Setting Up Your Growth Tracking Stack
You can't run a test-and-measure loop without a minimal tracking setup. This reading covers what's actually necessary before you start.
Define Your One North-Star Event
Pick one event that represents real value delivered — not a vanity metric like page views. Every experiment in this course gets measured against movement in that one event.
Attribution Doesn't Need to Be Perfect on Day One
Trying to build a perfect multi-touch attribution model before running any experiments is a common way to stall for months. Start with last-touch attribution and improve it as you learn where it misleads you.
Separate Acquisition Data From Product Data
Keep your channel-level spend and click data separate from your in-product behavior data, but make sure they can be joined by a shared user ID. You'll need both to see the full funnel.
Practical Review Checklist
Before moving on, confirm that you can:
- State the primary objective in one clear sentence
- Identify the assumptions that still need evidence
- Choose a small set of meaningful success measures
- Explain the process to another person without hidden steps
- Record what should be reviewed during the next iteration
Conclusion
A simple, honest tracking setup beats an elaborate one nobody trusts. Get the north-star event and the join key right first — everything else can be improved later.