Why Google Analytics is killing your traffic

{a lesson is data vs. relationship}

Did you know that I get 10,000 unique visits per month to one of my sites? Did you know that my email opt-in rate is 80%? Did you know that I sell 50 products a day?

Actually, none of those numbers are true. And you wouldn't care if they were. None of those numbers matter to a customer.

Whether you are building a blog audience or selling a physical product, your customer has to be #1. If you have any chance of succeeding in the online marketplace, you have to care.

Data doesn't care. I’m a nerd so I’m not saying that data doesn't matter. It does. Just not to your customers. I used to get up and check my Google Analytics numbers every day. I would look at them and think, “How can I get more people to read my blog?”

“How can I get more visitors?” is absolutely the wrong question.

The problem is that the question is “me” focused. It is really asking, “How can I get what I want?” If you’re in business and you are focused on getting what you want first, you will soon be looking for an office job.

Google Analytics is a great tool if it is used correctly, but unfortunately many of you (much like me) are using it poorly. Yes, you. I didn't want to admit it either and I’m not telling you this for my benefit, but for yours.

When you use Google Analytics to figure out how to boost your traffic, you've failed. When you realize that Google Analytics is really a tool to better understand your customer’s routines, interests and rhythms, then the true benefit of analytics will hit you in the throat.

Gary Vaynerchuk got this right a long time ago. He realized that online business is just like brick and mortar business, but scales easier. Foundationally it is the same. In general, people want to do business with other people. That friendly greeting and sense that you care is still critical. Building an online business gives you no right to treat a customer as a number… or worse yet… a dollar sign.

Businesses that are number-focused come and go. Businesses that are customer focused are here until they decide to leave.

For the next weeks or months, stop checking your numbers. Spend all of that time figuring out new ways to connect with and wow your customers. Send some personal emails. Do something special. Connect back into the idea of your visitors being real people and treat them that way.

The side effect of connecting with your customers is that you can mix the basic human need for relationship into your everyday business activities. Quite frankly, it just makes things more fun.

I encourage you to give up on analytics for a bit and get back to relationships. I’d love to see you stick around for awhile.