Recently, I was featured in an article published on AllAnalytics.com discussing how analytics has improved our online business. While the article was well received, I ended up getting a good amount of questions asking for more specifics on exactly how and what we track for our web store. So, the purpose of this blog post is to point out a few important metrics that we analyze and look at on a regular basis.

First off, I just want to emphasize that analytics is more than just looking at the number of visits or the number of pageviews that your website gets.

Don’t get me wrong, checking your traffic levels is both fun and rewarding but ultimately Analytics is about tracking specific metrics that will allow you to improve both the engagement and conversion rate of your website.
Make Sure You Set Up Ecommerce Tracking
Google Analytics has many ecommerce specific features which …

I just wanted to start this review off by saying that I’m a big fan of Laura Roeder and everything she has accomplished with her online business these past several years. If you’ve never heard of her, you should check out her story by reading her guest post on my blog because she’s got a great story to tell.

And if you don’t feel like reading the entire article, here’s an executive summary. In a nutshell, Laura graduated from college and started out her entrepreneurial career by forming her own web design consulting business.

While this consulting gig was moderately profitable, the main problem with her business model was that she spent so much of her own time looking for new clients and catering to their needs that it became a chore to grow her revenues. After getting fed up with having to scramble for new business day …

Every time I publish an article on entrepreneurship that encourages my readers to start their own business, I find myself tiptoeing across a very fine line. On one hand, starting an online business is simple, relatively risk free and doesn’t require a lot of start up capital. But on the other hand, running a successful business requires a ton of hard work, perseverance and a little bit of luck.

Photo By Mary Anne Thygesen

The problem is that when I emphasize the enormous amount of work that is required to launch a company, I tend to turn people away from starting a business.

However when I emphasize the simplicity, people tend to harbor unrealistic expectations and expect a quick path to riches.

It’s unfortunate, but many would be entrepreneurs choose what business model to pursue based on how “easy” it is to start as opposed to considering the actual probability of success. …