You created your product page. You're getting traffic. Now what?
Most guides will throw 20+ metrics at you: customer lifetime value, cart abandonment rate, bounce rate, time on page, returning visitor percentage, and a dozen others. It's overwhelming, and most of it doesn't matter when you're just starting.
Here's the truth: when you have one product and you're making your first sales, you need exactly five metrics. Not twenty. Five. These five numbers tell you everything you need to know to make smart decisions about what to do next.
Why Most Metrics Don't Matter Yet
Customer lifetime value? You don't have enough customers to calculate it meaningfully. Cart abandonment recovery? You're getting 10 visitors a day, not 1,000. Email open rates? You haven't built a list yet.
All those metrics become important later. Right now, they're distractions that keep you from focusing on the only thing that matters: proving people will buy what you're selling.
The goal at this stage isn't optimization - it's validation. You need to know: Does this work? If yes, keep going. If no, what needs to change?
Five metrics answer those questions. Everything else is noise.
The Five Metrics That Actually Matter
1. Visitors (Traffic)
How many people landed on your product page this week?
This is your baseline. You can't sell to people who never see your product. If you're getting 10 visitors a week, your problem isn't conversion - it's visibility.
What good looks like:
These numbers assume you're actively sharing in communities, doing outreach, or running small ad tests. If you post once and wait, expect much lower numbers.
Why it matters: Traffic is the multiplier for everything else. A 5% conversion rate means nothing if only 10 people visit. But 5% of 300 visitors is 15 sales - that's validation.
Where to track it: Google Analytics (free), or any tracking pixel you've connected to your product page. NanoCart lets you connect your own tracking systems, so use whatever you're comfortable with.
2. Conversion Rate (The Reality Check)
What percentage of visitors click "Buy" or initiate checkout?
This is your reality check. It tells you if your product page actually works - if people who see your offer want to act on it.
What good looks like: Most ecommerce stores see conversion rates between 2.5-3%. For a single-product page, you should aim higher because there are fewer distractions. A good benchmark is at least 1.75%, with many single product pages hitting 4-6% or more.
Why it matters: Conversion rate tells you if your problem is traffic or offer. Low traffic, high conversion? Get more visitors. High traffic, low conversion? Fix your page.
How to calculate it: (Number of purchase attempts ÷ Total visitors) × 100. Most analytics tools calculate this automatically if you set up goal tracking.
3. Revenue (The Only Number That Pays Bills)
How much money did you actually make?
Revenue is reality. It's the clearest signal of whether this works. Not theoretical projections or "if we just get more traffic" calculations. Actual euros in your account.
What good looks like:
These are realistic numbers for someone starting with one product at €20-60 price point, working actively on distribution but not running major ad campaigns.
Why it matters: Revenue confirms everything else. You can have amazing traffic and decent conversion, but if you're only making €30/month, something fundamental is wrong - probably pricing or product-market fit.
Where to track it: Your payment processor (Stripe, PayPal) shows exact revenue. Cross-reference with your product page analytics to confirm numbers match.
4. Traffic Sources (Where Your Customers Actually Come From)
Which channels are sending people who buy?
This metric tells you where to double down and where to stop wasting time. Not all traffic is equal. 100 visitors from Reddit might convert at 6%. 100 visitors from random Facebook browsing might convert at 0.5%.
What to track:
- Direct - people typing your URL or clicking saved links
- Social - which platforms? Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter?
- Communities - Reddit, forums, Facebook groups - which specific ones?
- Referral - other websites linking to you
- Search - people finding you organically - rare at first
Why it matters: You have limited time. Spend it on channels that convert, not channels that look impressive. If Reddit drives 8 sales and Instagram drives 0, stop posting on Instagram (for now).
How to use it: Check your analytics weekly. Rank channels by conversion rate, not just traffic volume. The channel sending fewer visitors but more buyers is your winner.
5. Purchase Intent Rate (The Bridge Metric)
How many people clicked your "Buy" button or reached checkout, even if they didn't complete the purchase?
This metric lives between traffic and conversion. It tells you if people are interested but something stops them at the last second.
What good looks like:
- 8-12% of visitors should at least click "Buy Now"
- Of those, 50-70% should complete the purchase
If 10% click buy but only 20% complete, you have a checkout friction problem (payment options, trust, unexpected costs). If only 2% click buy, your product page isn't compelling enough.
Why it matters: This metric tells you WHERE to fix things. Problem before clicking buy? Improve your page (photos, copy, pricing clarity). Problem after clicking buy? Simplify checkout, add payment options, address trust signals.
How to track it: Set up event tracking for your "Buy" button. Most analytics platforms let you track button clicks as events.
What to Ignore (For Now)
These metrics matter eventually, but not when you're making your first 20-50 sales:
- Average Order Value - one product, one price
- Customer Lifetime Value - need 50+ customers first
- Cart Abandonment Rate - use "purchase intent" instead
- Bounce Rate - focus on conversion rate
- Return on Ad Spend - track manually at low spend
Adding metrics too early gives you false precision. You'll spend time analyzing data that isn't statistically meaningful yet.
The Weekly Check-In
Every Monday morning (or whatever day works), open your analytics and look at last week's numbers. Five minutes. Five metrics.
Your weekly checklist:
- How many visitors? (Is this growing, stable, or dropping?)
- What's my conversion rate? (Above or below 3%?)
- How much revenue? (Actual euros earned)
- Which traffic source drove the most sales? (Not just traffic - SALES)
- How many people clicked "Buy"? (Is interest there but checkout failing?)
Write these numbers down. Compare to last week. That's it.
No complex dashboards. No 47 data points. No paralysis from too much information.
The Decision Framework
Now that you have your five metrics, here's how to use them to make decisions:
| Situation | Diagnosis | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic growing but conversion low (under 2%) | Your problem is the offer or page, not visibility | Rewrite copy, improve photos, clarify value proposition, test different pricing |
| Conversion good (4%+) but traffic low | Your offer works, you need more eyeballs | Expand to new communities, increase posting frequency, test small paid ads, ask customers to share |
| Both decent but revenue low | Your pricing is probably too low for the effort required | Create higher-priced version, bundle offerings, or target customers who can pay more |
| High purchase intent (10%+ click buy) but low completion | Something breaks at checkout | Test checkout flow yourself, add payment options, strengthen trust signals, check mobile experience |
| One traffic source crushes others | You found your channel | Triple down on what works, study why it converts, find similar channels |
When to Track More
These five metrics serve you until you hit roughly 100 sales or €3,000-5,000 in revenue. At that point, you've validated that this works. Now you can add:
But not before. Adding metrics too early gives you false precision. You'll spend time analyzing data that isn't statistically meaningful yet.
The Tracking Setup
You need exactly two tools:
Web analytics (choose one)
- Google Analytics (free, most common)
- Meta Pixel (if running Facebook/Instagram ads)
- TikTok Pixel (if your audience is there)
- Any tracking system you prefer
NanoCart lets you connect your own tracking - Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn pixels. Pick whatever you're already using or plan to use for ads.
Payment processor dashboard
- Stripe or PayPal automatically tracks revenue
- Check it weekly to confirm what actually hit your account
That's it. Don't pay for fancy analytics tools yet. Don't set up complex attribution tracking. Just connect basic analytics and your payment processor. You'll have all five metrics covered.
The Mindset Shift
Stop thinking about metrics as homework or busywork. They're not something you "should" track because guides tell you to. They're your feedback system.
When you change your product description, metrics tell you if it worked. When you post in a new community, metrics show if those people convert. When you adjust pricing, metrics reveal if you're leaving money on the table or pricing yourself out.
Metrics aren't about perfection. They're about learning faster. And when you're starting with one product, learning fast matters more than optimizing small details.
Track five things → Make decisions → Iterate → Repeat
That's the cycle that turns a product page into a business.