What to Track Weekly (and What to Ignore)

More data doesn't mean better decisions. Most people track too many metrics and end up overwhelmed, paralyzed, or chasing the wrong things.

The goal isn't maximum visibility into your analytics. It's maximum clarity about what's working and what needs to change.

The following sections cover what actually deserves your attention weekly and what you should deliberately ignore.

The Five Metrics That Matter

Track these weekly. That's it. Everything else is noise.

1. Engagement Rate

Formula: (Likes + Replies + Retweets + Quote Tweets) / Impressions × 100

What it tells you: Whether your content resonates with whoever sees it.

Benchmarks range from below 0.5% (content not connecting), through 0.5-1% (average), to 1-3% (good) and above 3% (excellent). For detailed benchmarks by account size, see what counts as good engagement. Engagement rate shows content quality independent of reach. A post that gets 100 impressions with 5% engagement is better content than a post with 10,000 impressions and 0.3% engagement.

2. Profile Visits

What it tells you: Whether people are curious enough about you to investigate.

Why it matters: Profile visits bridge the gap between "saw your content" and "followed you." Low profile visits with high engagement suggests your content is good but doesn't make people curious about YOU. If this is your situation, learn how to diagnose and fix low profile visits.

Track: Total weekly visits and trend direction (up/down/flat).

3. Net Follower Growth

Formula: New Followers - Unfollows = Net Change

What it tells you: Whether you're building an audience.

Why it matters: Raw follower count is less useful than the trend. Are you gaining more than you're losing? Is the rate increasing or decreasing?

Track: Weekly net change and growth rate percentage.

4. Reply Ratio

Formula: Replies Received / Total Engagements × 100

What it tells you: Whether you're creating conversation, not just passive consumption.

Why it matters: The algorithm heavily weights replies. Content that generates conversation gets dramatically more reach than content that just gets likes.

Benchmarks run from below 1% (content not conversational) through 1-5% (average) to 5-15% (good) and above 15% (excellent).

5. Top Post Analysis

This metric tells you what is actually working for your account. Each week, identify your top three posts by engagement rate and note the format (text, image, video, or thread), the topic or theme, the hook used, the posting time, and any patterns you notice. Patterns in your top performers tell you more than any benchmark study.

What to Deliberately Ignore

Impressions (As a Primary Metric)

Impressions are too volatile and too easily gamed. They fluctuate wildly based on algorithm changes, timing, and trending topics.

Impressions are useful as a denominator (for calculating engagement rate) but misleading as a standalone goal. Chasing impressions often leads to clickbait and audience mismatch.

Follower Count (Absolute Number)

Your follower count is a lagging indicator of past activity. It tells you nothing about current performance or future trajectory.

Growth RATE matters. Whether you have 500 or 50,000 followers, what matters is whether the number is increasing.

Individual Post Performance

One post going viral doesn't mean your strategy is working. One post flopping doesn't mean it's broken.

Single data points are noise. Patterns across 10+ posts are signal.

Comparison to Other Accounts

Someone else's engagement rate, impressions, or growth is irrelevant to your situation. They have different audiences, different content, different histories.

Compare yourself to yourself. Is this week better than last week? Is this month better than last month?

Vanity Metrics

Raw like counts without context, retweet totals without engagement rate, impressions on a single post, and follower milestones all feel good but do not drive decisions.

The Weekly Review Ritual

Set aside 15-20 minutes on the same day each week. Sunday evening or Monday morning works well.

Step 1: Gather Data (5 minutes)

Pull your five key metrics: engagement rate as a weekly average, total profile visits, net follower growth calculated as new followers minus unfollows, reply ratio estimated from top posts, and your three top performing posts.

Step 2: Compare to Last Week (3 minutes)

For each metric, note the direction (up, down, or flat), the magnitude of change as a percentage, and any surprises.

Step 3: Identify Patterns (5 minutes)

Look at your top performers and ask what they have in common. Did they share a hook type? Were they on similar topics? Did timing matter? Then examine your underperformers with the same scrutiny. What did not work, and are there common threads?

Step 4: Set One Focus (2 minutes)

Based on your analysis, identify one thing to emphasize next week. This could be a hook style that worked, a topic to double down on, a timing to test more, or an engagement pattern to repeat. One focus prevents overwhelm.

Step 5: Document (5 minutes)

Write a brief note covering your key metrics this week, what worked, what did not, and your focus for next week. This creates a record you can reference over time.

The Monthly Zoom Out

Once a month, spend 30 minutes reviewing four weeks of data. Ask yourself whether engagement rate is trending up, down, or flat. Consider whether profile visits are converting to followers. Identify which content themes performed best overall and what experiments you should run next month. Monthly reviews catch trends that weekly reviews miss.

When to Dig Deeper

Trigger deeper analysis when:

Engagement rate drops 30%+ for two weeks straight. Something changed,figure out what.

Profile visits drop while engagement stays stable. Your content is resonating but not making people curious about you.

Follower growth stalls despite good engagement. You may have a profile or bio problem. Review the profile optimization checklist.

One post dramatically outperforms. Study it carefully,what can you replicate?

These triggers prompt investigation beyond your standard review.

Building Your Tracking System

Simple Spreadsheet

Create a Google Sheet with:

Column A: Week
Column B: Engagement Rate
Column C: Profile Visits
Column D: Net Followers
Column E: Reply Ratio
Column F: Top Post Summary
Column G: Notes/Insights

Fill it weekly. Review monthly.

Notion Database

If you prefer Notion:

Create a database with those same properties
Add a weekly template
Include a chart view for trends

Paper Option

A notebook works fine:

Weekly page with metrics
Space for top performers
Section for insights

The tool matters less than the consistency.

The Trap of Over-Tracking

More metrics is not better. It is worse. Signs you are over-tracking include analytics reviews that take more than 30 minutes, tracking 10 or more metrics weekly, feeling anxious about numbers, and being data-rich but insight-poor. The cure is to ruthlessly cut and return to the five essential metrics.

Connecting Metrics to Action

Tracking is pointless without action. For each weekly review, translate insights into behavior.

If engagement rate dropped, review your hooks and content quality, and test new formats. If profile visits dropped, add more personality to your content and share more personal perspective. If reply ratio dropped, ask more questions and post more conversation-starting content. If follower growth stalled, increase engagement with larger accounts and audit your bio and profile.

Every metric trend should connect to a specific behavior change.

The Bottom Line

Track five things weekly: engagement rate, profile visits, net follower growth, reply ratio, and top post patterns. Ignore everything else. Review for 15-20 minutes weekly, zoom out monthly, and connect insights to actions. Less data, more clarity, better decisions.