Dave Pelland has extensive experience covering the business use of technology, networking and communications tools by companies of all sizes. Dave's editorial and corporate experience includes more than 10 years editing an electronic technology and communications industry newsletter for a global professional services firm. |
Monitoring the Performance of Your Small Business WebsiteBecause your small business website plays an integral part in your online marketing efforts, it’s important to monitor the site’s performance and make periodic adjustments to help the site support your small business goals more effectively. While advanced optimization may require some technical expertise, there are basic steps you can perform to make sure your site is functioning as a business growth tool, not just an online brochure for your small business. Key Metrics to Monitor One of the most effective tools for monitoring your website’s performance is Google Analytics. This powerful (but free) service allows you to understand how many people are visiting your site, how they find you, the device they’re using, and other important insights into your site’s performance The most important metrics to monitor include:
How Long Will People Wait? Another aspect of your site performance that is worth monitoring is the page’s load speed. How quickly a page loads is an important consideration in search engine rankings, and most visitors won’t wait more than two or three seconds for a page to finish loading. Fortunately, Google offers a free PageSpeed Insights tool that helps you identify not only how quickly your site loads, but also some highlights some site features that may be slowing down its overall performance. Pasting your site’s URL into the tool will provide site-loading index scores for mobile and desktop users and will identify issues that should be corrected to improve your site’s scores. Common causes of delay may include images not being sized properly for fast loading, too many page elements that require plug-ins, and other problems. Read other technology articles |