If It Doesn’t Pay Off, What’s the Point?
We all know a great website
feels valuable. But how do you actually prove it’s pulling its weight?
Whether you’ve invested in a redesign, added new features, or built a custom site from scratch, understanding the return on investment (ROI) helps you:
- Justify your spend
- Prioritize future updates
- Demonstrate value to stakeholders
- Make smarter marketing decisions
Let’s break it down.
What Counts as ROI for a Website?
The “return” part of ROI doesn’t have to be just revenue. Depending on your goals, your site might be delivering value by:
- Reducing customer service time
- Automating bookings or inquiries
- Generating qualified leads
- Increasing brand awareness
- Enhancing customer experience
- Driving sign-ups or downloads
Client Tip: Before you measure ROI, define what success looks like for your business.
Key Metrics That Reflect Website ROI
1. Lead Generation
- Form submissions
- Newsletter signups
- Contact button clicks
- Quote requests
How to measure: Google Analytics (GA4) is the most common option for conversion tracking. Google Tag Manager (GTM) is another great option for tracking, and many people use it with GA4 for more in-depth tracking.
2. Sales Performance
- E-commerce revenue
- Conversion rate from product pages
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Upsells or upgrades triggered by content
ROI math: If your average customer is worth $1,500 and your site brings in 10 new customers a month = $15,000 in monthly value.
3. User Engagement
- Time on page
- Scroll depth
- Pages per session
- Repeat visitors
These show how effectively your site holds attention and encourages users to explore.
4. Organic Traffic Growth
Track:
- Keyword rankings
- Organic search impressions
- Pageviews from Google
- Backlinks gained from quality content
Growth here means your efforts are paying off and your site is earning more traffic for “free.” A few ways to further encourage organic growth are on- and off-page SEO optimization, regularly publishing valuable content (blogs or articles), and sending out a monthly email newsletter.
5. Support Cost Reduction
Has your new FAQ page reduced support tickets? Has your booking system replaced dozens of email threads? Those savings count.
Tools You’ll Need
- Google Analytics 4 (for traffic and goals)
- Google Search Console (for SEO visibility)
- CRM or email platform (for tracking form conversions)
- Heatmaps & session recordings (Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity)
- Manual calculations (revenue vs. web investment)
What About Soft ROI?
Some benefits are harder to quantify—but still important:
- Better first impressions
- Increased credibility
- More confident sales conversations
- Easier client onboarding
Ask your team: What’s become easier or better since the redesign?
Final Thoughts
You shouldn’t have to guess whether your website is “working.” With the right metrics in place, you can measure what matters—and keep improving.
