I’ll calmly explain how to understand if your Telegram channel, bot, or chat is moving in the right direction. No complex systems or buzzwords, just convenient steps you can check every week.
I’ll share what works for me and my acquaintances in Ukraine. I’ll show you which metrics to watch, how to link Telegram with your website and ads, and how not to drown in numbers.
The Short Answer
Start with a simple spreadsheet and 3-5 metrics: subscribers, post views, link clicks, goal completions, unsubscribes. Update it weekly, do a quick review of what worked and what you’re changing in the next cycle. To understand traffic sources, use short links and UTM tags, and for bots – the start parameter. This is enough to see progress without complex tools.
How to Track Telegram Project Progress Without Complex Tools
Create One Simple Spreadsheet
A regular Google Sheets usually helps: dates by week, next to them key metrics. For channels: subscribers, views, clicks, engagement. For bots: conversations, completed scenarios, support requests. For chats: member growth, active messages, replies to pinned posts.
I’ve noticed that when all the numbers are on one screen, there’s less temptation to dive into new services and more focus on the essence. You can make a sheet for each workstream: content, promo, support.
Set a Review Rhythm
In my opinion, once a week is better. Update the numbers on Friday, do a quick review on Monday: what worked, what to try differently. If numbers jump due to ads, mark in the spreadsheet when campaigns were running.
Many face the fact that daily checks only cause anxiety. A weekly rhythm keeps a finger on the pulse but doesn’t break the plan.
A Short Story
A friend had this: a channel with 3,000 subscribers, he checked the stats daily and worried. We switched to weekly snapshots, added a “what I tried in content” column. After a month, it became clear that long posts got fewer clicks, while carousels with brief takeaways got more. The solution came from calm observation, not panic.
What and Where to Look in Telegram: Channels, Bots, and Chats
Channels: What’s Important and Where to See It
In channels, I’d watch four things: subscriber growth, views per post, link clicks, unsubscribes. Telegram’s built-in stats in the admin panel show subscribers and views. It’s important to watch the median views over 7 days, not single spikes. If your feed has UTM links, clicks are easily counted via short links like Bitly or through your CMS.
Official channel info can be found on telegram.org/faq in the channel statistics section.
Bots: The start Tag and a Simple Funnel
For bots, Telegram provides a convenient start parameter: t.me/yourbot?start=source. You can see where a person came from. Then we track key steps: conversation start, chosen scenario, request completion or payment. Logs can be written to Google Sheets via webhook or exported from your platform. Bot API documentation is at core.telegram.org/bots/api.
Most often it works like this: 3-5 steps in the funnel, and at each step you note the numbers and completion rate. This is already enough to understand where the audience drops off.
Chats: Activity Without Overload
In chats, I’d focus on three things: new members, active members per week, and replies to important messages. Don’t chase the total message count – it’s easily inflated by flood. Better to watch the share of people who replied to a pin or participated in a poll.
How to Link Telegram with Your Website and Ads
UTM Tags Without Fanaticism
UTM tags help understand where a person came to the site from. In a post, add a link with utm_source=telegram and utm_campaign=campaign-name. In Google Analytics 4, this turns into understandable channel reports. The main thing is not to create dozens of tags. Two or three fields are enough.
GA4 help can be read at support.google.com/analytics. If you don’t have a website, you can simply use short links to see clicks per post.
Short Links and QR Codes
Short links indicatively show clicks. It’s convenient to make a separate short link for each category or promotion. If you have offline points, put a QR code with UTM – that way you’ll understand it’s working. It’s important to check that the QR leads exactly where it should, without redirects to nowhere.
GA4 and a Simple Event Table
If you have GA4, set up events for requests, payments, or requests via microforms. Then you’ll see not just clicks from Telegram, but conversions. I once had a situation: clicks from the channel were lower than from social media, but requests were higher. Without events, this would have gone unnoticed.
Progress Signals You Can Rely On
Intermediate Metrics That Don’t Lie
A combination is useful: post reach, link clicks, conversion to goal action. For a bot – the share of completed scenarios. For a chat – the share of active members. These numbers show dynamics, even if final sales are seasonal.
7-14 Day Feedback Cycle
Most often, 7-14 days is enough to test a hypothesis: a new post format, a new landing page, a new bot script. If there’s no movement in intermediate metrics after two weeks, you need to change the approach, not wait for a miracle.
When to Stop and Reassemble
It’s useful to write down a stop criterion in advance: for example, if views and clicks fall for 3 consecutive weeks – pause and reassemble the content or offer. This removes extra emotions and provides a calm process.
How to Track Telegram Project Progress in a Team
One Screen for Everyone
Build one dashboard in Notion or Google Sheets. On the first screen – key weekly metrics, a list of experiments, and results. You can connect Looker Studio if you want graphs, but it’s not mandatory.
Who Updates and When
Assign one person to update the numbers every Friday. Others add comments: which posts went out, what ads were running, what was considered for the next cycle. A 15-minute call is enough to sync up.
Mini Retro on Fridays
Three questions: what worked, what didn’t work, what we’re trying. Short and to the point. I’ve noticed this format disciplines better than long reports.
Typical Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Chasing Views
Views are important, but without clicks and requests they don’t mean much. Maintain balance: reach, clicks, goal actions. If views drop but requests grow, you’re still on the right path.
Comparing Incomparable Things
Don’t compare carousels with long articles by the same metric. Different formats have different goals. Compare like with like for the same periods.
Not Accounting for Ad Influence
Ads cause spikes. Mark the dates and sources so you don’t get surprised later. If you have retargeting from the site, account for conversion delay.
Quick Reference Table
Metric | Where to Look | How Often | Comment
Channel subscribers | Channel Statistics | Once a week | Watch growth and unsubscribes separately
Post views | Channel Statistics | Once a week | Watch the median over 7 days
Link clicks | Short links or GA4 | Once a week | Make separate links for categories
Bot dialogues | Bot logs or Sheets | Once a week | start tag shows the source
Website conversions | GA4 | Once a week | Events: request, payment, subscription
Chat activity | Manual snapshot | Once a week | Share of active members over 7 days
Basic Setup Checklist
- Define 1-2 project goals: subscribers, requests, sales.
- Choose 3-5 metrics that lead to these goals.
- Create one spreadsheet in Google Sheets with weekly snapshots.
- Create short links with clear source names.
- For the bot use t.me/bot?start=source and log steps.
- Set up events in GA4 for the website’s goal actions.
- Establish a rhythm: update numbers on Fridays, review on Mondays.
- Set stop criteria and a list of hypotheses for the next cycle.
A Short Story From a Reader
How Tags Saved the Budget
A reader wrote that they were running ads to a Telegram channel, but requests were few. They added UTM and different short links for three creatives. It turned out one creative gave three times fewer clicks and zero requests. They turned it off in the second week, the budget went to more working options, and the numbers came alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a complex CRM to count requests from Telegram?
Not necessarily. At the start, a spreadsheet and GA4 are enough. When you start hitting manual labor, then it makes sense to connect CRM and integrations.
How to understand if a post has normal views?
Watch the median of views over 7 days and compare posts of the same formats. If the median grows for 2-3 consecutive weeks, you’re on the right track.
Can I count traffic sources in a channel without a website?
Yes, via different short links to the same resource. By clicks, you can see what worked better.
If the channel is small, metrics jump around. Is that normal?
Yes. With small numbers, the “noise” is higher. Draw conclusions over 2-4 weeks and watch the trend, not one post.
What to do if Telegram statistics are not available?
Some metrics are only available to channels of a certain size. In that case, rely on clicks via short links and on GA4.
Key Takeaways from the Article
- One screen, a weekly rhythm, and 3-5 metrics cover 80 percent of tasks.
- Linking Telegram and the website via UTM and events in GA4 shows the real value of content.
- Sources are important, but intermediate metrics and a stable check cycle are more important.
- Without tool overload, it’s easier to make decisions and stay calm.
Links to Save
Telegram FAQ on channels and statistics: telegram.org/faq
Telegram Bot API documentation: core.telegram.org/bots/api
Google Analytics 4 Help Center: support.google.com/analytics
Final Thoughts
You can start with a simple spreadsheet today and see the first patterns in a week. A calm rhythm, clear metrics, and notes on what you’ve tried – this is really enough for a project to move forward.
If you want – share how it went for you.
Glossary
- Channel – a one-way feed of posts for subscribers.
- Chat – a group conversation where participants communicate.
- Bot – an automated account with commands and scenarios.
- UTM – parameters in a link for determining traffic source.
- Short link – a shortened link for tracking clicks.
- Funnel – a sequence of steps from click to goal.
- Median views – the “middle” value of post views over a period.
- Conversion – the share of people who completed a goal action.
- GA4 – Google Analytics 4, an analytics system for websites and apps.
- Stop criterion – a condition upon which we stop activity and reassess the plan.
