How to track ROI from your website

"How's your website performing?" If you can't answer with numbers, you can't improve it. Here's the minimum stack you need.

1. Google Analytics 4 (free)

Replaced Universal Analytics in 2023. Set up event tracking for form submissions, phone clicks, scroll depth, and outbound clicks.

2. Form tracking

Every form on the site fires a GA4 event with the form ID. Lets you see which forms convert best, which fields people abandon.

3. Call tracking

Use a service like CallRail, Mediahawk or Phonewagon. They give you dynamic numbers that swap based on traffic source, so you can see "Google Ads sent us 12 calls last month, organic SEO sent 18". Critical for trades.

4. Google Search Console (free)

Shows what keywords you actually rank for, click-through rates, technical issues. Most businesses leave it disconnected.

5. Conversion goals tied to revenue

Tag every conversion with an estimated value. Even if it's rough ("each enquiry = average £200 of revenue x 30% close = £60"), it lets you compare channel ROI properly.

What not to use

• Bounce rate (deprecated in GA4, was a misleading metric anyway).
• Average session duration (heavily skewed by single-page visits).
• "Total page views" with no conversion context.