by The Computing Australia Group | Top 5 Website
Performance Metrics to Track
Your website is your hardest-working salesperson. It answers questions at 2am, nurtures leads while your team sleeps, and turns interest into revenue without a coffee break. But like any high-performer, it needs regular performance reviews. The challenge? There are hundreds of possible website performance metrics to track. Monitoring everything isn’t just impractical-it muddies decision-making.
This guide distils the noise into the five metrics that reliably move the needle for most organisations, explains how to interpret them, and shows you how to build a simple measurement routine you can sustain. You’ll also find practical optimisation checklists and a complete SEO plan at the end.
TL;DR - The Five Metrics That Matter
5. Error Rate & Site Health – What’s breaking, and how often?
Why Your Website Performance Metrics Matter
If a campaign drives thousands of visits but only a trickle of leads, the problem rarely sits with marketing alone. Performance metrics expose the choke points across your entire funnel-traffic quality, UX friction, content gaps, technical issues-and let you prioritise fixes that generate the greatest ROI. Think of metrics as your feedback loop: measure → improve → measure again.
Benefits of a disciplined metrics practice:
- Revenue alignment: Tie website activity to business outcomes (leads, sales, bookings).
- Faster decisions: Replace opinion with evidence so teams move quicker.
- Compounding gains: Small, continuous improvements in speed, UX, and copy accumulate.
- Defensible SEO: Search engines increasingly reward sites that are fast, stable, and helpful.
Metric 1: Traffic Acquisition
Question answered: Where do our visitors come from and which channels deliver qualified traffic?
What to track
- Sessions by channel/source/medium (e.g., Organic Search, Paid Search, Referral, Social, Email, Direct).
- New vs returning users to gauge awareness vs loyalty.
- Top landing pages to spot which content attracts first‑time visits.
- Geography & demographics to validate targeting assumptions.
- Campaign UTM performance (source/medium/campaign/content/term) for paid and partnership traffic.
Quality indicators
- Engagement rate (or time on page + depth of visit).
- Micro‑conversions (newsletter signups, file downloads, add‑to‑cart, contact clicks).
- Assisted conversions (channels that contribute early in the path, not just last‑click).
How to interpret
- High traffic + low conversions often signals mismatch (wrong audience, wrong intent, or landing page misaligned with ad promise).
- Low traffic + high conversions suggests a scaling opportunity-invest more in the channels working now.
- Spikes from one source might indicate a viral post or a bot-cross‑check engagement.
Actions to improve
- Tighten ad/SEO intent match (e.g., separate informational vs transactional keywords).
- Build topic clusters around high‑performing landing pages to grow organic share.
- Use UTM hygiene across all paid/partner efforts for accurate attribution.
- Create geo‑targeted variants if certain locations outperform.
Useful cadence: Weekly overview, monthly deep‑dive by channel and campaign.
Metric 2: Page Speed & Experience
Question answered: How fast is the site and how smooth is the experience on real devices?
What to track
- Load & render timings:
- TTFB (Time To First Byte) – server responsiveness.
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – time to main content.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint) – responsiveness to user input.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – visual stability.
- Fully loaded time and first input delay–like responsiveness on key templates (home, product, blog, checkout, forms).
- Mobile vs desktop performance; 3G/4G throttled tests for worst‑case reality.
How to interpret
- LCP > 2.5s on mobile? Prioritise image optimisation and critical rendering path.
- High INP (>200ms average events) indicates JS bloat or long tasks blocking the main thread.
- CLS > 0.1 suggests layout jumps—reserve space for images/ads, avoid late‑loading fonts.
Actions to improve
- Optimise images (modern formats like AVIF/WebP, responsive sizes, lazy‑load offscreen).
- Minify & bundle critical CSS/JS; defer non‑critical scripts; eliminate unused CSS.
- Implement HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, server‑side compression (Brotli), and a CDN.
- Cache smartly: static asset caching, edge caching for HTML where feasible.
- Reduce third‑party scripts (A/B tools, trackers) and audit tag managers quarterly.
- Preload critical fonts and use font‑display: swap.
Useful cadence: Fortnightly for key templates; before & after major releases or campaign launches.
Metric 3: Bounce Rate (or Engagement)
Question answered: Do visitors find what they expect on the first page they see?
Benchmarks depend on page type:
- Blog/informational: Higher bounce can be acceptable if visitors get the answer and leave satisfied. Focus on time on page, scroll depth, and next actions (e.g., related articles).
- Product/landing pages: Persistent high bounce is costly-fix message match, speed, or friction.
What to track
- Bounce/engagement rate by landing page, channel, and device.
- Scroll depth and time to first interaction.
- Exit rate on key steps (e.g., pricing page exits without CTA clicks).
How to interpret
- High bounce from paid campaigns usually means message mismatch or slow load.
- High bounce on mobile can indicate layout issues, intrusive popups, or poor tap targets.
- High bounce + low scroll = unreadable hero, weak headline, or above‑the‑fold clutter.
Actions to improve
- Strengthen headline & subhead to reflect the user’s query/ad promise.
- Move value proposition and primary CTA above the fold; reduce distractions.
- Add internal links and related content modules to keep users exploring.
- Use exit‑intent offers sparingly; better to improve content relevance and speed first.
- A/B test hero imagery, CTA copy, and form length.
Useful cadence: Weekly per top 20 landing pages; ad‑hoc after major campaigns go live.
Metric 4: Conversion Rate (CR)
Question answered: Do visitors complete the actions that matter to the business?
What to define upfront
- Macro‑conversions: purchases, demo bookings, trial signups, quote requests.
- Micro‑conversions: newsletter opt‑ins, resource downloads, add‑to‑cart, video views.
What to track
- Overall CR and CR by channel/landing page/device.
- Funnel completion rates (e.g., add‑to‑cart → checkout → payment).
- Form performance: view rate, start rate, completion rate, abandonment.
How to interpret
- High add‑to‑cart + low checkout suggests payment friction, unexpected costs, or trust issues.
- Low form completion indicates too many fields or weak perceived value.
- Channel CR variance reveals where to reallocate budget.
Actions to improve
- Clarify value proposition and reduce cognitive load on critical pages.
- Shorten forms; enable autofill; postpone non‑essential fields.
- Offer guest checkout, transparent shipping/fees, multiple payment options.
- Add social proof (reviews, ratings, client logos) close to CTAs.
- Create dedicated landing pages per campaign/ad group for tight message match.
- Run structured A/B tests,/span> on headlines, CTAs, pricing displays, layouts.
- Use email/SMS recovery for abandoned carts or forms (with consent).
Useful cadence:Weekly summary; daily during active CRO tests; post‑release checks.
Metric 5: Error Rate & Site Health
Question answered: What’s breaking, where, and how often?
What to track
- HTTP errors: 4xx (client), 5xx (server). Watch 404 and 500 spikes by URL.
- JavaScript errors: frequency, affected browsers/devices, stack traces.
- Form errors: validation failures, file upload issues, duplicate submissions.
- API failures & timeouts for headless/SPA architectures.
- Broken links (internal & external) and image 404s.
- Uptime/availability (target 99.9%+ for most SMBs; higher for ecommerce/mission‑critical).
How to interpret
- Weekend/holiday surges in 5xx? Capacity or auto‑scaling thresholds need tuning.
- Repeated 404s to retired URLs? Implement redirects, update internal links, and update sitemaps.
- JS errors concentrated on one OS/browser point to compatibility gaps.
Actions to improve
- Put synthetic monitoring and real user monitoring (RUM) in place.
- Run a monthly crawl to catch broken links and orphaned pages.
- Implement global error handling and graceful fallbacks in the frontend.
- Establish incident response runbooks and on‑call rotations for critical systems.
- Automate redirect management for deprecations and campaigns.
Useful cadence:Daily alerting for critical errors; weekly review of trends.
Bonus Metrics Worth a Quick Look
- Mobile Usability: Since most sessions are mobile‑first, monitor tap target sizes, viewport meta tags, font legibility, and mobile CR separately.
- SEO Technical Health: Index coverage, sitemap freshness, canonical tags, robots directives, structured data validation.
- On‑site Search Performance: Top search queries, zero‑result queries, CTR from search results.
- Content Velocity & Decay: New content published vs traffic decay on older posts-refresh winners.
Building a Lightweight Measurement Framework
You don’t need an enterprise data stack to get reliable insights. You need a repeatable routine and clean tracking.
1) Define success
- Document 2–3 primary goals (e.g., leads/month, online revenue, booked demos).
- Map macro/micro conversions and events that signal intent.
2) Standardise tracking
- Use a single analytics platform for core reporting and ensure consistent UTM naming (source, medium, campaign).
- Tag major interactions: form starts/completions, add‑to‑cart, click‑to‑call, video plays.
3) Create a one‑page dashboard
Include: sessions by channel, engagement/bounce by top landing pages, page speed trends (LCP/INP/CLS), conversion rate and funnel drop‑offs, error counts, and revenue/leads.
4) Set cadences & owners
- Weekly: channel performance + top landing pages.
- Fortnightly: speed & UX checks on key templates.
- Monthly: conversion funnels, content performance, crawl errors.
- Quarterly: tag audit, A/B testing roadmap, technical debt review.
5) Close the loop
For every change (new hero copy, image optimisation, simplified forms), annotate the date and compare before/after metrics. Keep experiments atomic so you can attribute impact confidently.
Practical Optimisation Playbooks
A. Speed & Core Web Vitals Checklist
- Convert hero and product images to AVIF/WebP with responsive srcset.
- Lazy‑load below‑the‑fold media; preload critical hero image.
- Inline critical CSS; defer non‑critical CSS/JS; remove unused CSS.
- Replace heavy carousels with static hero or lightweight sliders.
- Audit and remove unnecessary third‑party scripts; load consent‑dependent tags after consent.
- Enable Brotli compression, HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, TLS 1.3.
- Implement a CDN and long‑lived cache headers for static assets.
B. Engagement & Bounce Reduction
- Rewrite above‑the‑fold with clear outcome‑focused headlines and proof.
- Add table of contents and jump links on long pages.
- Offer related content modules and in‑line CTAs.
- Optimise mobile navigation (thumb reach, sticky CTAs, clear hierarchy).
C. Conversion Uplifts
- Minimise form fields; use progressive disclosure for optional info.
- Show trust badges, guarantees, and review snippets near CTAs.
- Provide transparent pricing and shipping estimates early.
- Use sticky add‑to‑cart or sticky CTA on long pages.
- Test social proof variants (counts vs testimonials vs case studies).
- Add live chat or callback options on high‑intent pages.
D. Error & Reliability Guardrails
- Set up alerts for 5xx spikes, rising JS error rates, and uptime dips.
- Maintain an XML sitemap and monitor index coverage; fix 404/redirect loops promptly.
- Add user‑friendly error states (retry, save progress, contact options).
- Keep status page and incident comms templates ready for major outages.
Sample Scenario: From Lagging to Leading
A B2B SaaS site attracted healthy traffic but saw stagnant demo requests. Analysis showed:
- LCP averaged 4.1s on mobile; hero image was 1.8MB.
- Bounce rate 72% on the pricing page; value props buried below fold.
- Form completion 18% with 12 required fields.
Actions implemented in two sprints:
- Compressed hero image (AVIF) and inlined critical CSS → LCP improved to 1.9s.
- Rewrote pricing page hero, added comparison table and above‑the‑fold CTAs → bounce reduced to 46%.
- Cut form to 6 fields with autofill; added calendar embed → completion rose to 34%.
Outcome (60 days): demo requests up +58%, qualified pipeline up +41%. The team now runs a monthly optimisation cycle using the same framework.
Reporting Templates (Copy/Paste)
Weekly Snapshot
- Sessions by channel vs last week
- Top 10 landing pages: engagement/bounce, LCP, CR
- Conversions and CR by channel
- New issues: 4xx/5xx spikes, JS errors
Monthly Review
- Channel trends and CAC (if applicable)
- Funnel performance (drop‑off by step)
- Page speed trends (LCP/INP/CLS)
- Top content creators/URLs by assisted conversions
- Site health: broken links, sitemap/index coverage
Jargon Buster
Page Speed – The amount of time taken for a webpage to load – the amount of time between a request and the browser rendering the content.
Bounce Rate – The rate of visitors that leave a site without further interacting with it.
FAQ
Is a high bounce rate always bad?
No. On informational articles or single‑answer pages, a quick visit can still be successful. Look at time on page, scroll depth, and whether the content satisfies the intent.
How fast is “fast enough”?
Aim for LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, and CLS under 0.1 on mobile. Prioritise key templates if you can’t fix everything at once.
What’s the simplest way to start A/B testing?
Pick one high‑traffic, high‑value page. Test a single change at a time (headline or CTA). Run until you have sufficient traffic to reach confidence; then implement the winner and plan the next test.
How many metrics should my team report on?
Keep the weekly dashboard to 10–12 tiles max. If a metric rarely influences decisions, drop it.
How often should I update my website’s content?
Aim to update key pages regularly-at least every 3-6 months. For high-traffic or seasonal pages, update more frequently to keep content fresh and relevant for both users and search engines.
