Leap the Nonprofit Discoverability Gap

The usual website report begins with traffic.

How many people visited? Which pages were popular? Where did visitors come from?

A discoverability report begins with a different question:

What did people successfully find?

This changes both the measurements and the conversation.

Measure the connection

Every important mission asset should have an intended connection.

A program page should help eligible people understand and pursue the program. An artist profile should help visitors discover the artist. A resource page should help someone access useful guidance. A volunteer page should help people find appropriate roles.

The measurement should reflect that purpose.

Possible measures include:

• Applications started or completed
• Registrations
• Calls or inquiries
• Downloads
• Directions requested
• Supplier profile views
• Clicks to artist or member websites
• Volunteer sign-ups
• Referrals to partner resources
• Donations
• Return visits during an application period

The correct measure depends on the asset.

Observe the failed connection

Success is not the only useful evidence.

Look for:

• Pages with interest but little action
• Common exits
• Abandoned forms
• Repeated searches after arriving
• Questions still directed to staff
• Geographic demand outside service areas
• Searches for information that does not exist
• Outdated pages continuing to attract visitors

These patterns reveal friction and unmet need.

A page that does not convert may not need more promotion. It may need clearer information, a more appropriate action, or an honest explanation that the organization does not provide what visitors expect.

Combine numbers with human evidence

Analytics can show what happened on the website.

Staff can often explain why.

A decline in applications may reflect a broken form. A high volume of phone calls may indicate confusion or may be the appropriate conversion for a complex service. A supplier profile may create business opportunities that occur outside the nonprofit’s systems.

Useful measurement combines:

• Digital behavior
• Program outcomes
• Staff observations
• Participant feedback
• Referral information
• Periodic qualitative review

No single dashboard contains the full mission.

Report what leadership can act upon

A discoverability report should not bury leadership beneath metrics.

It should explain:

• What people were trying to find
• Which mission assets served them
• What meaningful actions occurred
• Where access failed
• What the organization learned
• What should be improved next

This turns measurement into management.

The purpose is not to prove that every page performed well. It is to make the system more useful over time.

Measure access, not applause

Impressions, rankings, traffic, and engagement can all contribute to understanding.

None is the final objective.

The most important measure is whether more people successfully crossed the distance between what they needed and what the nonprofit exists to provide.

Measure the connection.

Then improve it.

Key Take Aways

Chapter 18 of Leap The Nonprofit Discoverability Gap focuses on measuring the effectiveness of discoverability efforts. Key takeaways include:

• Measure the Connection: Success should be measured by the successful connection between the resource and the person who needs it, not just broad metrics.
• Observe Failed Connections: Pay attention to where visitors encounter confusion or where they leave the site without taking action, as these failed attempts offer insights into where the discoverability system is broken.
• Combine Numbers with Human Evidence: Quantitative data (numbers, traffic) should be paired with qualitative evidence (feedback, stories, staff observations) to get a true picture of how well the mission is being delivered online.
• Report Actionable Insights: Reports should focus on data that leadership can actually act upon to improve the mission, rather than just reporting “applause” metrics like total site visits.
• Measure Access, Not Just Volume: The goal is to measure whether users are gaining access to the resources they need, rather than just counting clicks or pageviews.