Introduction
When testing and optimizing your website or mobile app, it is essential to track your key performance indicators (KPIs). Without proper KPIs in place, you won't be able to measure the success or failure of individual activities. Defining and tracking the overall testing and optimization program is also essential. Understanding the impact of the entire program will allow you to show all stakeholders the program value and ROI and gain buy-in to expand. This article will explain how to define your testing and optimization KPIs for individual activities and the overall program.
Outline
1. How to define KPIs for individual activities
2. How to define KPIs for the overall program
3. The importance of statistical significance for optimization and testing activities
How to define KPIs for individual activities
When it comes to defining KPIs for individual activities, there are a few factors you need to consider. The most important factor is what you want to achieve. For example, if you're running an A/B test, your KPI might be the percentage of users who choose the variant with the higher conversion rate. Or, if you're optimizing your website for mobile, your KPI might be the percentage of visitors who view at least one page on your mobile site or app.
Other factors you need to consider when defining KPIs include:
- The goals of the activity
- How will you measure the success or failure of the activity
- The time frame you're working within
The time frame is essential because you want enough traffic to reach statistical significance and be confident in your testing results. There is more on statistical significance below. I recently wrote another post about three types of A/B tests that can help increase conversion rates. The tests outlined in that post are excellent examples of ensuring you have enough traffic to reach statistical significance quickly.
Once you've considered all these factors, you can start to define specific KPIs for each activity.
How to define KPIs for the overall program
KPIs for the overall program should be defined similarly to those for individual activities. It would help to consider what you want to achieve with the program and how you will measure success. For example, if your goal is to increase sales by 10%, your KPI could be the percentage of visitors who make a purchase on your website.
Other factors to consider include:
- The goals of the program
- The goals of your website or mobile app
- How will you measure the success or failure of the program
- The goals of your organization as a whole
The KPIs for an overall optimization program will vary depending on what you're trying to achieve. However, there are a few critical KPIs that are generally applicable. These include:
- Conversion rate
- Bounce rate
- Time on site/page
- Number of visits/pageviews
- Revenue/profit
- Content velocity
- New vs. Repeat visits
- Traffic sources (Organic search vs. Paid Traffic)
Another important KPI for your overall program is revenue and the amount of incremental revenue the program adds. Being able to show that your program is adding incremental revenue can be a key factor that will sell executives on the program. You may also want to track other metrics, such as customer satisfaction or engagement. However, it's important to remember that not all of these metrics will be relevant for all businesses. It would help if you chose the most relevant KPIs to your company and goals. Aligning to your overall business goals is critical for optimization success. This will help you sell your program, gain support and grow it over time.
The importance of statistical significance for optimization and testing activities
Statistical significance is one of the most critical factors for any optimization or testing activity. This means that you only make changes to your website or app if you're confident that the change will positively impact your KPIs. Without statistical significance, you can't be sure that any changes you make are actually having an effect.
This is especially important for A/B testing. If you're running an A/B test and you're not confident in the results, you might end up making changes that actually harm your conversion rate. Statistical significance helps to avoid this by giving you a measure of how likely it is that the change you're seeing is due to chance. You can learn more about how statistical significance works at this link via the experience league for Adobe Target users.
Overall, statistical significance is essential for any optimization or testing activity. By ensuring that all changes are statistically significant, you can be sure that you're making positive changes to your website or app and improving your KPIs.
Conclusion
Defining KPIs for individual activities and the overall program is essential for tracking website testing and optimization success or failure. By considering factors such as what you want to achieve with each activity and how you will measure success, you can define specific KPIs that will help you track your progress. Here are a few examples of KPIs that can be used for website testing and optimization.
