Glossary
What are vanity metrics?
Vanity metrics are numbers that look impressive but don't help you decide anything or reflect real business progress: total sign-ups, page views, followers, upvotes or backlink counts on their own. Eric Ries contrasted them with actionable metrics that show cause and effect, like conversion and retention by cohort.
Vanity vs actionable
| Vanity | Actionable |
|---|---|
| Total sign-ups | Activation rate by source |
| Launch-day upvotes | Paying customers from the launch |
| Page views | Conversion rate per page |
| Total backlinks | Referring domains from relevant sites |
| Followers | Clicks and replies |
| Directories submitted | Directories that sent customers |
Eric Ries described vanity metrics in The Lean Startup as numbers that make you feel good without informing decisions.
Why they mislead
Totals only go up, so they hide problems. A launch that doubles sign-ups but brings users who never activate isn't progress.
Example
A founder celebrates 2,000 sign-ups from a launch. A cohort view shows 4% activated and 0.5% paid, lower than her directory cohorts. She shifts effort accordingly.
Vanity metrics in SEO
Total backlinks, total indexed pages and impressions alone can all be vanity metrics. Referring domains from relevant sites, clicks to pages that convert, and sign-ups from organic search are the actionable versions.
FAQ
Are upvotes a vanity metric?
On their own, yes. They matter for placement, not for business results.
Should I stop tracking vanity metrics?
Track them if useful, but decide with actionable ones.
What's an actionable metric?
One that shows cause and effect and guides a decision, often by cohort or source.
Are impressions a vanity metric?
Alone, partly; with clicks and conversions they become useful.