Vanity Metrics

Vanity metrics are data points that might make you feel good about your business or project. Still, they don't contribute to your bottom line or reflect your business's success in a meaningful or actionable way. They are often used for appearances and don't provide the context needed to make informed decisions. On the contrary, actionable metrics are those that tie to specific business goals or actions and can inform decisions. For example, user engagement (how frequently and intensively users interact with your product), customer acquisition cost (how much it costs you to acquire a new customer), or customer lifetime value (the total revenue you can expect from a single customer throughout their relationship with your business) are often more meaningful, as they can inform your strategy and tactics.