Open Source Business Metrics: Downloads

Metric Description:

Raw downloads: The total raw number of downloads can indicate how your project is growing but should always be taken with a pinch of salt. The risks include redownloads, whether by bots or by real users, which can skew numbers and be misleading if looked at in isolation.

Scrubbed unique downloads: Scrubbed unique downloads are a slight modification on raw downloads and aim to identify the real number of downloads by looking at how many unique companies or users have downloaded your software.

Example Metrics:

• # of raw downloads
• # of unique downloads
• # of first time downloaders
• # of unique sources/organizations downloading

Goals:

You want to keep growing the number of unique and first time downloaders. The more people downloading you have the more potetial users or conversions later on.

External Links

• https://percona.community/podcasts/77-data-collection-download-metrics-and-scarf-percona-database-podcast77-avi-press/
• https://bepress.com/download-counts/
• [Talk - Beyond the Download Count: Understanding Usage of Your Public Containers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEo7JZb3Xpo)
• https://about.scarf.sh/post/direct-downloads-via-scarf-gateway
• https: //about.scarf.sh/post/announcing-scarf-gateway

Example Tools

• Scarf