Mo 'lyitcs'. Mo problems (but it doesn't have to be)

Web analytics. Social media analytics. SEO analytics. SEM analytics. Social media platform metrics. Click analytics. I'm maxed out on all the 'lytics'! I just have a problem with the whole space of analytics. To preface, each of the companies that give you data is trying to provide you the tools to help you, so my real problem isn't necessarily with the data itself, it's with how we mishandle it. We don't attack data enough with the right questions. Instead, we are hoping that the data will just jump at us quickly and give us the recommendations and insights to help run a successful digital business.

It won't.

Sorry to break it to you whoever recently purchased Adobe Site Catalyst, Google Premium, or installed a multitude of other tags I alluded to above. But the good news is that you don't have to be a data scientist or a certified analyst from the DAA. Here are a few simple best practices you can do to take advantage of today:

1) Develop a plan of measurement: Don't just look at the data without specific business questions related to the vision of your company. That vision should have objectives, tied to specific goals, with quantifiable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you are measuring regularly. The business questions you will start asking will be around vision and will actually lead to something. For more insight on how to set a measurement plan out, please review this amazing post which I refer to all the time by Avinash Kaushik.

2) Spend 80% of the time in the tool, 20% of your money on the tool: The ol' 80/20 rule. You don't have to be an expert, but take some basic online courses either in the analytics academy from Google Analytics, or just YouTube it. Start free, and focus on the time spent on your data looking at the right stuff after you do the first bullet. If you don't have the time yourself, hire or place someone in the role of analyst to spend their time in learning this. No expensive software is going to solve your problems unless you spend time with the data you have and maximize what you can do with that first.

3) Assess your needs for more data: Remember, all the 'lytics' is daunting so before you start getting everything, understand what you need, why you need it, and how you plan to build a cadence around it. Don't install a Facebook pixel or LinkedIn insight tag if you don't plan on advertising or building audiences from them. Save your website's performance if you can. Code additions are best served when there is a need, and when you have a tag manager to implement with.

Conclusion

This was pretty simplistic, but I firmly believe it can be simplistic when it comes to getting wins from your data. You should be asking business questions around the data after you have ensured your vision, objectives, goals, and KPIs have been set up. After you set that up, those questions could lead to deeper analysis in which you need to take the time within the tool to figure out what best to do. This might be you, or you might want to hire someone to be your analyst. Remember, if you buy a large piece of software, you better figure out how to manage it and see the value. If you are in that spot right now, maybe you need an analyst first? Lastly, assess the need for more data only when the time is right. If you see lower traffic from social, but social is killing it in conversion, you might want to add some pixels to your site. Be careful on over adding tracking code - there is always a performance hit when you do it.

I hope you liked this post! I don't blog much here, but I do on degurgitate.com. I'll do more of it on LinkedIn as I see fit. I hope you don't feel 'lytics' fatigue. You control how you use your data, don't let it stress you. Own it.