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For years, Toys-R-Us was more than a toy store. It was part of culture.

Then it built a crappy website and went out of business.

Oversimplification? 

Maybe. But when it comes to Toys-R-Us’ demise, business analysts consistently point to their poorly-designed website and failure to notice that digital shoppers were struggling.

If you’re not looking at your website data (or you’re looking at the wrong data), you could be missing what’s holding you back.

How to keep your website alive and kicking

Every time you walk into the doctor’s office, they take your pulse, check your temperature, and measure your blood pressure.

Because if one of those is off, they know something is way wrong.

Your website is the same.

Give your site a checkup at least weekly to make sure:

• You’ve got nourishment — there’s a steady, healthy stream of traffic coming in.

• You’ve got circulation — once they’re on your site, people are finding what they need.

• You’ve got a strong heartbeat — you’re meeting your business goals.

1: A healthy diet = acquisition metrics

Between your website analytics and your SEO dashboard (set it up on Semrush if you haven’t already), track these vitals:

• Acquisition channels/sources: where your traffic is coming from

• Landing pages: the first page people visit on your website

• Top keywords: the search terms sending the most traffic to your site

Traffic should come from reputable sources and relevant keywords, and it should land on pages that help both you and your visitors achieve your goals. Amount doesn’t matter. Relevance does.

One of the most commonly missed website illnesses is irrelevant traffic.

It’s not a big deal if you have a couple of popular pages that aren’t related to your core business. But it’s a problem to watch — too much irrelevant traffic is a sign that your SEO and marketing strategies are on the wrong track.

2: Healthy circulation = on-page metrics

Toys-R-Us missed the signs that their potential shoppers were having a hard time navigating their multi-million-dollar website. Don’t make the same mistake.

These metrics will tell you if visitors are on track to go from browsing to buying:

• Bounce rate: The percentage of people who leave without clicking deeper into your website

• Time on page: The average amount of time a user spends looking at a page

• Pages per session: The average number of pages a user visits before they leave your site

• Pages report: A list of the pages people visit most often

Healthy on-page metrics should indicate that people are finding the information they need, staying long enough to read it, and visiting pages that help them learn about your business.

3: A healthy heartbeat = sales and conversion data

The ultimate test of website health is this:

Is it meeting your business goals?

Event tracking can answer this question. 

Make a list of everything a prospect can do on your website that you consider a win for your business.

Set up as many events as you want for detailed reporting, but only closely track the ones that directly tell you whether or not your website is doing its job.

Empty metrics, empty returns

Focus on the wrong metrics, you’ll start optimizing for them too.

Revisit what you’re tracking, make sure it’s meaningful and keep a steady eye on those vitals. If one seems off, get to digging.

15+.  

The amount of potential problems behind a high bounce rate.

Not one. Not three. Fifteen or more. Some of the most common include:

Bad traffic:

• Ads targeting the wrong people

• Irrelevant keywords ranking

• Social content driving curiosity but not intent

Friction in the experience:

• Page took too long to load (3s+ on mobile = danger zone)

• The layout confused them — or just didn’t load right

• A pop-up slammed the screen before they could read a word

Content mismatch:

• What they saw in the ad isn’t what they got on the page

• The intro didn’t build trust or relevance fast enough

• There’s no obvious next step, so they just leave

Tracking errors:

• Single-page apps not firing virtual pageviews

• Broken internal links or cookie-blocked scripts

So when bounce rate hikes or another core vital goes out of whack, don’t assume — investigate.

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The real reason we hate slow websites

Think a fraction of a second is irrelevant? Think again. Deep cognitive biases and trust issues could be causing customers to turn away instantly.

In 2006, Google found that a half-second delay causes a 20% drop in website traffic. 

More recently, Deloitte said shaving just 0.1 seconds off load time increases average order value by 9.2%.

People are busy, yes. But they can’t be that busy. We’re not accusing brands of wasting our time over a tenth of a second, right?

Over and over, data shows that milliseconds make a difference.

Here’s why:

• Cognitive fluency: If a site feels smooth, we trust the message more. Friction triggers skepticism.

• Halo effect: When one thing feels broken (speed), we assume the rest is too (product, service, team, pricing, everything).

• Interrupted flow: The “guru of web page usability”, Jakob Nielsen, says a 1-second delay shifts a user from feeling in control to waiting on a system. That subtle power loss kills conversions.

Optimizing for conversion? Test milliseconds.

Only slow things down if it’s strategic. 

Apple allegedly adds tension and suspense to the unboxing process. Luxury brands like Hermès use slow transitions to communicate exclusivity and craftsmanship; patience is rewarded.

But those are special situations. And their websites are still ultra-optimized.

For your brand, think fast. Run a free site audit with Semrush to uncover where you’re losing trust. 

Written by Amy Hawthorne and edited by Catherine Solbrig.