YOU CANNOT MEASURE YOUR WAY TO WEALTH
One of the huge benefits we have on the web is we can measure so much about user engagement that we can make very well informed decisions about what works, and what doesn’t. But there is a risk.
If we’re not careful, we can end up measuring so many things that what we end up in is the measurement business instead of the one we started out in. Don’t do that. Remember that your purpose is to actually make money!
Eighty percent of the stuff you can measure on the web is a complete waste of time. Most measurements are from really bad data to start with and they don’t actually measure anything that’s going to affect change in your business.
So whenever you go to measure something ask yourself this: “Does this measurement really, honestly change what I do?” If it does not have the power to inform a decision, then is it really something you should be doing at all?
The closely related question is precision. Even the measurements that are important are, again, important only to the extent they support decision making and almost no decision needs “perfect” numbers. For example, are you ranking at #5 or #7 for that keyword? Just how many data centers and how many times a day should you check that?
The difference between ranking at #5 or #7 does not matter. All you need to recognize is that it is below the fold on page 1. Any more accuracy than that is simply measurement for measurement’s sake and not one that drives business results.
It is the money that counts. Everything else counts only to the extent that it makes counting the money more fun! On the other hand, don’t get too attached to that either, because counting the money does not make it grow — work is what makes it grow.
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