Most small business owners have only a vague idea of how many people actually visit their website. Some are pleasantly surprised. Most are not. Either way, the number matters less than what you do with it — and once you know how to read the four numbers that actually count, you can stop guessing and start improving.
'Hits' hasn't been a real metric for 20 years
If someone quotes you a number of "hits", they're either using very old software or hoping you don't know the difference. A single page view can trigger dozens of "hits" (one per file loaded), so the number is enormous and meaningless.
The real modern metrics — sessions, users, engaged sessions, conversions — are all measured properly by Google Analytics 4, which is free and takes about 15 minutes to set up.
The real modern metrics — sessions, users, engaged sessions, conversions — are all measured properly by Google Analytics 4, which is free and takes about 15 minutes to set up.
Setting up Google Analytics 4 properly
Nearly every small business site we audit has GA4 in one of three states: not installed, half-installed (tracking code present but the account was never checked again), or duplicated (the previous designer added a second tag and now every session counts twice).
A proper install means:
None of this is optional if you want the numbers to mean anything.
A proper install means:
- One GA4 property, verified from Google Tag Assistant to only fire once per page.
- Your own IP filtered out so your visits don't skew the data.
- Key events (contact form submissions, phone-number taps, quote requests) marked as conversions, not just page views.
- Linked to Google Search Console so you can see which keywords drove which visits.
None of this is optional if you want the numbers to mean anything.
The 4 numbers that actually matter
Once GA4 is set up properly, ignore 95% of the dashboard and focus on these:
- Sessions: how many separate visits your site got in the period. Compare month to month, not day to day.
- Traffic source: where those sessions came from — Google organic, direct, referral, social, paid. For most small businesses, 60–80% should be organic. If it's mostly "direct", something is mistagged.
- Engagement rate: the percentage of sessions where the visitor actually interacted meaningfully. Below 40% and your landing pages aren't holding attention.
- Conversions: how many of those sessions turned into an enquiry, call, or form submission. This is the only number that pays your bills.
Which tool tells you what
People mix these up constantly. They measure different things, and you want at least the first two.
| Tool | Cost | Tells you | Doesn't tell you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 | Free | Visitors, sources, pages, conversions | What people searched to find you |
| Google Search Console | Free | Search queries, impressions, positions, clicks | What visitors did once they arrived |
| Microsoft Clarity | Free | Recordings, heatmaps, rage clicks | Search or channel data |
| Semrush / Ahrefs | From ~£100/mo | Estimated competitor traffic, keyword gaps | Your real numbers - it's modelled |
| Host or cPanel stats | Included | Raw hits and bandwidth | Anything about real humans |
What 'good' looks like for a small local business
Realistic monthly ranges for a small UK business with a decent local SEO setup:
The numbers matter less than the conversion rate. 400 highly-relevant local sessions with 20 enquiries a month is worth more than 4,000 random sessions with two. Chasing sessions for their own sake is the SEO equivalent of judging a shop by footfall while ignoring the till.
- A brand-new site with no SEO yet: 20–100 sessions/month.
- A site 6–12 months into decent SEO: 300–1,500 sessions/month.
- An established site with strong local SEO and content: 2,000–10,000+ sessions/month.
The numbers matter less than the conversion rate. 400 highly-relevant local sessions with 20 enquiries a month is worth more than 4,000 random sessions with two. Chasing sessions for their own sake is the SEO equivalent of judging a shop by footfall while ignoring the till.
What we set up for every client
Every site we build at A9 launches with GA4 and Search Console fully configured, key conversions tracked, and your IP filtered out — so from day one, the numbers in your dashboard are numbers you can actually trust. It's covered in our web design service, and if your existing site is missing any of this, we can retro-fit it as part of an SEO engagement.
Want a website that does this automatically?
Our managed plans handle the domain, SSL, updates, backups and edits so you never have to think about it. Free, no-pressure chat — usually within a day.
Part of our running & maintaining guides.
Written by Adam, A9 Web Design
Adam builds hand-coded websites for small businesses across Cambridgeshire and looks after their hosting, SEO and advertising day to day. Everything here comes from work on real client sites — no theory, no filler.