Revenue is the total money earned from your site’s sales over a period. In web analytics, it’s the output metric that turns clicks into dollars. If you track orders (see transaction) and order values, you can compute revenue precisely and tie it back to traffic, funnels, and experiments.
Why it matters
Revenue connects acquisition and product. It lets you evaluate channels not just by vanity metrics like session or CTR, but by actual business impact. Pair it with cost per acquisition (CPA) to see payback, with user lifetime value (LTV) to model long-term value, and with churn rate for subscription durability.
Formula
At its simplest:
- Revenue = Σ Order Value
- If you track averages: Revenue = Number of Orders × average order value (AOV)
- In ecommerce funnels: Revenue = Sessions × ecommerce conversion rate × AOV
Mini example: 4,000 sessions × 2.5% conversion × $48 AOV = $4,800 revenue.
Quick table (one-day snapshot)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Sessions | 4,000 |
| Ecommerce Conversion Rate | 2.5% |
| Orders | 100 |
| Average Order Value (AOV) | $48.00 |
| Revenue | $4,800 |
Implementation notes
- Attribution: Attribute revenue at the order level, then roll up by channel/campaign to avoid double counting. Multi-touch models redistribute the same total revenue; totals must stay consistent.
- Gross vs Net: Decide if revenue includes taxes, shipping, or discounts. Many teams report net revenue (after discounts, before tax/shipping) for apples-to-apples comparisons.
- Currency: Store currency per order. For mixed-currency sites, convert at order time to a reporting currency to keep time-series stable.
- Data quality: Validate order IDs are unique, values are non-negative, and cancellations/refunds are handled (e.g., negative adjustments on the order date or a separate “refund” event).