It is surprising how often these "simple" things come up."What is the difference between a metric and a key performance indicator (KPI)?""What is a dimension in analytics?""What is segmentation?""Are goals metrics?"And many more.There seems to be genuine confusion about the simplest, most foundational, parts of web metrics / analytics. So in this short post let's try and see if we can fix this really basic problem.
There are more mistruths and F U D about Web analytics out there than I think is reasonable.Part of it fueled by Vendors. What a competitive bunch! Part of it fueled by some Consultants. I suppose the rational is: self preservation before all else.Part of it is fueled by a vocal minority genuinely upset that 10 years on we are still not a statistically powered bunch doing complicated analysis that is shifting paradigms. They generally feel it is beneath them to use a standard tool, they push a utopian world that is hard for anyone to accomplish, including themselves, even after spending a minor fortune.
