each userOr the number of popular articles generated as their own KPI, it seems that there is a big difference between the two, it is entirely dependent on the difference in the target positioning of the two.

Similarly, for Social Media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, they are all based on UGC (User Generated Content), and the popularity of User-Generated Content or manufacturing is exactly what their value is, that is, the embodiment of user activity. only a website that is active enough can attract more eyes and create more exposures and focus points. Therefore, they will pay more attention toAverage number of followers, number of posts, comments, and forwarded messages.

Looking at the search engine again, Google puts forward the slogan that allows users to leave the website more quickly. this is exactly the embodiment of its own goal-allowing users to find their desired information more conveniently and quickly, so is it true that Google willAverage search time for each accessWhat is its KPI?

Of course, the above are the words of the author's family. you can express your own opinions. based on the definition of KPI, you can choose the appropriate KPI in principle. I think the website's decision-making layer will definitely like your KPIs tailored for the website, because there is nothing more interesting than directly measuring the website's strategic goals.