• Still gotta have a website!
• The mobile wars are heating up.
• The cloud and web-based apps will become even more important.

What do you think?

Let’s take a look at what you should know so that you can walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk.

Hits

First off, hits are useless. If someone tries to sell you an ad based on hits, run away. They’re either clueless or taking advantage of you.

Technically, a hit is the server’s response to a request. That sounds fine, until you realize that a single web page is made up of multiple pictures, graphics and other items – all of which are considered separate hits. So, as an example, when you visit the www.forge3.com home page, it generates 30+ hits. Needless to say, this number is useless for most of us. So, ignore it.

Visitors (usually called Uniques or Unique Visitors)

This is a better measure of activity. A visitor is counted when someone comes to a website at least once. If they come back later in the day, he/she is still only counted as one visitor.

For example, let’s say that we’re looking at monthly visitors, and I visit your website today. That’s counted as a visit. Then, let’s say that I come back the next week. This is still counted as a single visitor for the month.

So, if you’re buying an ad based on unique visitors, you’ll want to know how many visitors will see the ad and over what period of time.

TIP: Keep in mind that visitors are estimated. Why? Because most of us use multiple computers, phones, and gadgets to access the Internet. If I visit your website from my phone, and then again from my computer and laptop, this is counted as three separate unique visitors. This is because the website can’t tell that you are you - so it just counts each device as a separate visitor.

To determine the effectiveness of your website, you need to track the activity generated by it and measure it against the cost the create and maintain the website. Here are a few suggestions to consider.

Google Analytics

This one is a no-brainer. Every website should be connected to Google Analytics – a free reporting system that provides a ton of info about your website visitors – including how many, where they came from, how they found you and much more. You could spend a day drilling into the data that Google Analytics provides.

So, if you only care about website traffic, Google Anlytics can help determine your website’s ROI. However, if you’re like most businesses, you care more about selling a product or service. So, we need other ways to track and determine ROI.

Dedicated Website Phone Number and Email Address

Let’s assume that you sell a product or service. When someone calls or emails, how can we determine that they came to you via the website?

At the very least, you should establish a dedicated email address that is only used on your website (something like website@yourcompany.com). Then, each time you receive an email to this address, you know that the customer came through your website.

The same is true for phone numbers. Using a dedicated phone number helps track website activity. But, it might be tough to setup a dedicated phone number with your phone company or existing phone system. We need an easier option.

We often use and recommend a service called Grasshopper. This web-based service allows us to setup a dedicate toll-free and/or local phone number for your website, and automatically forwards incoming calls to your current phone number. The beauty of this solution is that it’s cheap (about $10/month), and provides detailed reporting on call activity.

Just Ask!

When I get a call from a new client, one of the first questions I ask is, “How did you find Forge3?” I then take note of their response and store it next to their other contact info. This “old fashioned” approach works just as well as the high-tech ways above – as long as you’re consistent about it.

Pulling It All Together – Determining ROI

Once you have the tracking pieces in place, the final step is to relate the website activity to the cost of the website.

For example, let’s assume that your website costs $10,000 to create, and that, on average, you receive 25 sales per  month via the website totaling $2,500. Doing the math, you’ll break even during month four, and begin to make money in subsequent months.

Prep your clients and colleagues BEFORE you check-out for your hard-earned trip.

Here’s how to do it.

A week before your scheduled trip, add a simple line to your email signature. Something like this is what I use…

NOTE: I will be out of the office with limited email and v-mail access Sept. 12th – Sept. 19th. Please contact me ASAP with any time-critical items.

–

Jeff Teschke | Forge3, Ltd.

610.555.1212 office | 610.555.3434 mobile | www.forge3.com

Forge ahead.

Then, during the time that you’re away, add an “out of office” message to your email account letting folks know that you’re wrapped up and won’t be able to respond as quickly as normal.

Here’s one from a recent trip I took to Aruba.

Hello, and thanks for your email.

I will be traveling internationally until Saturday, September 19 with limited access to email and voice mail.

If your request is urgent, I will reply to your email as quickly as possible. Alternatively, feel free to call my hotel directly at 1-800-845-4226.

Otherwise, I’ll be in touch upon my return.

–

Jeff Teschke | Forge3, Ltd.

610.555.1212 office | 610.555.3434 mobile | www.forge3.com

Forge ahead.

This approach works really well, and allows you to sit back, relax and enjoy the trip.

And, feel free to send a postcard my way!

Forge3, Ltd.
P.O. Box 108
Center Valley, PA 18034