17 replies
I was having a discussion with a friend the other day regarding Google and how they track your every move.

He told me not to sign into ad-words or stay signed into any Google site because they will know everything your searching, what your doing and so on.

Also he said using Google analytics on your websites is the worst thing you can do as they have every bit of information about your website and decide to penalize for what ever it may be. You don't have to be doing anything wrong now, this could just happen.

It kinda got me thinking they could just decide to hit the switch and knock your sites off for whatever reason that may be.

Is anyone else this paranoid or believe any of this.

What's your thoughts?
#footprint #google
  • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
    Originally Posted by aaronjunited View Post


    He told me not to sign into ad-words or stay signed into any Google site because they will know everything your searching, what your doing and so on.

    That doesn't stop them from being able to know what you're searching. Google can reasonably assume that if you log out of all of their services, subsequent Google searches made under the same IP address and user agent string associated with the accounts you were logged in with will still be you. Your web browser probably already is storing cookies issued by Google anyway.

    If you really care about your search privacy and still want search results like Google gives, you could use https://startpage.com/.

    But, um, yeah. Google isn't stupid. The fact that you're not logged in doesn't mean they aren't able to correlate things such as your IP address with who you are.


    Originally Posted by aaronjunited View Post

    Also he said using Google analytics on your websites is the worst thing you can do as they have every bit of information about your website and decide to penalize for what ever it may be.
    If that's your concern, then don't forget to remove any Adsense ads or +1 button code from your site. Any code you place on your site from Google can be used by them to gain knowledge about your sites traffic.


    Originally Posted by aaronjunited View Post

    Is anyone else this paranoid or believe any of this.
    I don't like Google tracking my every move online and that's why more and more I'm using other search engines. I also use a browser extension to block Google Analytics from loading. The idea that Google wants to store so much information about people kind of wigs me out.

    I do use analytics and adsense though. I don't care too much that they know where my traffic comes from. Most of it comes directly from them, so it's not like there's much they don't know already.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nics
    They're not stupid but they're also not as "all knowing" as many think.

    You could use something like HideMyAss to get around the IP issue.

    I don't use Google Analytics because I'd rather not give Google more information about my site than they're already getting.
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    • Profile picture of the author MichaelNech
      Originally Posted by Nics View Post

      They're not stupid but they're also not as "all knowing" as many think.

      You could use something like HideMyAss to get around the IP issue.

      I don't use Google Analytics because I'd rather not give Google more information about my site than they're already getting.
      When using HideMyAss or similar sites which hide your IP you won't be able to login to quite a number of sites, especially the big ones which in fact prohibit this action (think PayPal for starters).

      Another way Google tracks your moves is through their toolbar, so you might want to deactivate it when browsing the net.

      Mike.
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      • Profile picture of the author Charanjit
        Originally Posted by MichaelNech View Post

        When using HideMyAss or similar sites which hide your IP you won't be able to login to quite a number of sites, especially the big ones which in fact prohibit this action (think PayPal for starters).

        Another way Google tracks your moves is through their toolbar, so you might want to deactivate it when browsing the net.

        Mike.
        Disagree with he whole hide my ass, I have been using hidemyass for the last six months and I can log into paypal and all major sites, only issues you might have is when signing up for accounts i.e Hotmail only allows 10 Hotmail account sign ups from any given email address. So just change ip and try again.

        I stay away from Google analytic's when doing brute force seo, but again sometimes you still get hit. one thing a lot of seo's fail to understand is c-class ip diversification, no point having 20,000 back links from the same site.
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  • Profile picture of the author aaronjunited
    Thanks for info, the info they could get from your site from analytics is worrying, they could decide to slap you for any reason.

    It's actually worry's me lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chrisbroholm
    I think your friend is extremely paranoid. The best example I can think of is AdsenseFlippers who are doing 200 thin sites a month (5 pages of content at most) still put Analytics on them, and haven't experienced any adverse effects.

    Google is not some kind of criminal overlord that will take you down just because you visit the blackhat forums, as long as you follow the rules google couldn't care less with what you search for, what sites you visit and so on.

    I've used analytics and webmaster tools for a while and I've faced no problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Alan
    I recall arguing with many webmasters over Google's Adwords conversion tracker years ago. I told them Google was going to steal their keyword conversion data and go into business for themselves someday selling products and services which is exactly what they are doing now.

    I don't trust their stated motives for anything they do, and you would be wise not to either. The problem is they have 99% of the population snookered into believing they do no wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
      Originally Posted by Mark Alan View Post

      I recall arguing with many webmasters over Google's Adwords conversion tracker years ago. I told them Google was going to steal their keyword conversion data and go into business for themselves someday selling products and services which is exactly what they are doing now.
      It looks like you're suggesting that Google has used their webmaster analytics program to steal everybody's converting keywords and use them to promote their own products. It's obvious that Google is selling their own products, but what evidence do you have that Google has stolen their customers converting keywords to promote Google's products?
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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Alan
        I have no evidence whatsoever. Perhaps steal is the wrong word I am sure it was all perfectly legal buried somewhere in the fine print. It is a matter of common sense that they would use all that conversion data they collected over the years to decide what types of businesses to go into, then to effectively eliminate the trial and error, and finally to gain advantage over competitors (their customers) as they enter that business. It is also a matter of common sense McDonalds doesn't hand out the recipe for their secret sauce to the company that is putting up billboards for them. And that is pretty much exactly what I told my AdWords rep several years ago when he suggested I use the conversion tool.


        Someone else brought their analytics up. If they discover something they don't like about your site through their analytics they will bury you in organic search or if your talking Adwords they will lower the quality score boom on you. What I am suggesting is the underlying reason they are offering you these free services might be different from the publicly stated ones, and use of these tools might put you at peril.

        Originally Posted by mojojuju View Post

        It looks like you're suggesting that Google has used their webmaster analytics program to steal everybody's converting keywords and use them to promote their own products. It's obvious that Google is selling their own products, but what evidence do you have that Google has stolen their customers converting keywords to promote Google's products?
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Linley
    This is some serous paranoia going on here!
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Alan
      I chalk up my 14 year survival in this business to being a bit paranoid of big corporate enterprises.



      I am also a bit wary of just how much of the Internet Google now controls. I feel that the lack of diversity in search has had a major chilling effect that has greatly stifled creativity and imagination on the Internet. Regardless if you think Google is good or bad do you really want an Internet that boils down to what one organization's view of it is?


      Originally Posted by Mike Linley View Post

      This is some serous paranoia going on here!
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  • Profile picture of the author Point Blank
    For those a bit parinoid about Google's "all seeing eye" and still want analytics try getclicky. Its pretty good and provides great data to improve conversion metrics.
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  • Profile picture of the author domji
    I think you are way too paranoid. I use all google tools, and I am fine.
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    • Profile picture of the author capitalalchemy
      If ever a lawsuit could actually take flight over this issue of privacy invasion, it would be massive. It would shut down the company itself. And I think that would be good.

      The analytics thing is one thing, but the concept of still being tracked by your activity online is another, and of course I really believe that the government is in Google's pocket.
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  • Profile picture of the author aaronjunited
    I'm glad I started this thread. So I'm not the only one who is paranoid.

    I think it all boils down to opinion at the end of the day. We can't prove what Google do, but it's common sense they definitely use the analytics for their benefit.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidc1
    they track by whois
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  • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
    We've had no problem using AdSense, Analytics, Webmaster Tools, etc. Our view has been there's no reason to hide from Google as we're playing within their rules and guidelines. Since we use AdSense for monetization, taking off Analytics and leaving AdSense seems a bit silly...they'll already have everything they want from us.

    The argument about whether it's great for all of us to have one company with so much power/control is a different point entirely. I like/appreciate the fact that everything integrates so well, that I'm able to use amazing free services from Google, etc. Still...the control they have is definitely concerning. That being said...no tin foil hat on, heh.
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