Website ROI Timeline: How Long Until I See a Return?

Website ROI Timeline – Are we there yet?

I have heard, on more than one occasion, the following from a client.

“I’m still not seeing a return from my website. What did we do wrong?”

So, let’s talk some of the most important numbers to consider when evaluating your website ROI timeline.

**Want to see what numbers you should be tracking on your website right now? Click here to read the email on website data to start tracking now.**

The numbers in that email 👆 are super important when you’re looking at the following things:
– what’s happening on your website right now?
– what marketing activities should you prioritize
– driving organic traffic? social media? trying a new lead generator? getting more appointments? increasing phone calls? speeding up your site? changing your message?

But how can you calculate how long it will take for you to get your ROI on your website investment (or any marketing investment for that matter)? Getting to a realistic website ROI timeline requires some more information from business and sales processes that you might not find in your website data.

Here are the numbers that are crucial to calculating your ROI timeline.

1. How long does it usually take you to close a deal? Same day as you get the lead through your website? A month? 6 months? Over a year?

Note: Businesses who sell physical products on their website can often see an increase in their sales immediately when making a change. But if you’re a service based business with a price tag over $500, you’ve got a nurture cycle that you can’t ignore when calculating how quickly you will see an ROI.

2. How many leads do you normally have coming your way each week? month? year? Is that cyclical or steady over the year?

3. What is the first product or service your leads normally purchase, and what is the price tag for that product or service?

4. What is your net revenue for that product or service after you pay fulfillment fees to contractors or for materials?

5. How long does it take your buyer to make a second purchase? What is the second item they usually purchase, and what is the average price tag for that next purchase? (Yes, you guessed it, we need to know net revenue for that purchase as well.)

6. How many people are on your email list right now? And how did they come to be on the list? Was it their choice? Did they get something of value from you, or did you purchase a list?

7. When was the last time you emailed them?

8. What is the usual open rate of your emails?

9. When was the last time you cleaned out your list? Like removed any contacts who haven’t opened your emails in past 30, 60, or 90 days?

And one final question that can make a BIG difference in how long it takes to see a website ROI is…

– Does your lead to close timeline vary depending on where you’re getting your lead (e.g. referrals vs a purchased list vs a visit from a social media channel vs ads vs webinars)?

If you’re anything like website clients I’ve worked with in the past, you probably don’t have the data above at your finger tips. But don’t worry! You can start putting those numbers together now. As soon as you do, you’ll start to see what story your business is telling you about your marketing and sales methods.

Just remember: the best day to start tracking your numbers was when you started your business. The next best day is today. (Borrowed from the anonymous who made the quote about planting a tree. 😄)