Useful simplification of the analytics nightmare by Brandt Dainow:
"It would be great if we could find a clear set of benchmarks for all industries and all types of websites -- numbers that had been developed scientifically and could be trusted to be objective and accurate. Unfortunately, no one is willing to reveal the key performance indicators for their site. Companies don't reveal their conversion ratios, bounce rates, or sales figures because they believe doing so would help their competitors. They're probably correct....However, I have developed my own set of personal benchmarks. These are general benchmarks for performance I have developed, and which I use to quickly assess a site's overall health at a glance."