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Can Google Analytics Hurt You?

by TheNewJames
5 replies
Hello folks,

I was just wondering if running Google Analytics could potentially hurt you. Google would then be able to track EXACTLY what people are clicking on in your site and bounce rate and all sorts of detailed information.

So, if you're site isn't doing to well, Google will know.

Or does Google just know everything anyway?

Thanks
#analytics #google #hurt
  • Profile picture of the author webdesignnomad
    Hey Nickel,
    I would not worry about that! Google is "all knowing" anyway.
    Analytics is NOT used for this purpose, and I would highly recommend using analytics to track your traffic statistics and sources.
    I hope this helps! All the best with your online income success!
    Tim K
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  • Profile picture of the author billnad
    Google will have better insight on your bounce rate and your visitors time on site. Trouble is that google will have lots of info anyway just because so much search traffic goes through them.

    I love webmaster tools and Google Analytics because I can reverse engineer how Google sees my site and also how they rank pages and keywords in their index. The tool is really powerful and even after I got hit by Penguin I didn't give any thought to getting rid of it.

    If you are looking for an alternative there is Get Clicky, Woopra, or the free script Piwik
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
    No, they don't use that information for search ranks. They don't need to.

    Anyway, consider this:

    88.4% of all domains on the web have a Google tag on them. Google knows everything about virtually every site on the web already.

    http://knowprivacy.org/
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  • Profile picture of the author TheContentAuthority
    Very interesting question SickNickel,

    As compelling as this argument is I highly doubt having analytics installed on your site will hurt it. Google can determine clickthru rates, bounce rates and other data without having any analytics on your website.

    Granted the information provided by their tracking software would be much more detailed however Google has an interest in getting more websites using its analytical platform and also keeping those that are already using it. If people thought for a second that the search engine was penalizing its users based on data collected on their sites, I’m sure they would see a sharp decline in use.

    This link from Google’s website shows some high profile websites using the platform,

    Analytics Case Studies And Success Stories From Google Analytics ? Google Analytics

    In contrast, check out what this user claims happened to his website.

    Looks Like Google Used Analytics to Impose Penalties Google SEO News and Discussion forum at WebmasterWorld

    Overall I would say you don’t have anything to worry about.

    Great thread!

    Shawn
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    • Profile picture of the author dfs_dean
      Like everyone seems to be saying, don't worry about using Google Analytics.

      Don't be too concerned about Google knowing your site has problems, YOU need to realize your site has problems so you can fix, adjust, modify, whatever. Analytics helps tremendously. And, if Google knows your site has problems, won't they also know when you've gotten everything straightened out? Wouldn't that be a good thing?

      Peace
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