Google Analytics (GA4)

Think of Google Analytics as the security camera inside your shop. It tells you how many people walked in, which aisles they browsed, how long they stayed, and whether they left empty-handed. Google Search Console is the opposite view — it watches the street outside. You want both, and both are free.

Check three things once a month: whether visitor numbers are trending up or down, where visitors come from, and which pages get the most attention.

What you can safely ignore: bounce rate — a high one often just means someone found your phone number and called. Also real-time dashboards (addictive, useless for decisions) and industry benchmarks from random blogs. Compare your numbers to your own numbers last month.

And watch the vanity-metric trap — 5,000 visitors means nothing if none of them called, emailed, or bought anything.