Use Data Or Be Used By Data!

The January 27 issue of Seotistics is here for you!

It was hard to put these concepts into words and connect them to Web Analytics.

Pretty much any job isn't about hard skills alone...

the highest-paid professionals think differently.

I want to show you how to abstract concepts and what is common sense in daily data life.

P.S. Most concepts are similar to the past issue in case you missed it 👀

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That's it, thanks to your votes, I decided which course to work on next.

It will be "Think like a Data Analyst" although the final name may change.

The program will contain:

How to think about problems
Managing a Web Analytics project from a business standpoint
Framework and processes to tackle business problems with web data

If you are an engineer, you will learn about business and how to use data for decisions.

If you are a marketer, you will enhance your knowledge further.

If you are an analyst, you will learn even more!

Those who voted for it will be contacted since I want to ask for their opinion again.

Abstraction

Abstraction is the capacity to consider ideas over events.

If you are dealing with a tough problem, you can abstract it and find similar problems that you faced in the past.

For example, if you are facing content decay on a website you just started analyzing, you probably know some possible causes.

I often face similar problems over and over and this builds up experience to tackle even small variations of them.

You can say this is high-order reasoning and an ability to notice patterns.

Many visualize abstraction as a ladder:

Ladder Of Abstraction In A Nutshell - FourWeekMBA — Source: https://fourweekmba.com/ladder-of-abstraction/

Going up the ladder means focusing on the why rather than the how and focusing on generic concepts.

Zooming in and out is crucial to avoid ignoring the consequences of your work.

Machines can help to some extent but this is a task where a true Analyst can excel.

I was able to solve many problems by abstracting them.

Make them as generic and high-level as possible and only then, consider the details.

Second-Order Thinking

Don't get fooled by quick wins and temporary fixes...

everything has its consequences.

Maybe deleting content from a website brings immediate benefit but can destroy you in the future.

Second-order thinking must be kept in mind to avoid just looking at the first explanation or consequence.

Even the most innocent technical implementation can hide many technical problems later on!

This great book by Annie Duke explains a lot of decision theory concepts you can use to improve your daily life:

Even a simple tree like this can force you to think in terms of cause-effect.

Will my recommended implementation cause collateral damage?

This idea is powerful for technical work and communication.

What are the implications of my work?

Domain Knowledge

This has to be the most praised trait in the industry and yet, not many seem to follow through.

Knowing an industry in and out makes a big difference with Web Data as you will provide actual advice.

You see, a lot of advice I read online tends to be too "generic":

Sell more of this product because GA4 tells us this is what people like
Improve your CTR here
Work on these pages

While all of these recommendations are important, they lack business context.

If you have always worked with publishers, you have developed some experience with how they work.

It'd not make much sense to focus on evergreen content in some cases...

Yes, it's your intuition to see if something is off in the data or doesn't make sense.

Website Models & Questions

Ecommerce and SaaS are completely different and yet, many people online think you can do the same Marketing.

Ehm, not really.

You can specialize in Ecommerce and know absolute zero about publishers (and vice versa).

I can't imagine analyzing a website without knowing how it makes money.

Start from the business questions instead. Check my article on this framework!

This is even more true when auditing content. I still see a lack of focus on WHY the content exists in the first place.

Writing 40 news per day may be vital for a publisher but a B2B SaaS can't go after sheer quantity.

They are playing completely different content games.

You can expand this reasoning and consider asking the right questions before you work on any project:

During the "Analysis" and "Processes" phases, you should tie your results/questions to actions:

Let's say you just discovered people from Bing convert more often than visitors from Google.

Your initial question was to understand whether they convert at all.

Cool, you got your answer... but how are you going to use it now?

Maybe people using Bing belong to a different age range, meaning they like different things...

so you may ask another question now!

The endpoint is reaching an action, something you can act upon.

Designs & Mockups

The stereotypes picture Analytics (and data) as a boring field populated by nerds who are good at Math.

This is far from the truth!

Your artistic skills can find their maximum expression in mockups, which is a rare skill that is essential for communication.

I was taught to create a PPT for everything.

This approach is a time sink and you often end up creating text-riddled presentations.

Instead, go for the visual approach and mesmerize your audience with your creations 👀

It's all Excalidraw, folks! Best SaaS ever!

I used to write text and documentation... but now my stack is literally Tella TV (Loom alternative) and Excalidraw.

That's it!

What Many Get Wrong

Confusing the means with the ends and thinking purely in technical terms.

Stakeholders only care about money and not about how technical you get.

I often review solutions proposed by fellow marketers and analysts and this is an evergreen problem.

Most of the solutions I implement are quite easy but practical.

Dashboards are where you see the most complexity, as many prefer cool and shiny things over value.

Mind you, being visual enough is great.

The problem arises when your entire dashboard is not actionable and based on vanity metrics.

Avoid obsessing over Users, Sessions, Clicks and Impressions.

Leave more room for custom dimensions/events/metrics and categories.

Then, make sure people actually use your solutions.

I always tie dashboards to processes just to be on the safe side.

My Mistakes

In the past I've made several mistakes, that's why I can talk about these topics with first-hand experience!

Once a client complained to me that my output wasn't actionable enough and I started shifting my mindset completely.

After I had more "contacts" with the C-level world and experienced different situations, I noticed that soft skills do matter.

Being geeky and knowing all the interesting trivia won't get any value for the business.

Focus on business immediately and follow the 80/20 rule.

This is the same if you are a marketer, knowing patents or "Semantic SEO" doesn't really bring any business value.

It's how you use this knowledge that makes the difference.

The same goes for superficial Python/SQL knowledge.

While I advocate those skills, you need to go beyond simple technical knowledge.

The final mistake many make is being too siloed.

Nowadays, you can be a specialist while having a broad yet sufficient knowledge of other marketing channels.

The Mainstream

If you follow the mainstream content in pretty much every industry, you will lose sight of what you actually need.

AI, complex topics and innovation aren't needed in most companies.

That's why I am writing this newsletter, to talk about those boring topics that actually make a difference.

For example, in SEO people often focus on the next shiny tool and complex stuff.

In reality, many businesses need strong execution and deeper audience research.

Beyond What The Industry Does

Once you have learned enough hard skills to add value, it's time to focus on what you previously missed.

Most often, having processes, blueprints and documentation skills does the trick.

When you have to onboard a client, they expect a process out of you.

This is where I spend most of my time currently because scaling brings things to the next level.

I've prepared a course for SEO specifically that teaches you all of this + the hard skills you need:

[Analytics For SEO Course - v4]

If you want to be guided and start from scratch, this is the course for you!

You will:

✅ Use GSC and GA4 Data to their fullest potential

✅ Learn Python/SQL for your needs

✅ Get a complete blueprint for auditing websites

✅ Learn how to 10x your productivity

✅ Learn BigQuery to work on large websites

I teach you what's needed to go from 0 to a professional Data Analyst.

Even if you leave SEO, the foundations are the same for other jobs!

Learn Analytics for SEO Now!

The Solution

You can improve like I did back then...

you stop for a moment and start thinking about what you miss.

I've talked to a lot of engineers and the biggest barrier is understanding the business.

My favorite solutions are simple and quick, understandable by many.

I recommend shifting to a data-as-a-product approach and thinking in terms of processes.

If you can build a process from start to end that is used by people, this is already the biggest win you can get.

N.B. Analytics is not only product stuff, this applies after you know which are your problems.

👥 Join Our Community

Our Discord community offers a small place where we can talk business and web data.

If you hate all the noise of social media, then this place is for you.

Join our Discord Community!

🔎 Analytics For SEO Ebook (v8)

If you want to learn about Analytics for SEO and prefer self-study, this is for you!

It will teach you or your employees to:

👉 Prepare audits that make sense and are actionable 🔥

👉 Avoid common pitfalls that cost you money 💸

👉 Create analyses that add value and money💯

👉 Move the needle faster with efficient SEO systems ⏳

This comes with periodical updates to keep the content fresh.

Unlock Powerful Insights Now!

📚 Recommended Reads - Peak Content 🗻

As usual, great material:

My LinkedIn Content:

❗️ Feedback and Recommendations

If you have ideas/recommendations for the next issues of Seotistics, you can simply reply to this email.

Marco Giordano
Data/Web Analyst

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Bernerstrasse Süd 169, Zurich, Switzerland
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