How to Measure Your Website's Success: A Guide for Saskatoon Businesses

You've invested in a website for your Saskatoon business—but how do you know if it's actually working? Too many business owners launch a site and then wonder why the phone isn't ringing more often. The truth is, your website generates valuable data that can tell you exactly what's working and what needs improvement.

In this guide, I'll walk you through the five most important metrics every Saskatoon business owner should track. You don't need to be a tech expert to understand these numbers—and once you start paying attention to them, you'll have the insights you need to make smarter decisions about your online presence.

Companies that track their website analytics are 2.7x more likely to improve their marketing ROI. Yet nearly 40% of small businesses don't measure their website performance at all.

Why Measuring Website Performance Matters

Think of website metrics like the dashboard in your car. You wouldn't drive across Saskatchewan without knowing your speed, fuel level, or engine temperature. Similarly, you shouldn't run a business website without understanding how it's performing.

Tracking the right metrics helps you:

• Understand your customers: Learn what they're looking for and how they find you
• Identify problems early: Spot issues before they cost you customers
• Make data-driven decisions: Stop guessing and start knowing what works
• Measure marketing ROI: See which efforts actually bring in business
• Stay competitive: Keep up with other Saskatoon businesses in your industry

The good news? You don't need expensive software or a marketing degree. Free tools like Google Analytics give you everything you need to start tracking today.

Metric #1: Website Traffic and Visitors

This is the most basic metric, but it's essential. Website traffic tells you how many people are visiting your site and where they're coming from. For Saskatoon businesses, understanding traffic sources is especially important for local marketing.

Key Traffic Numbers to Watch:

• Total visitors: How many people visit your site in a given period
• New vs. returning visitors: Are you attracting new customers or keeping existing ones engaged?
• Traffic sources: Where visitors come from (Google, social media, direct, referrals)
• Geographic location: Critical for local businesses—are Saskatoon residents finding you?

What Good Numbers Look Like:

There's no universal "good" number for traffic—it depends on your industry and goals. A local Saskatoon restaurant might thrive with 500 monthly visitors who convert to diners, while an e-commerce store might need thousands. Focus on trends: is your traffic growing month over month?

If you notice most visitors are coming from outside Saskatchewan, your local SEO might need optimization. Local traffic is more valuable for brick-and-mortar businesses than visitors from across the country who'll never become customers.

Metric #2: Bounce Rate and Time on Site

Bounce rate measures how many visitors leave your site after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate often means visitors aren't finding what they expected—or your site isn't engaging enough to explore further.

Understanding Bounce Rate:

• Under 40%: Excellent—visitors are exploring your site
• 40-55%: Average—room for improvement
• 55-70%: Higher than ideal—investigate potential issues
• Over 70%: Concerning—visitors are leaving quickly

Common Causes of High Bounce Rate:

• Slow loading speed: Saskatchewan visitors won't wait for sluggish pages
• Poor mobile experience: If your site doesn't work on phones, mobile users leave
• Misleading search results: Visitors expected something different
• Confusing navigation: People can't find what they're looking for
• Outdated design: An old-looking site damages trust immediately

Time on site matters too. If visitors spend an average of 30 seconds on your site, they're not reading your content. Aim for at least 2-3 minutes average session duration for content-heavy pages.

Metric #3: Conversion Rate

This is arguably the most important metric for any Saskatoon business. Conversion rate tells you what percentage of visitors take a desired action—whether that's making a purchase, filling out a contact form, calling your business, or signing up for a newsletter.

How to Calculate Conversion Rate:

Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions ÷ Total Visitors) × 100

For example, if 1,000 people visit your site and 30 fill out your contact form, your conversion rate is 3%.

What Conversions to Track:

• Contact form submissions: People reaching out for quotes or information
• Phone calls: Track calls from your website (Google can help with this)
• Email sign-ups: Newsletter or promotion subscriptions
• Online purchases: For e-commerce businesses
• Appointment bookings: If you use an online scheduling system

Average Conversion Rates by Industry:

• Professional services: 3-5%
• E-commerce: 1-3%
• Real estate: 2-4%
• Restaurants/food service: 5-10% (for online orders)

If your conversion rate is below industry average, your website might need work. Common fixes include clearer calls-to-action, better-placed contact forms, and building more trust through testimonials and credentials.

Metric #4: Local Search Performance

For Saskatoon businesses, how you perform in local search results can make or break your online success. This involves tracking both your Google Business Profile performance and how your website ranks for local keywords.

Google Business Profile Insights:

Your Google Business Profile provides valuable data about how local customers find and interact with your business:

• Search queries: What terms people use to find you
• Views: How many people see your listing in search and maps
• Actions: Clicks to your website, calls, direction requests
• Photo views: How often people look at your business photos

Local Keyword Rankings:

Track where your website appears when people search for your services in Saskatoon. For example, if you're a plumber, you'd want to know where you rank for "plumber Saskatoon" or "emergency plumbing Saskatoon."

Free tools like Google Search Console show you which search terms bring visitors to your site. If you're not showing up for important local terms, it might be time to revisit your local SEO strategy.

Metric #5: Page Loading Speed

Speed matters more than most Saskatoon business owners realize. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, and visitors expect sites to load in under 3 seconds. Every additional second of load time increases bounce rate significantly.

Speed Benchmarks:

• Under 2 seconds: Excellent—this is the goal
• 2-3 seconds: Good—acceptable but room for improvement
• 3-5 seconds: Slow—you're losing visitors
• Over 5 seconds: Critical—major negative impact on conversions

How to Test Your Speed:

Use Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool (pagespeed.web.dev). Just enter your website URL and you'll get:

• Performance score: 0-100 rating for mobile and desktop
• Core Web Vitals: Google's key user experience metrics
• Specific recommendations: What to fix to improve speed

Common Speed Issues:

• Unoptimized images: Large photos that haven't been compressed
• Too many plugins: Especially common with WordPress sites
• Cheap hosting: Budget hosting often means slow servers
• Bloated page builders: Some website builders add unnecessary code

At TechYXE, we hand-code websites specifically for performance. Our sites typically score 90+ on PageSpeed Insights because we don't rely on bloated templates or slow page builders.

Free Tools to Track Your Website Performance

You don't need to spend money to track these metrics. Here are the free tools every Saskatoon business owner should set up:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

The most comprehensive free analytics tool available. Tracks traffic, user behavior, conversions, and much more. Essential for any business website.

• Track visitors and traffic sources
• See user behavior and engagement
• Set up conversion tracking
• View geographic data (find your Saskatoon visitors)

Google Search Console:

Shows how your site performs in Google search results. See which keywords bring traffic, identify technical issues, and monitor your search presence.

• View search queries that lead to your site
• Check for indexing issues
• Monitor mobile usability
• Submit sitemaps

Google Business Profile Insights:

Built into your Google Business Profile dashboard. Essential for understanding how local Saskatoon customers find and interact with your listing.

PageSpeed Insights:

Test your website's loading speed and get specific recommendations for improvement. Run this test monthly to catch any speed regressions.

Get Expert Website Help in Saskatoon

Understanding metrics is one thing—knowing how to improve them is another. If your website isn't performing as well as you'd like, or if you're not sure where to start with tracking, TechYXE can help.

Our website development service includes everything you need for a high-performing site that gets results for Saskatoon businesses:

• Custom website design starting at just $199—professional sites built for performance
• Built-in SEO optimization—get found by Saskatoon customers searching for your services
• Fast loading speeds—hand-coded sites that score 90+ on PageSpeed Insights
• Analytics setup—we'll configure Google Analytics so you can track what matters
• Mobile-responsive design—perfect experience on every device
• Local Saskatoon team—we understand the local market because we're part of it

Stop guessing whether your website is working. Contact us today for a free consultation and let's build a website that delivers measurable results for your business!

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