Originally posted at Stickboy Creative, but written by me.

A bullet train is speeding quickly across the terrain, unknown to the dangers only a few miles ahead. In the middle of a long bridge lies Lois Lane, tightly tied to the tracks. At the end of the river span lays a case full of dynamite meant to throw the train and all its passengers down the chasm. Suddenly, with a flash, a red and blue blur zaps past the watchers-by on the train. Superman unties Lois and lands her safely in the plain, then blasts back to toss the dynamite into outer space. The day is saved!

Superman references are fun, and we are a creative design firm with a specialty in web design and development, so I’m going to launch this with a classic. Look in the sky! It’s a bird; it’s a plane; I don’t know what it is and it’s headed this way! Run! Ok, so that’s not the way it happened in the comics. Everybody automatically trusted Superman and the heroes, allowing them whatever freedom they needed to save the day. If only comic books were real life (of course, there might be a world-wide shortage of spandex if that were the case).

Just like the nice, neat wrap-ups that happen in every comic book story, we trust that our marketing pieces are ultimately going to win the day. But do they? Can you trust that? We believe in our heroes not because of spandex outfits and golden lassos, but because data tells us so. Case in point: would you trust a man dressed in a giant black bat costume walking through the shadows of the dark alleyway downtown? If your answer is yes, then I worry you may be under a spell from one of Scarecrow’s poisons.

Of course not! It’s our human nature to mistrust a person or a company until they’ve proven themselves. Building trust takes evidence; data is the answer. Thus, let me ask you this: are you collecting and interpreting data on your website’s success? Do you know how many visitors frequent your website? Where did they come from? How did they find you? Are they bouncing away from your site faster than Mr. Freeze could blanket Gotham City in ice?

If you do not know how to find the answer to these questions, then you cannot turn that data into solutions. All of a sudden you’ve loaded yourself down with kryptonite and don’t have the power to change anything. If you are aware there is no lead shield protecting you, then install Google Analytics for free (http://analytics.google.com) on your site and get yourself saved from the unknown. With knowledge comes power, and with great power comes great responsibility (thanks for the cross-over, Spiderman!). Make your website responsible, even responsive through actively listening to your customers. This is information your website itself can provide.

With this kind of information you will be able to change or adapt to best fit your target base. Do they prefer clicking on organic searches as opposed to paid ads? What should you invest in? Are people spending all of their time on your pricing page researching, but never contacting you? Maybe that means you are being shopped. With the proper information, you can make the changes necessary to ensure your success, both now and down the line.

We all long for that green ring of power, turning every desired thought into reality, but we are not Green Lanterns. There is no guarantee of success, no magical fairy dust that will fill your store to capacity each week. We must collect, analyze, and interpret the data so an informed, powerful decision can be made. We suggest Google Analytics due to the site being free and there being access and help through the site to get yours installed, though there are many services out there. And, as always, if you find yourself surrounded by enemies of confusion with no help in sight, we will be there to rescue you. Just don’t expect me to wear a cape.

Posted from http://www.superman-picture.com/