Use Data Or Be Used By Data!

The August 5 issue of Seotistics is here for you!

Data is cool but what about decisions?

In the end, we use data to make decisions and it's all about what we do later.

In this issue, I will show you some practical concepts of Decision Science to improve your daily tasks.

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🎉🎉🎉 Seotistics Gets Bigger 🎉🎉🎉

Not only SEO but Seotistics will have a major focus on all things Web Data.

As you know, I also cover related topics like strategy, learning and decision making...

so it's not a major change but you will see more content that is related to Analytics/Marketing and not SEO alone.

Many SEOs are moving towards omnichannel anyway so this is YOUR chance.

I am open to feedback and suggestions, so you can reply to this email with recommendations if you want me to cover specific topics.

P.S. If you want to showcase your experience with Seotistics, you can write me and I will feature you in the next newsletters.

What you learned or how you used your data knowledge.

Some Definitions

We can define Decision Science as the discipline involved in studying how to make decisions with the information available.

As you can guess, Psychology plays an important role in decision-making.

People aren't rational and often act based on emotion, so it's a bad idea to use purely logical motivations.

Convincing stakeholders is often seen as a cold activity where you have to gather data and show objective proof.

People are all but rational!
Source: https://fourweekmba.com/bounded-rationality/

Anyone with some job experience knows that hard skills aren't all...

actually, soft skills are what get you through.

Despite that, knowing some models that guide you toward better decisions has never hurt anyone.

Simple Models/Charts

I often mention the book "How to Decide" because it's simple and versatile.

Really, it's one of those books you must own and reread once in a while.

Decision Tree

This is the simplest and most intuitive model of them all.

Example from https://www.tosummarise.com/detailed-summary-how-to-decide-by-annie-duke/ taken from the original books by Annie Duke.

You can use it for your life and when weighing different alternatives.

This is a good exercise to do when planning content or thinking about the consequences of pruning some pages.

There are many variants and the one above is just one specific case where you list potential outcomes.

Pugh Matrix

I recommend all of my friends use matrices and tables when they have to evaluate alternatives because they are simple and intuitive.

You have multiple criteria that you can use to evaluate a solution and then assign some weights.

The alternative with the best score gets implemented.

Pugh Matrix Example — Source: https://citoolkit.com/articles/pugh-matrix/

You don't need to go that far, as in the example above...

you can even avoid using negative numbers.

The key is having some weights with which to evaluate alternatives and then pick one.

Deciding Before The Data

The most important advice is to decide before you even see the data.

Many people look at the data in search of what they want to validate.

This is a dangerous approach and that's why you formulate hypotheses and assumptions before you look at the data.

If you don't, you will be affected by confirmation bias and probably focus on what you want to focus on.

But that's not all, you should decide in advance and choose a default action.

What would I do in the absence of data?

Let's say you don't have access to GA4/GSC... how would you decide which pages to keep?

I know, it sounds strange but the idea here is to have a reason to use data.

If you spend 10 hours on data and then make the same decision, you have wasted time.

Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases hinder our rationality and are one of the most common and sneakiest causes of bad decisions.

For more info on biases, you can consult this article by Giulia Panozzo.

Confirmation bias -> How often do you check information from people you hate?

Do you usually search for sources that validate your opinions?

If yes, congrats, you have experienced confirmation bias like many of us!

This is one of the most common project killers.

You spend time on data just to look for what validates your ideas and ignore all the rest.

It's your duty to prevent this from happening, although I can't say that many agencies don't abuse that...

Hindsight bias -> I knew Google would have done that! No, you don't lol

It happens when people say they knew it all along after the outcome is already known.

You can say it's overestimating one's abilities.

This isn't as dangerous as the previous ones but it's still pesky.

How Does This Fit?

Before we get into processes, we need to make decisions.

Everything in life can be considered a decision and if you work in Marketing, you will face many decisions.

Pen and paper are your best friends when sketching ideas and possible scenarios.

Try decision trees and Pugh matrices before important decisions and think about the possible consequences.

Actual decision science is more complex but I don't think it's really needed for the majority of Web Analytics use cases.

If you know your industry, you already have the answer.

Mental models and simplifications can help you though:

This picture above is a simplification of reality, a way to avoid thinking over and over and get some references.

This simple 2x2 chart shows 4 quadrants to label solutions.

Acquiring A Domain

Back in the old pre-HCU days, purchasing aged domains was cool and trendy.

Now the question is: shall I buy or not?

As my most loyal readers know, I have developed a series of measures to evaluate the attractiveness of a domain.

Many pages here are getting enough clicks, although it's clear that the majority gets less than 500 clicks each. Still, a good domain but you need to dig deeper!

But numbers aren't enough to evaluate a domain, so I also check:

other channels
presence of products
if the content is written well

The idea is to reduce the risk of a domain and think about potential solutions BEFORE you spend money.

But remember, sometimes your hunch can tell you to do it anyway...

and even your clients may not listen to you. This is also part of the game.

So data is your input but not the only thing to consider!

If you want to learn all of this and even get personal advice, my course is the ideal:

[Analytics For SEO Course - v2]

If you want to be guided and start from scratch, this is the course for you!

A lot more about decision science will be added later on ;)

You will:

✅ Use GSC and GA4 Data to their fullest potential

✅ Learn Python/R/SQL for your needs

✅ Get a complete blueprint for auditing websites

✅ Learn how to 10x your productivity

✅ Learn BigQuery to work on large websites

I teach you what's needed to go from 0 to a professional Data Analyst.

Even if you leave SEO, the foundations are the same for other jobs!

P.S. New content will be added this week, been super busy.

P.P.S. (Ab)use the referral system and get additional discounts 👀

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Connecting The Dots

Decision Science is related to Strategy which is also related to Data.

All of this knowledge is part of the same puzzle that eventually leads to taking the correct actions.

Seotistics teaches you that data alone isn't enough and you also need some more context to make your best decisions.

That's because data per isn't objective, we humans define how to measure it.

100% accuracy is a utopia and you should explain to your clients that it's not achievable or useful.

An Important Lesson

As mentioned at the beginning of this issue, quantitative methods won't give you the best results.

Humans don't think in terms of models or rationality, so be sure to consider qualitative data too.

If you work in a corporation, office politics is 99% of the game and it will lead you to better decisions.

As a solo consultant, being likable plays a huge role because you are not chosen just for your skills.

When handling big projects, there are secondary interests to get more credit or budget, so you have to understand the social dynamics.

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