Did you ever walk into one of those old mom-and-pop hardware stores, the sort of place where piles of dusty boxes filled with metal things are stacked from floor to ceiling and nothing's got a label on it?
You walk up to the counter, explain what you're trying to do and the store owner nods, starts bringing down boxes and in no time at all finds exactly the widget you were looking for.
Those people know their business. They've been doing it for years. They know their suppliers, they know the store and they know exactly what their buyers want too.
It takes a long time and a lot of experience to build up knowledge like that. But it's an invaluable thing.
The Internet simply hasn't been around long enough for any online publisher to build up the sort of awareness that comes from doing the same thing for 30 years. But there are plenty of details that every online publisher should know about their website.
You should know what happens to your clickthrough rate when you replace one ad size for another in your content.
You should know what happens to your income when you move an ad unit from one place to another on the page.
You should know which sorts of companies tend to advertise on your site -- and the keywords they're likely to be targeting.
And you should certainly know what interests your readers and what they're looking for on your site.
Some of that information can't be measured. There will be times when you write a post that you think is dynamite and it turns out to be a damp squib. And there will be times too when you'll write an article that you think is nothing special and the views will go through the roof.
But many of these details can be recorded and analyzed.
Before you make a change to your website or your ad optimization, make sure you track your stats closely for a couple of weeks. After you've made the change, follow the stats closely for another couple of weeks.
And record everything.
With a well-kept journal, you might not know everything about your site by heart, but you will know exactly where to look to find out.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
October 16, 2008 10:18 AM
Great stuff Joel!
It's crazy how often lots of marketers will make changes to their site, sales funnel, marketing materials, ads, etc., and assume the changes will improve the results without quantifying it first.
I've made this mistake many times in the past, and when tested the changes and tracked the results, realized I had hurt results. Not improved them.
So, testing and tracking and monitoring numbers is so, so crucial.
Enjoy,
~Todd Brown
http://TheSneakPeekBlog.com
October 17, 2008 12:43 PM
The advent of Web 2.0 business keeps me overwhelmed. Its hard to keep with stumbleupon, friendfeed and twitters. Its a huge task to keep up with it hence its not good.
October 17, 2008 01:54 PM
This is an incredible post, Joel. I love the comparison between a mom and pop hardware store and Web 2.0 businesses. You raise a good point: it is important to make yourself keenly aware of every aspect of your business. Keeping a record, as you suggest, is a great way to do so! Thanks for posting!
October 18, 2008 08:56 PM
Joel is absolutly right. The internet is not old enough so you could know your own business inside out like a mom and pop corner store. I have experience in direct selling weight loss products, and I know when it is generally quiet and when the business is geting very busy, when to rest and when to work around the clock. It has only come from experience and doing the businee for years.
October 19, 2008 12:21 PM
This is a very educated and coherent post indeed!
Nothing is worse than not knowing what your business does and how to run it effectively!
October 27, 2008 08:38 PM
Hai, joel comm. I really appreciate your succesfull life. Just teach me how to be like that.