Growth Metrics Important, But Fundamentals More Crucial

As both a mother and a marketer, it's very easy to get fixated on one metric: growth. I seem to focus on that for my children - two-month-old Sasha (pictured above), four-year-old Colby and six-year-old Joelle - as well as my clients' web sites.

But I have to stop myself every once in a while and say, "Stop looking at the numbers. Is each developing properly?" For example, in the case of my two-month old, is she starting to grab for things, hold her head up, smile, coo, etc. Thankfully, she is doing all those those things. So, theoretically, I should rest easy, knowing that the growth will come.

The same holds true for generating increases in web site traffic. If the site is consistently adding good, keyword-focused content; accruing inbound links with other sites; making experience improvements and receiving mentions in the social/ offline media, then logically, the traffic should increase.

So, while focusing on the metrics is important (and required), it's just as important to look at the fundamentals behind those numbers and keep the faith. If all the right things are happening, then growth will inevitably result.

Technorati Tags: traffic, metrics, keywords, social media

Comments

[betsy yates]

Hi Jennifer,
Too true about patience with development and deliberate keyword usage. Community building takes time.

LOVE the pic of Sasha!

[Harry]

Sasha is adorable and I think the baby analogy is very useful. Often in marketing we forget that we need to crawl before we can walk.

[Melissa Cornwell]

Very true. It is important to focus on development and success within the site, so that the traffic that does come is doing what you expect (i.e. online orders, subscriptions, paying their bill, getting more info.). So many folks look only at traffic and forget to look at how the site is functioning on the whole.