Calculating Website ROI: What Houston Small Businesses Should Expect

A Katy HVAC company owner asked us a question we hear constantly: “How do I know if my website is actually worth what I paid for it?”

He’d invested $7,500 in a new site six months earlier. Leads had increased, but he couldn’t tell if the website was responsible or if it was just a busy season. He suspected the investment was paying off, but he wanted proof.

This is the right question to ask. Your website isn’t a vanity project—it’s a business investment that should generate measurable returns. Here’s how to think about website ROI and what Houston businesses should realistically expect.

The Basic Math of Website ROI

Website ROI is straightforward in concept:

(Revenue Generated by Website - Cost of Website) / Cost of Website = ROI

If your website cost $10,000 and generated $50,000 in attributable revenue in year one, your ROI is 400%.

The challenge is that first number—revenue generated by website. Most businesses don’t track this well, so they’re left guessing whether their site is working.

Tracking Website-Generated Revenue

Before calculating ROI, you need systems to attribute revenue to your website.

For Service Businesses

Form submissions. Track every contact form submission. These are qualified leads that came through your site.

Phone calls. Use call tracking numbers specifically for your website. Services like CallRail show exactly which calls originated from which pages.

Chat conversations. If you use chat, tag conversations that started on the website.

Offline mentions. Ask new customers how they found you. “Your website” is data, even if informal.

Then track conversions: Of those leads, how many became customers? What was the average project value?

A Houston law firm we work with tracks this precisely:

45 contact form submissions per month
12 become consultations (27% conversion)
4 become clients (33% of consultations)
Average case value: $8,500
Monthly website-attributed revenue: $34,000

Their website cost $12,000 and they spend $500/month on maintenance. First-year ROI: over 300%.

For E-Commerce

E-commerce tracking is more direct. Your platform tells you exactly what sold through your website. But look beyond top-line revenue:

Customer acquisition cost. What did you spend (ads, SEO, site maintenance) per customer acquired?

Customer lifetime value. A first purchase might be $50, but if that customer returns quarterly, they’re worth $200/year.

Average order value trends. Is your site encouraging larger purchases over time?

For Lead Generation with Long Sales Cycles

Some Houston businesses—B2B services, high-end contractors, consultants—have sales cycles measured in months. A website visit today might become a customer next year.

Track the funnel:

Website visits
Content downloads or newsletter signups
Sales inquiries
Proposals sent
Closed deals

Even without immediate sales, you can measure pipeline value: “Our website generated 15 qualified leads this month representing $180,000 in potential revenue.”

What Good Website ROI Looks Like

Expectations vary by industry and business model, but here are benchmarks for Houston small businesses:

Service Businesses (Plumbers, Lawyers, Consultants)

Break-even timeline: 3-6 months Year one ROI target: 200-500% Ongoing annual ROI: 500-1000%

High customer values mean even modest traffic converts to significant revenue. A $15,000 website that generates five $5,000 customers in year one has already paid for itself twice.

E-Commerce

Break-even timeline: 6-12 months Year one ROI target: 50-150% Ongoing annual ROI: 200-400%

E-commerce has thinner margins and requires ongoing investment in traffic. ROI builds over time as SEO matures and customer base grows.

Local Retail with Some E-Commerce

Break-even timeline: 6-18 months Year one ROI target: 100-300% Ongoing annual ROI: 200-500%

The website supports both online sales and driving foot traffic to physical locations. Attribution is trickier, but the combined value is substantial.

Factors That Affect Website ROI

Your Traffic

A beautifully converting website with no traffic generates zero revenue. Traffic sources include:

Organic search. Free but takes time to build. SEO investment accelerates this.

Paid advertising. Immediate traffic but adds cost. Affects net ROI calculation.

Direct and referral. Comes from brand awareness, word-of-mouth, and existing relationships.

Social media. Often underperforms for Houston service businesses; varies for retail and hospitality.

Your Conversion Rate

Industry average website conversion rates for lead generation range from 2-5%. E-commerce averages 2-3%.

The difference between 1% and 3% conversion is enormous:

1,000 monthly visitors at 1% conversion: 10 leads 1,000 monthly visitors at 3% conversion: 30 leads

Same traffic, three times the leads. This is why quality web development focused on conversion matters more than pretty design.

Your Customer Value

A Montrose personal injury attorney and a Heights dog walker might get identical website traffic and conversion rates. But when one customer is worth $15,000 and another is worth $50, ROI looks radically different.

Higher customer values justify larger website investments. If each customer is worth $20,000, spending $50,000 on a website that converts even slightly better makes sense.

Your Close Rate

Website leads are only valuable if you close them. A website generating 50 leads per month to a business that closes 5% of leads produces 2.5 customers. The same website for a business closing 25% of leads produces 12.5 customers.

This isn’t a website problem—it’s a sales process problem. But it affects how you evaluate website ROI.

Common Mistakes in Calculating Website ROI

Ignoring Opportunity Cost

Comparing your website investment to zero isn’t realistic. Without a website (or with a terrible one), you’d still spend something on marketing. Compare website ROI to alternative uses of that marketing budget.

A $10,000 website generating $50,000 in annual revenue might seem good, but if the same $10,000 spent on direct mail would generate $80,000, you’ve made the wrong choice. (It wouldn’t—but you should think this through.)

Forgetting Ongoing Costs

Initial build cost is just the beginning. Factor in:

Hosting: $100-300/year for basic, $500-2,000/year for performance hosting
Maintenance: $500-2,000/year minimum for updates and security
Content updates: Staff time or agency fees
SEO and marketing: Often $1,000-5,000/month for professional services

Your true website cost is cumulative investment over time, not just the initial build.

Only Counting Direct Conversions

Many website interactions don’t lead to immediate conversion but still contribute to revenue:

The customer who researched on your site then called directly (not tracked as website lead)
The prospect who visited three times before filling out a form (only the last visit gets credit)
The referral who was sent your link and decided to call based on what they saw
The customer who renewed because your site made them confident in your professionalism

True website impact often exceeds what’s directly measurable.

Short Time Horizons

Website ROI compounds over time. Year one might show modest returns as SEO builds and conversion optimization takes effect. Year three often shows dramatically better ROI on the same initial investment.

Judge a website’s value over 3-5 years, not 3-5 months.

Improving Your Website ROI

If current ROI is disappointing, diagnose the problem:

Low traffic + good conversion: Invest in SEO and digital marketing to drive more visitors.

Good traffic + low conversion: Improve website usability, messaging, and calls to action. Consider professional redesign.

Good traffic + good conversion + low customer value: This isn’t a website problem. Look at pricing, upselling, and customer retention.

Good traffic + good conversion + poor close rate: Sales process needs work, not the website.

Track the numbers to identify where improvement efforts should focus.

Setting Realistic Expectations

Month 1-3: Foundation Building

Don’t expect significant ROI yet. You’re:

Getting the new site indexed by Google
Building initial content
Fine-tuning based on early data
Allowing SEO efforts to gain traction

Month 4-6: Early Signals

You should see:

Increasing organic traffic
Some form submissions and calls
Data showing what’s working and what isn’t

Month 7-12: Growing Returns

For well-built sites with reasonable marketing support:

Consistent lead flow
Clear attribution of revenue to website
Positive ROI becoming apparent

Year 2+: Compounding Value

SEO authority has built. Conversion optimization has refined. Customer reviews and content have accumulated. ROI should accelerate significantly.

A website that barely broke even in year one might generate 500% ROI in year three—on zero additional investment.

The Bottom Line

Your website should be a profit center, not a cost center. But measuring that profitability requires:

Systems to track website-generated leads and sales
Realistic timelines for ROI to materialize
Understanding of all factors affecting returns
Ongoing investment in traffic and optimization

When a Houston business owner asks “is my website worth it,” the answer should come from data, not gut feeling.

Need Help Measuring or Improving ROI?

We help Houston businesses build websites designed for measurable returns—and we help them track and optimize performance over time.

If you’re unsure whether your current site is delivering value, contact us for an honest assessment. We’ll show you exactly what your site is generating and where there’s room for improvement.