In today’s data-driven environment, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. Web tracking tools provide so much information that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Web analytics veterans aren’t exempt from common pitfalls, either. For example, it’s not uncommon to fall into a routine of doing things a certain way – even if that way isn’t the best way to get results.

My point is that there’s a lot of room to make mistakes in web analytics, even for seasoned marketers. And in today’s economy – with ROI and efficiency at a premium – it’s crucial that we make the most out of every campaign and analysis.

So with that in mind, here are five common analytics traps you should be aware of:

1. Pulling Numbers, But Ignoring Trends:
   It’s fairly simple to pull data from your web analytics tool and report on Top 5 or Top 10 lists. But don’t solely rely on lists that come from standard reports – sure, they’re good to know, but so what? Actionable insights come from trending the data. For example, if you want to report on visits year-to-date, don’t simply go to the Traffic Summary report and click 2009 on your calendar. Customize a visits report by displaying months of the year and use that handy-dandy comparative calendar to indicate positive or negative changes year over year.

   Trending is very powerful because it not only enables you to see movement in your data but helps identify your top movers. By indicating the top percentage increases or decreases in your data, you become aware of what really needs your attention. Your efforts won’t become siloed and wasted only on the “Top 5” (which, let’s face it, hardly change anyway). If you have straight out data and no variance calculations, you lose an incredible amount of insight—you don’t see the true story behind the numbers, which translates into money wasted and time lost on meaningless information.
   
   

2. Paying Attention to Big Players, But Ignoring the Little Guys:

   People often fall into the trap of focusing only on the big players, since that’s where 90% of the activity and volume are. But ignoring the long tail can be very dangerous and risky – smaller players aren’t worthless, and the last thing you need is missed opportunities and misallocated resources.

   Consider pulling up conversion rates of different search engines; you might be surprised to learn that Google isn’t the highest converting one. Similarly, take a close look at your top visiting countries; the highest order values may not necessarily have come from the United States, but instead from other countries you hadn’t considered previously.
   
   

3. Looking Only at the Top Conversion Metric of Your Site:

   It’s a far too common mistake: Diverting most of your attention to the most revenue-driven metric of your site (i.e. an order, booking or a sale). However, in order to completely measure the success of your site, you need to look at smaller conversion metrics as well. Success can come from numerous sources, including form views, video views, engagement with particular areas of the site, bookmark/share this features, downloads, contact us links – basically any conversion point that can influence and lead to a final sale. Measuring these other conversion points provides the insights you need to better direct your marketing campaigns and optimization efforts, making sure you only spend money where results are proven.
   
   

4. Obsessing Over the Homepage:
   Homepages are the celebrities of the website world, constantly hyped and showered with attention. But while the homepage is often one of the most visited pages of your site, it’s no longer the door all customers enter through. Visitors are now able to access your site through multiple entry points, and these entry points need just as much attention as your homepage.

   Make sure each of these entry points include important calls-to-action. After all, what good is it if you spend all your time and money building a fabulous homepage that nobody sees? More importantly, what will happen to potential customers who enter your site through a different page? Chances are they’ll bounce and fail to convert, leaving you with no sales and plenty of lost revenue.
   
   

5. Worrying Over High-Value Metrics That Don’t Always Signal a Problem:

   This always seems to be a problem with web analytics – being so focused on the numbers that you forget to take a step back and see the big picture. Your web tracking tool will spit out a ton of data, but it’s your job to make sense of it all and translate the numbers into a story that can eventually develop into recommendations.

   For example, high exit rates don’t always signal a bad thing – it can actually be an indicator that visitors accomplished what they came to do on your site (confirmation pages, survey pages, contact us pages, or pages with store hours or driving directions are examples of where this could occur). So, don’t overreact to false alarms; instead, take the time you need to uncover the real story behind your data. The insights you glean will help hold your marketing dollars accountable and prevent you from pouring resources into “problems” that don’t actually need to be fixed.
   
   

The next time you find yourself staring at your web analytics data, remind yourself of these five common traps. Your analytics should be an asset, a solution that helps you save money and better direct campaigns and strategies, not a pitfall that unknowingly saps your resources. Time and money can seem like they’re in short supply, but knowing where to look and how to perform your analysis will make sure you get the most out of your investment.