You're tracking too many metrics

Everyone wants perfect attribution.
But in 2025, that’s a fantasy.

I bought an AI robot vacuum last week. It does everything you would expect a smart vacuum to do, including mapping out your entire home and picking up every crumb.

But here’s the most revolutionary aspect:

I didn’t see an ad.
Didn’t search on Google.
Didn’t get retargeted.

Here’s what happened instead:

→ I saw a tweet.
→ I read a review on Wired.
→ I went to the site and Apple Pay’ed it.
→ I told all my friends about it before it even arrived.
→ Neil Patel bought one too after hearing me, his brother-in-law, and even Tobi from Shopify talk about it.

This exact same conversation has happened with chocolate chip cookies. Skincare. Business tools. You name it.

So here’s the obvious question:
How do you track word-of-mouth marketing?

Answer:
You don’t.

And if you're wasting time trying to obsessively track every click and conversion, you're playing a losing game.

I’ve been there. Early in my career, I tracked everything. Pixels on pixels. Click maps. Funnels inside of funnels.

At some point, the returns began to drop off.
More tracking didn’t mean more ROI. It meant more stress—and more paralysis.

Today?
I focus on the controllables.

→ Build great content.
→ Stay consistent.
→ Show up in multiple channels.
→ Create experiences that are worth talking about.

Yes, you should track what matters.
But don’t mistake attribution for impact.

The more you try to control everything, the more you lose sight of what actually works.

To letting go of what doesn’t matter,
Eric Siu

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