Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: Google Shows Us the Way
17th October 2009
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Benjamin Disraeli once famously quoted.
This is one of my favourite quotations that I often drop into conversation when I’m presented with a load of stats which may look great at first glance: particularly if presented in a pie-chart or line graph format, but don’t actually tell me anything!
However, in the world of sales and marketing; the use of meaningful stats is a great way to gain the attention of a potential customer, build credibility about your products or perhaps present proof of a particular concept that you’re trying to get across.
I know this to be true, as a recent survey told me that 8 out of 10 cats said so!
Get Online, Get Measuring!
One of the great things when it comes to sales and marketing on the web, is the vast level of statistics that are available to you as a website owner.
Whether it’s the wealth of data your website stats application churns out, through to the click-through-rates your online advertising campaign generates or the efficiency rating that your email marketing campaign monitor software gives you, there’s one thing for sure; you’re never short of a few stats to show you where you’re going right or wrong with a particular strategy. Much of this data if often accessible immediately after a particular event has occurred thanks to the response rates of web servers and monitoring software.
Email Marketing Stats
For example, if I send an email campaign to my list of subscribers; using our email management software; I can tell within a few seconds of the emails landing in people’s in-boxes; who has opened the email, how many times, at which time, which links they clicked in the mail and even which email client they’ve used to read it etc, etc.
Powerful stuff, particularly when trying to refine and measure the success of a particular email marketing campaign.
You don’t get that level of detail using traditional marketing methods such as mail-shots or print advertising.
Google Internet Stats
Google knows how web marketers value a “good statistic” to quote at people; so to help us out, they’ve launched a website that acts like an aggregator of statistical facts it finds across the web.
The Google Internet Stats website was launched on October the first and is described by Google as a ” …a cool new website that can help your business by giving insights into what’s going on online.”
The site offers statistics on the economic environment, consumer behavior and media trends that are happening in the UK.
Yes, you read correctly; “in the UK”! Not the US. Which makes a refreshing change!
So if you’re looking for some stats to bolster up a point you’re trying make either in a presentation, on your website or in an elevator pitch; then take a look at the Google Internet Stats website for some inspiration.
Statistically speaking, you can’t go wrong!
