The Useful Metrics Blog

Version 1.0

Hello, world!

Today marks our first public release of Useful Metrics, our web analytics platform for web designers and their clients. It’s great to be here.

In this post, I’ll introduce Useful Metrics: the ideas behind it, the product itself, and what it can do for you.

Without further ado.

Another web analytics app?

Good question. There are already plenty of web analytics services out there. But most are variations on the same idea. They compete on number of metrics measured, or most insidious tracking method¹, or greatest number of interface elements jammed on to one screen… but I digress.

Useful Metrics takes a different approach to web analytics. Like a breath of fresh air. We started with a blank canvas and imagined what web analytics for small businesses could be. Then built it.

We provide you - web designers and developers - with Useful Metrics, to bundle up with the websites you build for your small business clients. They’ll get an easy-to-use web analytics system, already set up and integrated with their site and its key performance indicators like sign ups, contact form submissions and purchases.

They can discover how effectively their website is working for them and, perhaps with your help, how to make the most out of their investment in online marketing.

Why should I care?

There are some great benefits to bundling web analytics with the websites you build.

Have you ever launched a website for a client only to have them leave it to fall by the wayside? Not driven or marketed, just plonked online under the assumption visitors will flood in by themselves?

By providing Useful Metrics, you give your clients the tools they need to get right behind the website you build for them, with fresh content and proper marketing. They’ll get more out of the sites you build - and they’ll thank you for it!

With Useful Metrics, you get access to your clients’ data too. You can use Useful Metrics to provide analytics-backed services to your clients for the lifetime of their website. For instance, you could look at a client’s stats and make tweaks to their site based on how people have been using it - rejig the site’s navigation, make the important call to action stand out a bit more or change up the checkout flow to get more purchases. And your clients will ‘get’ web analytics so they’ll appreciate the value of what you can offer them.

Useful Metrics is fully white-label. You can easily add your own look and feel to the app with some standard CSS. A tightly integrated web analytics system with your name on it is a great unique selling point for your business. Mention your awesome analytics integration and you’ll stand out amongst other freelancers and agencies who are competing for that job.

You can pass the cost of Useful Metrics on to your clients. Useful Metrics plans are available for developers with all numbers of tracked sites. Your first two sites are free - try Useful Metrics on your own site and on a client’s, on us.

We’ve set up Useful Metrics to present the data your clients need, in the clearest way possible. Of course, this is our first release. So we’ll be refining the data we display and the presentation we use over the coming weeks, months and years.

Coming soon!

There’s more new stuff coming soon:

Filtering

Filter your data on-the-fly for powerful analysis. See how someone who is going to buy from you behaves. (This just missed the first version - coming very soon!)

Whiter label

We’re going to move client login to a generic domain name, for that extra white new t-shirt feel.

Even better performance

A little tweaking here and there will provide an even snappier Useful Metrics experience for your clients. Vroom!

The end bit

So, our first release! We’re excited to push to production what we’ve been working on for the last few months.

I’m very proud of what we’ve done with Useful Metrics. By re-imagining what an analytics product should be, not afraid to come up with a different answer than other products out there, I think we’ve built something pretty awesome - that you and your clients will love to use!

Start a 30 day unlimited free trial here: http://usefulmetrics.com/signup.html - you’re looking at a time investment of about 5 minutes to sign up and start tracking one of your sites.

Thanks for reading! If you’d like to get in touch, my email address is alec@usefulmetrics.com.

And a cliché to close:

I hope you enjoy using Useful Metrics as much as we’ve enjoyed building it!

- Alec