Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Two Exciting Statistics

Here are two facts suggesting that baby Linkspank (still under 1,000 users) has a bright future:
  1. 91% of linkspank's registered users have visited the site within the last 30 days.
  2. Since March, the average number of (linkspank.com domain) page views has been 10 page views / visit.
Interpreting the Numbers

Note that the 2nd metric does not include clicks to spanks - which is obviously the heart & soul of the site. So many a user visits his inbox, clicks ten or so links, and leaves rather happy, with only 2 page views.

It's exactly for this reason that I believe most people put too much emphasis on the "page views / visit" metric. The same people who obsess over this metric also (correctly) set the goal of letting a user do whatever he's trying to do with a minimum number of clicks.

The same applies even to page visits. Plenty of people out there visit myspace exclusively now for the purpose of viewing friend requests by spam bots. Even when you visit a site for a more legitimate reason (approving a linkedin request or seeing something written on your facebook wall) you may have slightly mixed feelings about being there.

By cross-checking with other metrics we can infer a lot about user happiness - but it's a sophisticated line of reasoning which is always left out in the metrics comparison game.

Another Sweet Statistic

Here's another great number: the "average spanker" has sent 5 invitations to the site. Now, the distribution is skewed (plenty of people have not invited anyone, while a few people have invited lots of friends) but this is a good indication that someone likes the site. After all, it's tough to get someone to invite friends to a site he doesn't like :-).

Conclusion: people who try linkspank like it well enough to keep using it. We just need to get the word out and get people trying the site...