Web Bonus: The Art and Science of e-Cultivation

Key metrics
There has been a great deal of discussion on the value of measuring Web site visitors, open rates and click-throughs. These are the easiest metrics to obtain, and therefore get the most attention. But do these measures tell us anything important? Some observers suggest organizations stop looking at open and click-through rates altogether and focus exclusively on other, more conclusive measurements, such as conversion rates (the percentage of visitors to a Web site that take a positive action, e.g., subscribe, join or donate). There is no one magic number for donation page completion rates — they vary depending on the form and its content, the e-mail appeal used, list quality and cause.