Many businesses launch a website, feel proud for a week, then never look at it again. Months later they wonder whether it was worth the money. The answer is usually hidden in a few simple numbers. You do not need to be a data expert to understand them.
Decide what "working" means
Start with the main job of your website. For most businesses it is one of these:
- getting phone calls or WhatsApp messages;
- receiving quote, booking or contact form submissions;
- selling products online;
- building trust so that people who hear about you elsewhere feel confident contacting you.
Write down your main goal. Everything you measure should connect back to it.
The free tools you need
- Google Analytics shows how many people visit your site, where they come from and what they do.
- Google Search Console shows how your site appears in Google search: which searches find you, how often you appear and how many people click.
- Your own records – a simple spreadsheet or notebook where staff note how each new customer found you.
Five numbers worth checking every month
1. Visitors
How many people visited your website, and is the number growing? A sudden drop can mean a technical problem, such as your site being down or blocked from Google.
2. Where visitors come from
Analytics groups visitors into sources such as Google search, social media, direct visits and links from other websites. This tells you which marketing efforts actually bring people to your site.
3. Enquiries (conversions)
This is the most important number. Count form submissions, clicks on your phone number and clicks on your WhatsApp button. A developer can set these up as "events" in Google Analytics so they are counted automatically.
4. Top pages
Which pages do people visit most? If your most popular service page has little detail or no clear call to action, improving it can bring quick results.
5. Search performance
In Search Console, look at the searches that show your website. You may discover customers looking for services you offer but barely mention – a good reason to write a new page or article.
Warning signs to act on
- Lots of visitors but no enquiries – your call to action may be unclear, or your contact details hard to find.
- Most visitors leave immediately – the page may be slow, confusing or not what people expected from the search result.
- Very few visitors – Google may not be indexing your pages, or you may need more useful content and better titles.
- Enquiries dropped suddenly – check that forms, phone links and WhatsApp buttons still work.
Ask every new customer
Numbers do not tell the whole story. Train staff to ask every new customer, "How did you hear about us?" Many people find you on Google, then call or walk in, and Analytics will never know. A simple tally each month fills the gap.
Review and improve regularly
Set a monthly reminder to spend 30 minutes on your numbers. Each time, choose one improvement – a clearer button, a new service page, faster images or a fresh article – and check the effect next month. Over a year, these small changes can transform what your website delivers.
Daraja sets up analytics and reporting so businesses can see what their websites deliver. Get in touch.