Track It, See It, Grow It: Using Stats to Keep Your Family Tree Thriving
How measuring progress can fuel your family history journey
What helps you stay motivated to keep working on your family tree? For many genealogists, there are multiple motivators—curiosity, connection, or the thrill of discovery. For me, one key motivator is tracking the numbers.
Of course, the greatest joy is always uncovering the lives of my relatives and the people in their networks. But when I can combine that joy with some measurable data? That’s when my research feels both fun and productive. Perhaps some of my strategies are ones that you can adapt to your own research.
1. Tracking My Monthly Stats
I use RootsMagic as my primary genealogy software, and a feature that I use the heck out of is the ability to create groups. Each person in my database can belong to multiple groups, which makes it simple for me to track progress across different categories.
Here’s some of the ways I use groups to track:
Connections across platforms: I track how many of the profiles I have in the database that are also documented in the FamilySearch Family Tree and on WikiTree.
Source coverage: I track how many of my profiles have specific types of sources added (e.g., Find a Grave memorials, newspaper obits).
Military service: Keeping exact counts of individuals who served in the different branches of the U.S. military, and in which conflicts (e.g., WWII, Vietnam War).
DNA matches: Tracking which profiles are linked to documented DNA matches.
Each month, I update a personal dashboard with these stats. It shows me at a glance how my research is progressing. And the best part? It doesn’t take much time at all. Once you’ve set up your groups, adding people and making updates only takes a few minutes as I move through my genealogy research workflow. Currently, my dashboard is in a spreadsheet, but over the coming months I’ll transition it into my Notion “Second Brain” system where I will be able to create some fun visualizations! Stay tuned to hear more about that…
Tip for you: Think about ways you can establish metrics to help you keep an eye on your family tree research progression.
2. Gamification on WikiTree
Another major motivator for me is WikiTree, an online collaborative family tree. Similar to FamilySearch Family Tree in function, an important and unique distinction is that WikiTree adds a layer of gamification—making genealogy feel like a game, with measurable milestones and rewards.
Here are some of the gamification aspects of WikiTree I enjoy:
CC7 (Connections within 7 degrees): Similar to “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” game, WikiTree shows how many people are connected to you within seven steps - this number is called your CC7. Growing this number becomes an engaging challenge and WikiTree even provides data for you that can can point you toward areas of your tree that need more research.
Badges (what I call “profile bling”): Earn badges for different contributions—just like ribbons at a conference. They’re fun, motivating, and a visible record of your involvement.
Marathon Events: Connect-a-Thon, Source-A-Thon, WikiGames - oh my! These are community-wide events held over the course of a few days where everyone has shared missions that ultimately, help improve the tree. Our stats are shared regularly throughout each event; there are prizes; there are YouTube live chats - it’s a fun time!!
Content Rank: Each profile gets a score (0–10) based on how complete and well-sourced it is. A higher rank means stronger documentation and better visibility in search engines (a.k.a. cousin bait!).
Tree Days: A new metric that shows how many of the past 90 days you’ve been active. Watching this number go up is a great motivator to log in and do a little something each day.
Tip for you: If you haven’t yet set up a WikiTree profile, consider doing so and experimenting. The gamification aspect can give you bursts of motivation you didn’t know you needed!
Why Numbers Work
Numbers give us a tangible way to measure progress. They help us:
See the impact of our work over time.
Celebrate small wins (a new badge, a new CC7 connection, a profile with a higher rank).
Set realistic goals for continued research.
This system has been invaluable for me, but it’s also a model anyone can adapt. Whether you use RootsMagic, WikiTree, or another approach, finding ways to measure your research progress can keep you energized and engaged.
What about you? Do you track your genealogy “stats”? What other motivators keep you going?
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Tips for helping with motivation are useful. I sometimes think I spend so much time learning new programs, new apps, new organizational ideas, that I'm spending too much time on that instead of making advances on my tree. Know what I mean? Plus, I've learned that I didn't do things optimally (the "right" way) so it seems I'm correcting so much information. Does Family Tree Maker have the same ability to set up these metrics as you have done using Roots Magic?
I agree Wikitree's CC7, how many people are connected to you within seven steps, is a great motivator to investigate and fill in your family tree. I also keep track of the number of direct ancestors up to ten generations. I do not review it monthly but every so often look to see what progress I have made in finding and documenting these relatives.