Online marketing is all about data and numbers – especially since one’s success isn’t always measurable by being in the black numbers only. Website visitors, click patterns, holding times, conversions and many other numeric factors are what’s been analyzed on a regular and often daily basis. What if these data were not accurate though?

Tools such as Google Analytics are essential in order for one to know the behavior patterns of its visitors. Beware that Google Analytics will count also one’s own accesses to the website. Pop Ups can bring misleading data as well, especially if the cancel button would be too small, and whoever tries to click on it would in fact re-load the page.

Among more examples where data aren’t properly recorded or interpreted may be the following:

• not every traffic source is differentiated
• comparing similar time periods that may not be comparable due to seasonal reasons (ex. one in the winter, one in the summer)
• comparing dissimilar traffic sources (ex. social media vs. email marketing)
• and more

So a useful tip is of course to always check what each data really mean, before one takes them at face value.