April 28, 2025 • 15 mins
We're diving into the essentials of website tracking for clinic owners who want to understand their performance without getting overwhelmed by data.
A listener of The Clinic Marketing Podcast asked:
“I just set up my new website. I know it’s important to track how it’s performing, but without getting overwhelmed… Where should I start? What should I be looking at in Google Analytics and other tools?”
Such a good question—and one I know a lot of clinic owners wonder about, especially when they’ve just launched a new site and aren’t sure what to expect next.
So, in this episode, we’re going to break down:
- What “good performance” actually looks like for a clinic website
- Which tools to use
- And what to focus on inside Google Analytics—without drowning in data
Let’s get into it.
Episode webpage: Tracking Website Performance Without Drowning in Data
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast.
I'm your host, darci Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
.
Today I am answering a questionthat came straight from a
listener, which I absolutelylove.
She asked I just set up mywebsite.
I know it's important to trackhow it's performing, but without
(00:22):
getting overwhelmed.
Where should I start?
What should I be looking at inGoogle Analytics and other tools
?
I told her that was a fantasticquestion and that I would put
together a podcast about it,because oftentimes when you're
looking at information likeGoogle Analytics, it can feel
(00:42):
like you're drinking water froma fire hose.
To which she replied, which Ithought was so funny.
I'm just getting started.
I don't have a fire hose, Ibarely have a garden hose.
So today we're diving into howyou can start tracking
information on your website todetermine its performance in a
(01:06):
way that won't be overwhelming.
So again, this is such a goodquestion and I know a lot of
clinic owners wonder about it,especially when they've just
launched a new website and theyaren't sure what to expect.
Here's what we're going tocover in today's episode what
good performance actually lookslike for a clinic website.
Which tools to use when you'rejust getting started, key
(01:30):
reports and pages to look at inGoogle Analytics without
drowning in that data.
All right, let's get into it.
Before we dive into tools, let'sget clear on what your
website's job is.
If you're a chiropractor,physical therapist,
acupuncturist, massage therapistor med spa owner, or a clinic
(01:54):
owner of any sort, your websiteexists too.
Help people find your cliniconline, educate them about your
services, get them to know, likeand trust you and ultimately,
get them to book an appointment.
So when we talk aboutperformance, it's not about
(02:14):
getting millions of visitors.
It's about getting the rightvisitors and getting the right
visitors to take action.
You want to make sure that youhave Google Analytics on your
website.
Now, google Analytics can feela little overwhelming,
especially when they switch tothe new layout of GA4.
(02:38):
But let's simplify it.
Here are a few things to lookat that actually matter.
You want to look at users andsessions.
This is going to tell you howmany people are visiting your
website, where they're comingfrom and how often they're
visiting.
So if you look under reports,you will see engagement.
(03:02):
This information can be foundunder reports.
Under here, you will see anumber of different things, but
we're only going to hone in on afew that are really important.
You will see users.
These are how many people visityour website and how they got
there, meaning, did they comefrom social media?
(03:23):
Did they come from organicsearch?
How did they get to yourwebsite?
This is where it can get alittle confusing, because you
will see user acquisitions andtraffic acquisitions.
User acquisitions refers to afirst-time visitor.
(03:45):
Traffic acquisitions refers togeneral visitors.
So if, on Tuesday, I come toyour website for the first time
through organic search, I wouldbe under the user acquisition.
If I came back again a coupledays later, I would not show up
(04:08):
on the user acquisition.
Instead, I would show up on theuser acquisition.
Instead I would show up on thetraffic acquisition and I could
have come in from a differentsource, maybe the second time I
visit you.
I come from social media, sothis is where things can get a
little confusing.
Again, user acquisitions is thefirst time somebody is ever
visiting your website, whiletraffic acquisitions is just
(04:31):
overall traffic to your website.
You have sessions, which arehow many total visits occur, and
there's information aboutreturning users.
A steady increase over time iswhat you're looking for.
Don't stress about low numbersin the beginning, because that
happens.
You're not going to end up withthousands and thousands of
(04:53):
website visitors when you firstset up your website.
We also want to look at toppages.
Under reports, this would beunder the pages and screens,
which is going to show you whichpages are getting the most
traffic.
For most clinics, this is thehome page, usually specific
(05:15):
services pages they're what wecall the general service page,
which is like your catch-all forall your services.
That highlights those yourbooking and contact page, blog
post, an about page and usuallyconditions as well.
Those are some of the key corepages that drive traffic on
(05:36):
websites.
If you see people landing onrandom or unimportant pages
first, it's a sign you may needto adjust your content or SEO
strategy.
We also want to look at thosetraffic sources.
How are people finding yourwebsite?
Are they coming through organic?
Are they coming from socialmedia?
(05:58):
Oftentimes we'll see peoplespending so much time and energy
on social media, but it's notdirectly correlating to website
traffic, so you want to take alook at that as well.
Now let's talk about conversionsfor a minute.
Conversion can be in a coupledifferent forms.
(06:19):
It could be an appointment, itcould be a download.
There's different types ofconversions.
Currently, as I'm recordingthis, google analytics for ga4
doesn't refer to conversions asconversions.
Conversions have to be set upas what they refer to as key
(06:44):
events.
Key events are different fromregular events.
Google Analytics sets up somebasic events that it feels like
you would want to track, and ifyou want to track advanced
conversions, you have to addthem as key events.
So let's talk this through fora second.
(07:09):
If you were just getting started, sometimes you don't have a
system in place for collectingbooking appointments.
In an ideal world, somebodywould go to your website.
They would click book now.
They would book an appointmentand then get redirected to a
thank you page.
That thank you page is what youwould want to associate with
(07:32):
the key event.
That means somebody wentthrough the whole complete
process and got redirected tothat thank you page and
converted, aka booked anappointment.
When possible.
You want to set up in GoogleAnalytics so that it tracks
those key events.
Sometimes that's a little bitmore difficult.
So how do you do a workaround?
(07:53):
Well, maybe you have a contactpage and a book page or a book
now page, and why would you wantto do that?
Well, again, let's say you'rejust getting started and you
don't have a fancy systemtogether for booking
appointments.
Yes, you could just assumeanybody that goes to the contact
(08:13):
page is looking to book anappointment, but that might not
be the case.
There could be a lot of peoplethat are going to your contact
page, maybe to call you to sellyou something.
So sometimes it makes moresense to set up a book now page
and connect that as a key event.
(08:34):
It really depends on howadvanced your website is and
what systems you have inPlymouth.
So that's just a little sidenote.
On conversions, they're alittle bit more advanced.
If you are just getting startedand you feel like that flew way
over your head, you can justkeep with your contact page or
just note what people actuallyend up on your booking pages and
(08:59):
how they're getting there, howthey're getting to your website
and then what pages they'regoing to when they're on your
website that are leading them tobook an appointment your
website that are leading them tobook an appointment.
You can also use Google SearchConsole.
Google Search Console isdifferent from Google Analytics.
(09:21):
It shows how your site isperforming in search results by
far.
I feel like Google SearchConsole, to somebody who isn't
very techie, can feeloverwhelming because it's
reporting so many data points toyou that times people get
confused.
For instance, it might tell youthat there are certain pages
(09:43):
that it's not indexing, but ifyou're familiar with SEO, you
would know that some of thosepages shouldn't be indexed.
So, again, it can be a littleoverwhelming.
But key elements that you wouldwant to look for in Google
Search Console without gettingoverwhelmed are looking at what
keywords you're showing up forand your click-through rates.
(10:06):
Also, which pages are beingindexed.
But again, keep in mind thatyou might see that there are
pages that are not indexed.
For instance, in most cases youdon't want to index your terms
and conditions page, yourprivacy policy page, your thank
you pages.
(10:26):
Pages not being indexed meansthat something in your website
is saying to google don't showthis page.
There's tons of reasons whycertain pages aren't being
indexed, so I don't want to gettoo much into detail about that
because, again, we want to keepthis light.
(10:46):
This is for those that are justgetting started.
But take a look around and seewhat information you can pull
from there.
That you feel like is a valueadd.
If you feel like Google SearchConsole is too much because you
are such a beginner is a valueadd.
If you feel like Google SearchConsole is too much because you
are such a beginner, you can goback to Google Analytics, which
I think is easier to understandand find information in.
(11:08):
Also, don't forget to check outyour Google Business Profile
Insights.
Those are located directly inyour Google Business Profile
listing account, which isdifferent from your Google
Analytics account and yourGoogle Search Console account.
This is in your Google BusinessProfile account and it will
(11:33):
show you for your GoogleBusiness Profile listing, which
is what shows up in Google Mapshow many people are clicking to
call.
How many people are visitingyour website from your Google
business profile listing.
How many have people haverequested directions.
This is especially helpful forlocal SEO, because a lot of
(11:56):
patients may be booking rightfrom your listing because they
have that option, instead ofvisiting your website.
Since you're just gettingstarted, don't obsess over
numbers.
Here's your permission slip.
You do not have to check yourwebsite stats every single day.
Okay, you can check them once amonth.
(12:17):
Look for trends, not instantresults, and ask yourself are
more people finding me throughsearch?
Are my top pages the ones thatI want to rank for?
Are people taking connectionwhen they get to your website?
If yes, awesome.
If not, it's time to make somesmall tweaks.
Check your homepage, check yourblog post, check your core
(12:40):
pages to make sure that they'rereal value add.
Your website does not have to beperfect to perform.
Track just a few things tostart, like your users, your top
pages, your traffic sources andyour conversions.
If that doesn't feel toodifficult for you, use your data
to guide your marketing anddon't get overwhelmed.
(13:02):
If you're feeling lost, you'renot alone.
We have tons of information onour website,
propellyourcompanycom, and ifyou're interested in getting
additional assistance with yourwebsite, please feel free to
visit propellyourcompanycom andbook a discovery call.
That's it for today's episode.
(13:23):
Huge, huge thank you to thelistener who submitted this
question.
It's one that many of you haveasked, so I'm glad we got to dig
into it today.
If you have a question you'dlove to hear covered in a future
episode, shoot me a DM onInstagram at propelyour your
(13:45):
Company.
I'd love to hear from you, andif you found this episode
helpful, don't forget tosubscribe and leave a quick
review.
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast.
I'm your host, darci Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
.
Today I am answering a questionthat came straight from a
listener, which I absolutelylove.
She asked I just set up mywebsite.
I know it's important to trackhow it's performing, but without
(00:22):
getting overwhelmed.
Where should I start?
What should I be looking at inGoogle Analytics and other tools
?
I told her that was a fantasticquestion and that I would put
together a podcast about it,because oftentimes when you're
looking at information likeGoogle Analytics, it can feel
(00:42):
like you're drinking water froma fire hose.
To which she replied, which Ithought was so funny.
I'm just getting started.
I don't have a fire hose, Ibarely have a garden hose.
So today we're diving into howyou can start tracking
information on your website todetermine its performance in a
(01:06):
way that won't be overwhelming.
So again, this is such a goodquestion and I know a lot of
clinic owners wonder about it,especially when they've just
launched a new website and theyaren't sure what to expect.
Here's what we're going tocover in today's episode what
good performance actually lookslike for a clinic website.
Which tools to use when you'rejust getting started, key
(01:30):
reports and pages to look at inGoogle Analytics without
drowning in that data.
All right, let's get into it.
Before we dive into tools, let'sget clear on what your
website's job is.
If you're a chiropractor,physical therapist,
acupuncturist, massage therapistor med spa owner, or a clinic
(01:54):
owner of any sort, your websiteexists too.
Help people find your cliniconline, educate them about your
services, get them to know, likeand trust you and ultimately,
get them to book an appointment.
So when we talk aboutperformance, it's not about
(02:14):
getting millions of visitors.
It's about getting the rightvisitors and getting the right
visitors to take action.
You want to make sure that youhave Google Analytics on your
website.
Now, google Analytics can feela little overwhelming,
especially when they switch tothe new layout of GA4.
(02:38):
But let's simplify it.
Here are a few things to lookat that actually matter.
You want to look at users andsessions.
This is going to tell you howmany people are visiting your
website, where they're comingfrom and how often they're
visiting.
So if you look under reports,you will see engagement.
(03:02):
This information can be foundunder reports.
Under here, you will see anumber of different things, but
we're only going to hone in on afew that are really important.
You will see users.
These are how many people visityour website and how they got
there, meaning, did they comefrom social media?
(03:23):
Did they come from organicsearch?
How did they get to yourwebsite?
This is where it can get alittle confusing, because you
will see user acquisitions andtraffic acquisitions.
User acquisitions refers to afirst-time visitor.
(03:45):
Traffic acquisitions refers togeneral visitors.
So if, on Tuesday, I come toyour website for the first time
through organic search, I wouldbe under the user acquisition.
If I came back again a coupledays later, I would not show up
(04:08):
on the user acquisition.
Instead, I would show up on theuser acquisition.
Instead I would show up on thetraffic acquisition and I could
have come in from a differentsource, maybe the second time I
visit you.
I come from social media, sothis is where things can get a
little confusing.
Again, user acquisitions is thefirst time somebody is ever
visiting your website, whiletraffic acquisitions is just
(04:31):
overall traffic to your website.
You have sessions, which arehow many total visits occur, and
there's information aboutreturning users.
A steady increase over time iswhat you're looking for.
Don't stress about low numbersin the beginning, because that
happens.
You're not going to end up withthousands and thousands of
(04:53):
website visitors when you firstset up your website.
We also want to look at toppages.
Under reports, this would beunder the pages and screens,
which is going to show you whichpages are getting the most
traffic.
For most clinics, this is thehome page, usually specific
(05:15):
services pages they're what wecall the general service page,
which is like your catch-all forall your services.
That highlights those yourbooking and contact page, blog
post, an about page and usuallyconditions as well.
Those are some of the key corepages that drive traffic on
(05:36):
websites.
If you see people landing onrandom or unimportant pages
first, it's a sign you may needto adjust your content or SEO
strategy.
We also want to look at thosetraffic sources.
How are people finding yourwebsite?
Are they coming through organic?
Are they coming from socialmedia?
(05:58):
Oftentimes we'll see peoplespending so much time and energy
on social media, but it's notdirectly correlating to website
traffic, so you want to take alook at that as well.
Now let's talk about conversionsfor a minute.
Conversion can be in a coupledifferent forms.
(06:19):
It could be an appointment, itcould be a download.
There's different types ofconversions.
Currently, as I'm recordingthis, google analytics for ga4
doesn't refer to conversions asconversions.
Conversions have to be set upas what they refer to as key
(06:44):
events.
Key events are different fromregular events.
Google Analytics sets up somebasic events that it feels like
you would want to track, and ifyou want to track advanced
conversions, you have to addthem as key events.
So let's talk this through fora second.
(07:09):
If you were just getting started, sometimes you don't have a
system in place for collectingbooking appointments.
In an ideal world, somebodywould go to your website.
They would click book now.
They would book an appointmentand then get redirected to a
thank you page.
That thank you page is what youwould want to associate with
(07:32):
the key event.
That means somebody wentthrough the whole complete
process and got redirected tothat thank you page and
converted, aka booked anappointment.
When possible.
You want to set up in GoogleAnalytics so that it tracks
those key events.
Sometimes that's a little bitmore difficult.
So how do you do a workaround?
(07:53):
Well, maybe you have a contactpage and a book page or a book
now page, and why would you wantto do that?
Well, again, let's say you'rejust getting started and you
don't have a fancy systemtogether for booking
appointments.
Yes, you could just assumeanybody that goes to the contact
(08:13):
page is looking to book anappointment, but that might not
be the case.
There could be a lot of peoplethat are going to your contact
page, maybe to call you to sellyou something.
So sometimes it makes moresense to set up a book now page
and connect that as a key event.
(08:34):
It really depends on howadvanced your website is and
what systems you have inPlymouth.
So that's just a little sidenote.
On conversions, they're alittle bit more advanced.
If you are just getting startedand you feel like that flew way
over your head, you can justkeep with your contact page or
just note what people actuallyend up on your booking pages and
(08:59):
how they're getting there, howthey're getting to your website
and then what pages they'regoing to when they're on your
website that are leading them tobook an appointment your
website that are leading them tobook an appointment.
You can also use Google SearchConsole.
Google Search Console isdifferent from Google Analytics.
(09:21):
It shows how your site isperforming in search results by
far.
I feel like Google SearchConsole, to somebody who isn't
very techie, can feeloverwhelming because it's
reporting so many data points toyou that times people get
confused.
For instance, it might tell youthat there are certain pages
(09:43):
that it's not indexing, but ifyou're familiar with SEO, you
would know that some of thosepages shouldn't be indexed.
So, again, it can be a littleoverwhelming.
But key elements that you wouldwant to look for in Google
Search Console without gettingoverwhelmed are looking at what
keywords you're showing up forand your click-through rates.
(10:06):
Also, which pages are beingindexed.
But again, keep in mind thatyou might see that there are
pages that are not indexed.
For instance, in most cases youdon't want to index your terms
and conditions page, yourprivacy policy page, your thank
you pages.
(10:26):
Pages not being indexed meansthat something in your website
is saying to google don't showthis page.
There's tons of reasons whycertain pages aren't being
indexed, so I don't want to gettoo much into detail about that
because, again, we want to keepthis light.
(10:46):
This is for those that are justgetting started.
But take a look around and seewhat information you can pull
from there.
That you feel like is a valueadd.
If you feel like Google SearchConsole is too much because you
are such a beginner is a valueadd.
If you feel like Google SearchConsole is too much because you
are such a beginner, you can goback to Google Analytics, which
I think is easier to understandand find information in.
(11:08):
Also, don't forget to check outyour Google Business Profile
Insights.
Those are located directly inyour Google Business Profile
listing account, which isdifferent from your Google
Analytics account and yourGoogle Search Console account.
This is in your Google BusinessProfile account and it will
(11:33):
show you for your GoogleBusiness Profile listing, which
is what shows up in Google Mapshow many people are clicking to
call.
How many people are visitingyour website from your Google
business profile listing.
How many have people haverequested directions.
This is especially helpful forlocal SEO, because a lot of
(11:56):
patients may be booking rightfrom your listing because they
have that option, instead ofvisiting your website.
Since you're just gettingstarted, don't obsess over
numbers.
Here's your permission slip.
You do not have to check yourwebsite stats every single day.
Okay, you can check them once amonth.
(12:17):
Look for trends, not instantresults, and ask yourself are
more people finding me throughsearch?
Are my top pages the ones thatI want to rank for?
Are people taking connectionwhen they get to your website?
If yes, awesome.
If not, it's time to make somesmall tweaks.
Check your homepage, check yourblog post, check your core
(12:40):
pages to make sure that they'rereal value add.
Your website does not have to beperfect to perform.
Track just a few things tostart, like your users, your top
pages, your traffic sources andyour conversions.
If that doesn't feel toodifficult for you, use your data
to guide your marketing anddon't get overwhelmed.
(13:02):
If you're feeling lost, you'renot alone.
We have tons of information onour website,
propellyourcompanycom, and ifyou're interested in getting
additional assistance with yourwebsite, please feel free to
visit propellyourcompanycom andbook a discovery call.
That's it for today's episode.
(13:23):
Huge, huge thank you to thelistener who submitted this
question.
It's one that many of you haveasked, so I'm glad we got to dig
into it today.
If you have a question you'dlove to hear covered in a future
episode, shoot me a DM onInstagram at propelyour your
(13:45):
Company.
I'd love to hear from you, andif you found this episode
helpful, don't forget tosubscribe and leave a quick
review.
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