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B2B businesses significantly undervalue and underinvest in their most important marketing asset, their website. This is despite evidence that an effective website drives the majority of pipeline and revenue.
This misalignment between value and investment isn't entirely surprising. After all, it's much easier to measure the ROI of that new PPC campaign than to quantify your website's true impact on revenue. But just because something is harder to measure doesn't make it less valuable.
Website ROI measures the return on investment from your website, comparing what you spend against what you get back.
For B2C ecommerce sites, ROI is relatively straightforward - you can directly track purchases and revenue through the website. Similarly, product-led growth companies have it easier, as they can measure direct sign-ups, trial activations, and subsequent conversions to paid accounts.
For B2B organisations, however, it's less clear. You could take a proportion of your overall pipeline and revenue and attribute it back to the website, seeing as most, if not all, buyers will visit your website at some point in their journey, even if they didn't convert on it first. Yet this simplified approach doesn't capture the website's true impact across the entire buying cycle.
This makes traditional attribution models somewhat limited in capturing your website's true value. In this blog, we look at practical ways to measure and improve your website's ROI.
Understanding and improving website ROI isn't just about justifying budgets - it's about maximising the effectiveness of your most important marketing asset to drive business growth.
With buyers spending more time researching independently online before engaging with sales, your website's performance can make or break your pipeline generation efforts. Here's why understanding and optimising its ROI is crucial:
Most of your high-intent leads, the ones that turn into real pipeline opportunities, will come through your website. Whether they found you through search, social media, or word of mouth, your website is where serious buyers raise their hand and express interest in your offering.
Your website shapes how buyers perceive your organisation. A well-designed, high-performing website builds trust and credibility, positioning your business as a serious contender in your market. However, an outdated or poorly functioning website can significantly damage your professional reputation and deter potential buyers from engaging further.
Modern B2B buyers prefer to self-educate. Your website needs to provide the right information at the right time, enabling buyers to move through their journey at their own pace. This self-service approach aligns with contemporary buying behaviours and preferences.
A website that effectively qualifies and hands off leads to the sales team makes them more efficient. They spend less time educating prospects on fundamentals and more time having valuable conversations about specific needs and solutions.
Calculating B2B website ROI requires a more nuanced approach than simply dividing revenue by cost. While traditional ROI calculations work well for direct revenue-generating activities, websites serve multiple functions in the B2B buying journey. To build a comprehensive understanding of your website's return on investment, you need to consider various metrics and measurements that together paint a picture of its true value.
Focus on visitor-to-high-intent-lead conversion rate. These are the conversions that matter - demonstration requests, sales conversations, and other bottom-of-funnel actions that indicate serious buying intent.
Don't focus on conversion rates of sessions into low-intent leads like newsletter sign-ups. While these contacts have their place, they rarely convert into valuable pipeline and revenue opportunities effectively.
Look at the sources in your pipeline and identify which opportunities came from buyers converting on your website. Even if prospects initially engage through other channels, understanding how many ultimately converted through your website helps demonstrate its true value to pipeline generation.
The most meaningful measure of website ROI comes from tracking revenue generated through website conversions. Focus on opportunities where buyers entered your pipeline by converting on your website through high-intent actions like demo requests or sales enquiries. By tracking these opportunities through to closed-won deals, you can demonstrate clear financial impact and justify further investment in your website.
Maximising website ROI isn't about implementing the latest design trends. Instead, it requires a strategic approach focused on what truly matters to your buyers and what drives business results.
Your website should prioritise what buyers care about most - your products, solutions, and services. While it's tempting to create elaborate sections for different industries or personas, the data and research shows buyers primarily want to understand what you offer and how it helps them.
Create clear, logical paths to conversion that align with buyer preferences. What matters most is creating conversion opportunities that align with buyer expectations and preferences.
You can do this by:
When budgeting for website improvements, prioritise:
Your website isn't a 'set it and forget it' asset. Plan for continuous improvement and evolution. This might mean starting with a smaller, more focused website that you can build upon, rather than trying to do everything at once. Consider the long-term editing experience, your chosen platform's flexibility, and your codebase's maintainability.
Understanding and improving website ROI is crucial for B2B organisations. While it may be more complex to measure than other marketing investments, your website's impact on pipeline and revenue is undeniable.
The key is to be strategic and intentional with your investment. Focus on what matters to buyers, optimise for high-intent conversions, and continuously measure and improve performance.
Remember, you're not just investing in a website - you're investing in your primary engine for pipeline generation and revenue growth. Make it count.
