Making metrics fun

I'm sitting innocently at my desk, chowing down on a sarnie from one of Soho's many fine eateries, flicking through the mountain of blog posts stacked up in Google Reader.

I spot a post from a friend who writes the extremely readable, Arse About Fez, the experiences of a Brit re-locating to Turkey. Being a good web-type, he's reviewing his search terms:

"I was just wondering how people are finding the site so I had a look through the stats. One thing the stats do tell me is what people are searching for on google that leads them to this collection of randomness. Don't worry, I don't know who searched for what but some of the things people typed into google simply had to be shared."

It's a good point though, a lot can be learnt from the keywords that are being used to find a website. I've made a note to check out the terms that Chinwag's users are using. I remember not so long ago when our top keyword was "simpsons porn". Nope, no idea either and believe me, I combed the archives.

BIllfed's approach on Arse About Fez is interesting though, he's answered some of the questions that are clearly implied from the keywords, such as:

  • Why did Ataturk ban the fezzes???
  • How do you clear a package from Turkish customs?
  • What do olive trees smell like?
  • Kusadasi prostitution prices?
  • How much for a pint of lager in Kusadasi?

An interesting technique and what a good idea. Definitely something to do for the to do list.

What I'm having more difficulty with, is cleaning the remnants of my sandwich off the screen and keyboard. Read the post and you'll (probably) see what I mean. Still, that's one way to make reports on site metrics readable.

Topic:
11 June 2008 by Sam Michel
Sam Michel

Sam Michel is the founder of Chinwag and blogs here for work, and more randomly at Toodlepip. He runs Chinwag Jobs, Digital Mission and tends to focus on murky place where technology, community and marketing collide. You'll find him on twitter @toodlepip.

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