Vanity charts feel productive; they rarely change decisions.
Examples by model
- Local services: calls, form submissions, booked quotes, show-up rate.
- ecommerce">Ecommerce: conversion rate, AOV, contribution margin, cart abandonment at key steps.
- B2B brochure: demo requests, content downloads by ICP, sales-qualified opportunities.
Define “good” before you optimise
Without a baseline and target, any trend looks meaningful. Write down one north-star and two supporting metrics for the quarter.
SEO connection
Track landing pages that produce outcomes, not only rankings—content investments should move commercial URLs, not just blog traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Are rankings useless?
They are noisy diagnostics, not goals—pair with clicks and conversions.
How many KPIs?
Three to five actionable ones beat thirty passive dashboards.
Metrics that matter by business type
Local services: qualified calls, form fills, booked quotes—not raw sessions.
Ecommerce: conversion rate, average order value, cart abandonment, repeat purchase.
Professional firms: consultation requests, download of guides, webinar sign-ups.
Content publishers: engaged time, newsletter growth, ad viewability—if monetised.
Configure GA4 events for calls and forms—our event tracking guide explains setup at a high level. Pair analytics with SEO and paid campaigns only when tracking is trustworthy.
More guides in this topic
- Google Analytics 4 vs alternatives for NZ SMEs (decision framing)
- Event tracking for calls, forms, and brochure downloads
- UTM hygiene: campaign naming conventions that survive reality
- Attribution limits: why last-click is not the whole story
- Weekly dashboards worth five minutes of owner attention
Browse the full Analytics & measurement guide hub or return to the guides home.
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Authoritative further reading
These independent resources complement this guide. Search engines and customers both reward accurate, helpful information—we link out where official documentation or regulators explain the topic better than a generic blog post could.