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Get Rid Of Big G Analytics?

by Gil Doer
37 replies
Is It Wise To Have Big G Analytics Latched To Your Money Sites?

I've heard both sides of the story.

1. Some say it doesn't matter. Google doesn't care about your website.

2. Others say your rankings are dependent on your bounce rate and if you don't have visitors staying over 5 minutes you'll never get ranked for competitive keywords because they(G) have a system interlinking your analytics info with the Big G SE. They (the system) are watching...

But for those who've had Google Analytics on some sites is it too late to be remove the G analytics or am I being to anal about complexity theories?

Is it necessary to remove them?

I've had G Analytics for a few years and I've ranked #1 for lesser terms (1100 exact match searches per month) but when going for larger fish, like 10,000 and up per month I've never gotten past then the second page.

What are some other good analytics (preferrably free)?

Thanks,

Gil
#analytics #big #rid
  • Profile picture of the author Tashi Mortier
    I have thought about that, too. With Google Analytics you are serving them all of your data on a silver platter.

    Maybe give Statcounter a try, it's free on a limited basis.

    StatCounter Free invisible Web tracker, Hit counter and Web stats
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Hi Tashi,

      I think I'll do that. I'm also checking out GoingUp.com which looks interesting.

      To be safe it's better to have a couple of different analytics sources for comparisons.

      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    I suggest to remove it. Not so much because of Google but because of your competition.

    People can use the Google analytics footprint to find out what else you have going:
    http://reverseinternet.com/
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  • Profile picture of the author Bryan O'Neil
    First off - no-one over here can give you an accurate answer, simply because no-one apart from some people who work or have worked for Google know and therefore the only thing you're going to hear are speculations.

    There's one non-speculative point I wanted to address, though: if you have an exit strategy in mind (plan on selling your site at one point down the line) then not having GA installed will be an absolute nightmare. Most website buyers trust only GA when it comes to verifying a site's traffic, and not having it will result in a much lower price.

    On another note, if you're not planning to sell the site then an alternative solution for GA I can suggest is Piwik. Its reports are quite similar to GA and in some ways its even more powerful than GA.
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    • Profile picture of the author aandersen
      Originally Posted by Bryan O'Neil View Post

      On another note, if you're not planning to sell the site then an alternative solution for GA I can suggest is Piwik. Its reports are quite similar to GA and in some ways its even more powerful than GA.
      ^^^This^^^

      Piwik - Web analytics - Open source

      It's the best GA alternative around. If you're familiar with GA, you're going to feel right at home inside piwik.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Keith
      Originally Posted by Bryan O'Neil View Post

      First off - no-one over here can give you an accurate answer, simply because no-one apart from some people who work or have worked for Google know and therefore the only thing you're going to hear are speculations.

      There's one non-speculative point I wanted to address, though: if you have an exit strategy in mind (plan on selling your site at one point down the line) then not having GA installed will be an absolute nightmare. Most website buyers trust only GA when it comes to verifying a site's traffic, and not having it will result in a much lower price.

      On another note, if you're not planning to sell the site then an alternative solution for GA I can suggest is Piwik. Its reports are quite similar to GA and in some ways its even more powerful than GA.
      i agree that google makes us do a lot of guessing. they need it that way, or their algorithm would be outdated within a week each time they update it with some of the black hats building spam software of some sort.

      but lets think clearly, google is not going to blindly punish people who use their analytic software just because they can prove some stats about their business.

      if google penalized people for using google analytics (because they have more information) then google analytics would go away in a just a few months.

      i do believe they use the data to help refine their search engine using anonymous and probably sometimes not so anonymous data, but they are not going to punish their analytic customers as a whole.

      same thing for their webmaster tools. now, if you are using grey/blackhat methods, then i would totally suggest staying away.

      methods like buying backlinks and spinning articles are a great way to get on googles bad side. if you do those things then YES. dont give google any ammunition against you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
        Originally Posted by owslaw123 View Post

        i agree that google makes us do a lot of guessing. they need it that way, or their algorithm would be outdated within a week each time they update it with some of the black hats building spam software of some sort.

        but lets think clearly, google is not going to blindly punish people who use their analytic software just because they can prove some stats about their business.

        if google penalized people for using google analytics (because they have more information) then google analytics would go away in a just a few months.

        i do believe they use the data to help refine their search engine using anonymous and probably sometimes not so anonymous data, but they are not going to punish their analytic customers as a whole.

        same thing for their webmaster tools. now, if you are using grey/BlueFart methods, then i would totally suggest staying away.

        methods like buying backlinks and spinning articles are a great way to get on googles bad side. if you do those things then YES. dont give google any ammunition against you.
        This is what I'm talking in regards to differing opinions.

        You should check out this test (which is also about penalization) that's going on in the SEO section:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/adsense-...backlinks.html

        Thanks,

        Gil
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by Bryan O'Neil View Post

      First off - no-one over here can give you an accurate answer, simply because no-one apart from some people who work or have worked for Google know and therefore the only thing you're going to hear are speculations.

      There's one non-speculative point I wanted to address, though: if you have an exit strategy in mind (plan on selling your site at one point down the line) then not having GA installed will be an absolute nightmare. Most website buyers trust only GA when it comes to verifying a site's traffic, and not having it will result in a much lower price.

      On another note, if you're not planning to sell the site then an alternative solution for GA I can suggest is Piwik. Its reports are quite similar to GA and in some ways its even more powerful than GA.
      Bryan,

      Thanks for the exit strategy however I'm not a site seller in general. At this point I'm an educing site creator.

      I will check out Piwik though. I also saw this interesting open source analytics called OWA (openwebanalytics.com) that has heat maps and records moose movements.

      Thanks,

      Gil
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      • Profile picture of the author David Keith
        Originally Posted by guamguy View Post

        moose movements.

        Gil
        i have always found it helpful to know where my visitors moose are.
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        • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
          Originally Posted by owslaw123 View Post

          i have always found it helpful to know where my visitors moose are.
          What can I say?

          I'm originally Canadian..

          Thanks,

          Gil
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          Gil...

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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I use Statcounter and the AWStats from my hosting for my traffic reports. I don't trust Google and won't use analytics.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I use Statcounter and the AWStats from my hosting for my traffic reports. I don't trust Google and won't use analytics.
      Suzanne,

      I'ved added Statcounter to a bunch of my sites but I've noticed that AWstats always has about 3 times more traffic than GA.

      Daily I'm gaining more knowledge in regards to SEO tactics... although it can be quite difficult filtering the accuracy of what works and what doesn't work. THE most accurate method is to apply your own tests.

      However my perception is that alot of the Warriors specializing in (and selling) SEO just don't trust GA.

      Is it because from their experience and deeper expertise in SEO or something else?

      Thanks,

      Gil
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      Gil...

      Genius is ninety percent perspiration and ten percent inspiration.

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  • Profile picture of the author ghostrecon
    Both are valid arguments, but I haven't seen a significant difference in performance between websites who had GA attached and those who didn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    If you go to sell your site on Flippa, then Google Analytics seems to be the "standard" for showing traffic however I always use Statcounter.com - for me it is less clunky and is an awesome tool.

    Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Chri5123 View Post

      If you go to sell your site on Flippa, then Google Analytics seems to be the "standard" for showing traffic however I always use Statcounter.com - for me it is less clunky and is an awesome tool.

      Chris

      It is the standard, but if you give them access to Statcounter and do a lot of AWStats screenshots, they're happy. I've done it numerous times.
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      • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        It is the standard, but if you give them access to Statcounter and do a lot of AWStats screenshots, they're happy. I've done it numerous times.
        Yep me too.

        That is another cool thing about Statcounter where you can give public access so they can see the stats.

        Not sure if you can do this with Google Analytics directly?

        Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I don't think it really matters whether or not you have GA installed on your site. Google would have access to more than enough data from other websites using GA and other sources that they would already be able to determine fairly accurate estimates of things like bounce rates, number of visitors to a site, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I don't think it really matters whether or not you have GA installed on your site. Google would have access to more than enough data from other websites using GA and other sources that they would already be able to determine fairly accurate estimates of things like bounce rates, number of visitors to a site, etc.
      Will,

      Can you point a couple of the "other sources" that Google can latch on to?

      Thanks,

      Gil
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      Gil...

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  • Profile picture of the author wackiin
    I dont use it but if u use adsense they still know all ur sites
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by wackiin View Post

      I dont use it but if u use adsense they still know all ur sites

      Correction all the sites that are linked to that specific adsense/gmail/ga account. If you have different g accounts that are not connected then they might not know. (Highly unlikely.)

      Come to think of it they probably have a larger profile knowledge base than the CIA.

      Thanks,

      Gil
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      • Profile picture of the author amacog
        Yep Piwik works great and it's Open Source
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  • Profile picture of the author alistair
    I have used it but don't anymore just because I don't trust Google. I'm really starting to dislike Google keep wanting more and more personal info off of me.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by guamguy View Post

    they(G) have a system interlinking your analytics info with the Big G SE. They (the system) are watching...
    If it matters who is watching, maybe you are doing something wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      If it matters who is watching, maybe you are doing something wrong.
      Don't get me wrong I like the GA setup (or maybe it's just b/c I'm used to it.) it's just that one of my main concerns is the Bounce rate. One of my oldest sites has 70% bounce rate that goes with the niche.

      Of course the quality of the content is what keeps the reader there... or doesn't but it also depends on the niche.

      Obviously I'm doing something wrong with my current rankings for that site but I'm working on it.

      Thanks,

      Gil
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    Purely an answer built on my logic (Very dangerous) and nothing else, but surely if you want Google to list your site in its search engine, giving Google access to you vistor stats can only be beneficial. Maybe I am just naive
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    • Profile picture of the author KamauAustin
      I'm sure it can work for you or against you. We have to assume that Google is using the data for ranking (I mean that's what they do).

      But you should be using the GA to get info to build a more engaging site any way - right? See what type of content the top ranking sites are using and create more engaging content.

      This way they spend more time on your site and your rankings go up. Try one of the open source ones suggested and see if your rankings go up. But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. I'm sure Google will bias the algorithm towards GA sites a bit - that would be in their interest.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
        Originally Posted by KamauAustin View Post

        I'm sure it can work for you or against you. We have to assume that Google is using the data for ranking (I mean that's what they do).

        But you should be using the GA to get info to build a more engaging site any way - right? See what type of content the top ranking sites are using and create more engaging content.

        This way they spend more time on your site and your rankings go up. Try one of the open source ones suggested and see if your rankings go up. But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. I'm sure Google will bias the algorithm towards GA sites a bit - that would be in their interest.
        Kamau,

        I completely agree that constant site improvements need to be made to engage your readers in an effective manner but if you want your readership to grow as well there needs an SEO advantage that needs to be gained as well. Content is king... but ONLY if have subjects that are reading it.

        I'm all for a quality site experience but you need some SEO know-how to be able to move upwards and onwards to a larger audience. To me it's not one or the other but both on-page engagement as well off-site extension if ya know what I mean. And lately I've heard that some of the more experienced Warriors don't trust GA, ESPECIALLY with their money sites.

        Thanks,

        Gil
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        Gil...

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    • Profile picture of the author Gil Doer
      Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver View Post

      Purely an answer built on my logic (Very dangerous) and nothing else, but surely if you want Google to list your site in its search engine, giving Google access to you vistor stats can only be beneficial. Maybe I am just naive
      Personally opinionated logic CAN be very dangerous but I do see your point Cathy.

      Thanks,

      Gil
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      Gil...

      Genius is ninety percent perspiration and ten percent inspiration.

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  • Profile picture of the author incognito19
    I use GetClicky on my money sites, and GA or Statcounter on the Adsense sites, but I agree with the other comments: I don't think Google cares if you are doing the right thing and my guess it that it will be almost impossible to hide some metrics from Google if they want to know something about your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarceMontane
    Believe or not...

    I have a site that disappear from first 1000 SERP, delete GA and get back to 88,

    I'm tested several things to get the answer to the initial problem and I have a site with similar problem (out of 100), and they have two things in common: GA and cloaked Clickbank links, and only delete GA
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  • Profile picture of the author Aviator Joe
    I use piwik
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan David
    Using Google Analytics is a personal choice, but if you think you're hiding data from Google you're VERY naive.

    Google Toolbar gives them plenty of data on sites. Google Chrome gives them even more. And if that's not enough, they can just track when the same IP address hits the back button to repeat a search query.
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  • Profile picture of the author andynathan
    I have never personally had a problem with GA, but I do all white hat seo. As long as you are doing that, I am pretty sure Google will leave you alone. I can attest to that, because my blog gets more traffic from Google with less backlinks put out by me than most, because I do a lot of fresh (unique) content. These are my two cents (If you can multiply them you are that much closer to a dollar)!
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  • Profile picture of the author revupcommerce
    if google is punishing sites because of bounce rate it is being done on a keyword by keyword basis.
    So if you lose ranking on a high bounce keyword is it really hurting your bottom line?
    Probably means your visitors arent going to convert from that keyword anyway.
    What about the other side of the argument.
    Keywords with low bounce rates would move up. If this is happening I would rather have more traffic that doesnt bounce.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      First off, be careful you don't step in any of those moose movements...

      Originally Posted by guamguy View Post

      Don't get me wrong I like the GA setup (or maybe it's just b/c I'm used to it.) it's just that one of my main concerns is the Bounce rate. One of my oldest sites has 70% bounce rate that goes with the niche.

      Thanks,

      Gil
      Gil, I would think that with the brainpower Google rents every year, they'd be smart enough to make any measurement of bounce rate comparative rather than numeric.

      If your site has 70% bounce rate, they'd look at how that stacks up with other sites returned for similar queries.

      In fact, your site either has different bounce rates for different queries or something really wierd is going on. You'll also have different bounce rates for different pages on your site. If I remember right, the bounce rate GA displays is a composite of all the pages with the code installed.

      All that said, I'm far more likely to believe something like AWStats which is based on the actual server logs.
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