Top Ten Myths About Google Analytics

Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 1:39 PM

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We've noticed some misconceptions about Google Analytics floating around, and we thought we'd take a shot at correcting the most common ones. Without further ado, here they are, the top ten myths about Google Analytics debunked.


MYTH 1: "You get what you pay for." Google Analytics is free, which means the system is down a lot.

Google Analytics makes use of the same network of secure and reliable data centers used to power Google.com, making downtime an extremely rare occurrence. We have a large team focused exclusively on keeping your data safe and accessible, and benefit from multiple redundancies in our infrastructure around the globe (this makes us fast as well).

We even rely on Google Analytics for our own mission-critical products such as AdWords, which see huge volumes of traffic every day. If you're still having doubts, we'd encourage you to talk to some users and ask them how their experience has been with uptime.

MYTH 2: Google Analytics is basic and doesn't have any "advanced" features or metrics


Ack, this one is a tough one to swallow! A more frequent complaint is actually that Google Analytics has too much data. The product includes over 90 standard reports with more than 125 metrics and dimensions covering everything from visits to internal site search queries.

Custom reports and user-defined variables allow you to create your own metrics and reports where the standard ones don't meet your needs. With Pivoting, Advanced Segmentation, Secondary Dimensions, Event Tracking and the ability to share customizations, Google Analytics reports are more powerful than ever.

Google Analytics may look "basic," on the surface, but it can do a lot more than you think! If you have complex needs try talking to a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant or diving into the documentation on the Google Code Site.

More Info (Feature List, Custom Reports, Advanced Segmentation, Analytics API)

MYTH 3: Google Analytics only supports third-party cookies

False! Google Analytics has always used first-party, not third-party cookies. First-party cookies are important because they allow Google Analytics to track repeat visitors, so you can see which keyword, referring site, etc is responsible for bringing buyers even when it takes multiple visits for them to convert.

MYTH 4: Google Analytics is not really accurate

If you've spent time doing web analytics work, you'll know the sinking feeling that comes when two sets of numbers don't match. If you're experiencing a data discrepancy, don't panic. There are many others in the same boat.

Google Analytics uses JavaScript tags to collect data. This industry-standard method yields reliable trends and a high degree of precision, but it's not perfect. Most of the time, if you are noticing data discrepancies greater than 10%, it's due to an installation issue. Common problems include JavaScript errors, redirects, untagged pages and slow client-side load times.

For tips on how to sensibly approach data reconciliation, check out this post by Avinash Kaushik, Google's Analytics Evangelist, or this whitepaper on accuracy in Google Analytics. You can also talk to an expert.

All web analytics tools face the same technical limitations posed by JavaScript tags, so if another vendor claims their tool is more accurate, ask for some evidence.

More Info (Web Analytics Data Reconciliation Checklist, Whitepaper)

MYTH 5: It's not possible to export your data from Google Analytics

Not true! You have two options for exporting data. Use the "export" button at the top of each report to export the current view in PDF or XML (up to 500 rows). Or, use the new Analytics Export API to extract large amounts of data in any format you like. Also, if you want to share data with a colleague, you can schedule reports to be delivered directly to their email inbox, or even send regular updates to your own email address.

More Info (How to Export your Data, Analytics API)

MYTH 6: With Google Analytics you can't control your data

You have three options for data sharing in Google Analytics. You can change these options at any time from inside your Analytics account.
  • do not share your data
  • share your data with Google to improve its products
  • share your data anonymously for benchmarking

No matter which option you choose, your data is protected by several layers of defense:
  1. Dedicated security and infrastructure teams
  2. Multiple redundancies to prevent data loss
  3. Network redundancies to keep data accessible
  4. Advanced security, firewalling and routing to keep data secure
  5. Restricted access and principle of least privilege for personnel
If you opt-out of data sharing, your data will remain within Google Analytics and will not be shared with other products or services. If you decide to share your data with Google, it will be used to improve those products and services. Lastly, if you decide to share your data anonymously with others, it will be blended with other data to support the Google Analytics benchmarking feature. For more information on these options and what they mean, refer to the Google Analytics data sharing FAQ.

If you're still concerned, Google also offers a software product called Urchin (www.urchin.com) that you can run locally.

More Info (Data Sharing FAQ, Google Privacy Policy)

MYTH 7: There is no professional support for Google Analytics

Contrar! We flipped the model. Instead of providing an expensive analytics product with a one-size-fits-all professional services plan, we provide a free product and let you purchase the professional services that fit your needs.

There are several ways to get support: email support, help forums, the help center, and a network of Authorized Consultants. Authorized Consultants speak your language, accept your currency and often share your timezone. More than 80 companies across the globe provide a full range of installation and analysis support for Google Analytics. Some examples of things they can help you with are:
  • Validate and troubleshoot your installation
  • Integrate your analytics data with other data sources or CRM
  • Optimize your marketing efforts
  • Train your staff on how to use Analytics
  • Respond to support tickets, phone calls and provide on-site consulting
To find out more, give one or two of them a call. Our Authorized Consultants are hand-picked and are the best in the business.

More Info (Google Analytics Authorized Consultants)

MYTH 8: Google Analytics does not support A/B or multivariate testing and isn't well-integrated with other tools

Google offers a full range of marketing products including a free testing tool called Google Website Optimizer. You can use it to test different page elements and find out which ones yield the highest conversion rate and ROI. You can also use Google Analytics in conjunction with Website Optimizer to create an optimization plan for your site.

Google Analytics is also integrated with many of Google's other business products including AdWords, AdSense, and AdPlanner. It is also widely supported by third party tools ranging from content management systems, to email suites, to call center applications. In addition, you'll find many products that are complementary to Google Analytics including DoubleClick, TVAds, Webmaster Tools, Google Trends, Insights for Search, Feedburner, and more.

More Info (Google Website Optimizer, GWO Blog)

MYTH 9: You can't segment data in Google Analytics

In the fall of 2008, Google Analytics released three new Enterprise Features: Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reports and Motion Charts. Advanced Segmentation lets you segment visits by dozens of metrics and dimensions such as geographic location, time on site, referral site and much much more. You can create segments on the fly and apply them to virtually all the standard reports in Google Analytics as well as custom reports.


More Info (In Depth Look at Advanced Segments, Video)

MYTH 10: You have to spend a lot of money to get "real" web analytics

Getting a return from your Analytics data does take an investment. The most important investment to start with is making sure you or someone at your organization has the expertise and time to put your data to use. If at that point you still feel you need to pay more for a more complicated tool, that's OK, but remember that every dollar you spend on a tool takes away from money you could be spending on actually getting results, i.e. hiring or contracting a talented analyst (see the 90/10 Rule).

The question sometimes comes up, "if Google Analytics is free, what's in it for Google?" Google benefits from Google Analytics in two ways. First, if webmasters build better sites, it helps us connect searchers with the information they need faster. Second, if advertisers use Google Analytics, they are able to see their advertising ROI, which helps us demonstrate the value of Google AdWords. Both aspects have helped create a strong business case for Google Analytics over the years.

Google Analytics is getting more powerful with each new update, and you may be surprised by what it can do. Find out more by attending an Analytics Seminar for Success or talking to an Authorized Consultant in your area. If you're an AdWords advertiser, you can also speak with your Customer Service Representative.

More Info (90/10 Rule, Google Analytics Authorized Consultants, Seminars for Success)

Leave a comment

That's it for the top 10 myths. Still not convinced? Leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by Sebastian Tonkin, Google Analytics Team

53 comments:

Juls said...

Nice article. Even though I'm a big fan of GA, in my current job we use another paid analytic solution.

One reason I often ponder is it's because of who actually owns the data and privacy issues, what's your take on this when comparing GA to other paid solutions?

Sebastian Tonkin said...

Hi Juls,

The data is stored at Google, just as it is stored at other web analytics vendors when you use them. But with analytics you control 1) the data sharing settings and 2) how much you want to download and keep at your company using our API. Hope this helps,

-Sebastian

Rob said...

Yeah the data issue is a made out to be a whole lot bigger then it is.

I know some very big government and corporate sites that use it. Google Analytics does not collect ANY personal information so who cares, really? If you want you data, export it.

Besides if you opt in on data sharing you get to use benchmarking where you can see how your site stacks up against other industry specific sites.

I think people should be more focused on what solution best suit them...do you understand the data you are looking at with a paid or non paid analytic solution?

Juls said...

Totally agree with you Rob, just the larger the company the more legal departments and corporate procedure one has to deal with.

mestershopper said...

I wonder why so much time is spent debunking "myths".... Are things so bad that Goliath wants to fight back? At least some feel like David fighting the giant who has debunked prices to widen the margin between fees paid in Adwords and money passed on through Adsense.

Analytics is no free tool in the sense that it's just part of one big financial service.

But I guess such comments could get some of us in trouble for speaking our mind. Frankly, I don't care 'cause minimizing Adsense CPC further will just cause me to kick the final elements off my site.

Sad but true, someone must speak out against this.

David said...

Maybe a bit off topic, but still concerns data gathering. We take care of many websites statistics, and for all of them use GA. Sometimes we lose data because due to maintainance or some other reason the GA tracking code gets damaged or lost in the process. Is there any way that the system would notify me over mail that the data is not collecting anymore?

Bruno Bernardino said...

Well, I use it, abuse it and love it.

Nothing bad to talk about it really, and those myths are nothing more than that...

Story Charms said...

I was going to read the whole post but then I realised: I don't need to! I have used GA since it's launch and it still rocks. But yeah, I can see how you might need to convince some folks that it really is that awesome..

Sebastian Tonkin said...

@mestershopper

Sorry to hear about your distress. I'd encourage you to talk to the AdSense folks. You're not required to use either AdWords or AdSense to use Analytics though, so it is actually free.

@David

You might want to take another look at your maintenance process to make sure the snippet stays in place while you make updates. If you can just keep it on the page than you won't have so many issues :)

@Story/Bruno

Thanks for the support!

Jorge Cunha said...

I am using for 2 year and it has very nice features like adsense,Feedburner,Adwords integration ,custom reports and so one.

It's suitable for me :)

Nacho, el lirĂ³n said...

It was a really pain for me to get AdSense info on Google Analytics with the prior Urchin script, and since I moved to the brand new Google script I've been absolutely unable to bring AdSense data again to Analytics. I've looked unsuccessfully for any documentation, help or info to manage this issue and I really feel abandoned by Google, which provides a new script for Analytics, encourages its use and does not ease at all the integration between its own products.

SEO Joe said...

#1 Best Free Thing in the world!

bben415 said...

I find it interesting when I hear a GA user considering a paid analytics solution when they haven't figured out how to take action on the plethora of data available via GA!

Collecting data and then not setting goals and taking action is lame! (unless you're happy exactly where you are!)

Sam said...

Do you know what would make this the absolute killer utility for us (Fortune 100 company)? Integration with a corporate controlled authentication mechanism (LDAP/AD/OAuth) and extra special attention to the sensitivities of using Google Analytics against intranet versus Internet sites.

Andy C said...

I've only been using GA for a few months and I am amazed at the detail available in all the reports - the ability to drill down and pinpoint the effectiveness of each article. It has really changed the way I approach web publishing. Thanks to the GA team!

anthony said...

Sebastian

Great article - Google Analytics is very often under-rated and frequently criticized by paid analytics vendors. The features introduced in GA recently have made it very very cool.

However with the recent increase in availability of Yahoo Analytics to Yahoo customers, many Google Analytics users will be receiving their invitations to try Yahoo Analytics. GA is pretty damn good, so shouldn’t be losing users to Yahoo, but Yahoo Analytics has a couple of killer features. Now would be a great time to launch a new version of Google Analytics with some extra features.

Firstly, GA has a limit of 1 User Defined variable for segmentation. Now I know it is possible to work around this, but the work around is clunky. Just increasing this to 5 or 10 User Defined variables would be enough for us power GA users.

Secondly (and this is probably more difficult), is there any way you guys can make the data arrive in Google Analytics quicker – e.g. only 1hr behind or better? Avinash Kaushik would remind us that real-time data is not really necessary, but currently, we have to wait quite a while for GA to catch up with itself (especially with Goal Conversions, which always seem delayed by a long time).

I know this sounds like asking for the world, but as they say “if you don’t ask, you don’t get!”.

Keep up the good work guys.

Anthony

Miikka said...

I wouldn't say Google Analytics is free because of the 5million pageviews/month limit. Is it limitless after you link your active Adwords account to it?

Kimyfa said...

I use GA at work along with a top paid alternative costing many £10k's p/a. I have to admit the data within GA is considerably more accurate, is easier to use, segment, manipulate and review and I can't wait to get my hands on the API. Only downer is the sampled reports and this results in a lack of information in Site Overview.
All in all a great piece of software and the big boys of the industry should be worried.

Codecraft said...

I wouldn't create a website without using Google Analytics.. In exactly the same way as I wouldn't cross a busy road with my eyes closed.

Ned said...

Yes, you can segment through the UI. Yes, you can export via APIs. But... you can't segment and export via the API. :(

vradmilovic said...

JavaScript based analytics are not the only type. I wrote an article as a response to this one:

http://www.datalandsoftware.com/blog/2009/05/29/busting-the-google-analytics-mythbuster/

Sebastian Tonkin said...

@Sam

These are both features commonly requested from larger companies. We've been expanding our enterprise-oriented features and will definitely take this into consideration.

@Anthony

Thanks for the feedback. I hear you on wanting to raise the number of user-defined variables and speed up the processing time. Both of these are very demanding on the back end, but we're working on it.

robdebenk said...

Firstly for a free tool I don't think anyone can complain. You have a long way to go to beat that.

Now Google, are you sure that an SEO copywriter didn't just sit down and think of all the possible negatives and come up with the answers. I only ask because anyone who's only half used the system knows all of the above is not true.

If there is room for improvement with the Google system its with the human response mechanism and reasonably quickly too rather than the standard noreply to this email as its not checked by human beings and look at our FAQ's for the answer.

Sebastian Tonkin said...

Hi Robdebenk,

I wish I had a copyeditor to help out with posts, but most of the time I'm on my own :) What above is not true? Can you be more specific?

The best way to get a fast response is to use the analytics help forum. Most of the time you'll get an answer within a few hours.

Business Gardener said...

I have to chuckle at the impassioned posts impugning GA in the abstract when turning Prado around reminds us that 80% of GA users are accessing 20% of it's capabilities.

My objection to the objections is that many unscrupulous SEO/Analytics barkers use that 'lack of use' to walk the unenlightened down the garden path with the promise of paying for what you could probably have cornered pretty well for free.

If GA really isn't enough for you, you'll very likely have the sophisticated skill set needed to figure out how to get what you need. The nattering, nay-saying nitwits doth protest too much.

This de-myth-tifying article definitely helps those of us hoping see a fool and his money have a more lasting relationship...

badboy gone good said...

Goodday Sebastian,

Thank you for your article, "Top Ten Myths About Google Analytics". I enjoyed reading it and have learned a few things to boot. When I first read it, I wanted to label it a Google Analytics "product overview" or "subtle sales presentation". I just didn't recall having encountered these myths before. I do know of many sites which distort truth in order to pedal their alternative products AND promote "shady" SEO/SEM practices. So as is my nature, I did some "double-checking" while writing these comments and to my surprise I encountered several of these myths on websites which seem to be on the up-and-up.

Probably the most important thing your article gave me today was a solid reminder of how much I under-utilize my Analytics account. It is true that some of my website profiles are of minimal importance and really just don't matter (hey, the data is interesting). A few require a $ commitment from the client before I will put forth any (more) effort for them. The rest, well, I guess it is back-to-school time.

Have a great day,
Doug Poire

Vincetastic said...

Hey Sebastian, this top ten list is fantastic. Thank you for breaking down many of the misconceptions of Google Analytics. I have been trying to learn more about and think that is extremely robust and very functional. I commend Google for putting out a free application that is easy for the beginner to use,yet can provide very in depth analysis for any website. My favorite feature s being able to set goals and analytics will automatically track them. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.

Sebastian Tonkin said...

@ Business Gardener

Elegant words. "Lack of use" really is a major issue in the web analytics space. Getting the data in place gives you a sense of security, but putting it to use in your day to day operations takes real energy (at least for now).

@Doug

Glad you enjoyed the article. It's true that the world of SEO/SEM is still a bit like the wild west and there's a lot of misinformation being floated. It reminds me of a friend who authors a fake news blog (muckflash.com). He made up a story about a robot that got picked up by Gizmodo and took his traffic from zero to 100k in a day. Not a single person contacted him to ask if the story was true. It was pretty amazing.

@Vince

Thanks for the support and cool site. If you guys supported openID it would be a lot easier for folks like me to submit lists.

Jonny said...

This is music to my ears. I am a big fan of what GA can do and get so frustrated by the way client's blindly believe what Omniture and Webtrends' sales people tell them. The most important thing is that you weigh up the cost benefits correctly, which I wrote a blog about very recently:

http://actionable-analytics.com/2009/05/google-analytics-vs-omniture-site-catalyst/

Jill said...

Great article, which I will refer any hesitant clients too as necessary.

I do hear these myths all the time, but they're usually from other web analytic companies who are scared to death that they will be out of business soon. (They probably will.) I find it amusing (but sad) when the sales team from these other companies try to sell me on certain functions their software does, while claiming that Google Analytics doesn't do it and I know darn well it does!

webprofile.gr said...

ga in greece have some serious language problems. They have difficultly with cpc and organic results. I have proof if someone from google is interested.

-G.

slegrik said...

Can the google analytics be used somehow for the reporting and making summaries from the google code issue tracker ? If yes, how ? If not, is there any other wa, how to produce such reports ?

Dr. Hamid Raihan said...

Google Analytics is undoubtedly a High Class Data Analysis and Implementation tool. Just because it is free should not put it down because, there are many services that Google offers is free and far superior than its so called competitors. After using Google Analytics for 1 year my site jumped up 960% and the technorati ranking improved enormously.

disconcerted said...

For a small blog/website the fact that GA is free and gathers as much information as it does is fantastic.

news said...

Regarding Myth 7 ... It appears the Help Forums are closed.

WA said...

I'm not clear on your explanation of Myth #4: "GA only supports third-party cookies". I agree that the cookie comes from Google (or a Google-owned domain) and not some other third-party domain. But when GA is installed on my company's web site, the cookie is not first-party because it's not coming from my company's own domain. How are first-party cookies supported in this case?

Sebastian Tonkin said...

@news

Not sure what you mean. The forums are very much open:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Analytics/

@ WA

Here's a more detailed explanation of how the first party cookie process works in Google Analytics from one of our authorized consultants:

http://www.epikone.com/blog/2006/06/25/how-google-analytics-tracks-third-party-domains/

k2colo said...

Hard to fault a tool this powerful, that is also free. We had paid thousands of dollars for an analytics tool called Urchin. This is the tool Google bought and used as the starting point for GA. Since then they have taken the package WAY past what Urchin was capable of.

There is tremendous value in implementing a tool like GA, until your site is driving seven figure revenue you probably won't need more. GA service providers also can add considerable value to this package by tweaking the implementation at a very reasonable cost. EpikOne and Lunametrics come to mind immediately.

If your on the fence about getting analytics, the time is now to get started. If your needs outgrow the GA solution, so much the better (but GA will get you there faster than no analytics, which is the choice most people are making).

badboy gone good said...

Hi,

@ WA, the webstie page with analytics code installed writes the cookie. In your webbrowser's cookie controls, read the cookies from any domain with Google Analytics installed. You will know which ones they are by their names. Any cookie whose name starts with "_utm" is a Google Analytics first party cookie. It is read by and wrote to that domain only.

Vikram Narayan said...

This is a very useful tool. It's the home page for a number of people in our company. Unfortunately, it provides inconsistent data with regard to flex pages. On our site - www.freado.com, when readers open the book (a flex component) and flip pages, the numbers are a little wonky. Hope you can remedy this in the coming days.

Cheers,

Vikram

Enam said...

I am using Google Analytics on my blogs and website for long time.
I am quite happy with Google Analytics.

Bunny said...

From Neville Moffatt.

I have used GA before and found it to be quite adequate and a very useful tool indeed and would recommend GA to my colleagues. I have remove my sites to a more secure hosting company and I did not think that I could still use GA due to the hosting supply three different types of website analysts logging

vinod kumar said...

Best article of Google analytics blog and explanation of each myths detail is excellant and full of logic . Thanks for sharing , I am also agree that 50 % of bloggers do not know effective use of google analytics , in the myths they spread the rumor in community . But after explanation of these myths , you provids us awarness .

Nitin Hindustani said...

Recently I have come to know about it. Just installed for my blogs and using it. very nice.

OZ said...

Trust me, you don't need to defend Google Analytics nor any free tool for that matter.

GA by far is the best free web analytics tool on the market. But whether a free or paid for web analytics solution is for your really depends on your personal or organization's maturity in using web analytics.

When starting out (whether as an individual or a business) I strongly recommend a free web analytics solution. This will get it adopted by the business quicker, as well as help implement a data driven web culture.

Only when you have more advanced requirements such as real-time analytics or advanced segmentation should you look towards a paid product.

Your myth "Google Analytics is not really accurate" is actually not a myth. NO Web Analytics solution is 100% accurate, Avinash Kaushik Google's Web Analytics Guru discusses this at length in his various blog posts.

That being said, I'm a huge proponent of GA and use it on my website (www.bluefalconmarketing.com) and other ones I help out with.

Regards,
Omar

farhad sagor said...

i use it ...nice to me........

Saiful said...

I have started with a blog recently. Can I use Google Analytics?
I didn't applied for an account alos. I am learning!
Anyway, Thanks!

Mark said...

Typically defensive article by a technical team that refuses to recognise it has many problems.

Regardless of what you think or believe, if a large majority of people are making these criticisms, you can't stick you're head in the sand and say there's nothing wrong.

You have to be proactive and use some intelligence. You have to ask yourselves: "If people are saying all of these things, what is really going on?"

In other words, suck it up, take you're lumps and then do something about it. Don't just do a massive dummy spit and post response like "Top Ten Myths..." That doesn't help anyone. You're just preaching to the converted.

Everyone who's ever made a criticism listed in the Myths will just think you're arrogant, unresponsive and uninterested in helping your customers.

This is not just my view. Carrie Hill over at Clickz posted an excellent article on many users frustrations with GA.

http://searchenginewatch.com/3634026

She said your attitude sort of sucks.

Obviously a lot of people feel the same way. The choice is yours: Continue to stick your head in the sand and ignore it, or be smart, acknowledge the problems and do something that actually helps your customers.

Davidfree said...

I agree on 9 of 10.

However, to MYTH 5: It's not possible to export your data from Google Analytic...

If you are NOT a programmer (like me), the options for exporting date i pdf or xml are really not enough! With pdf you have to accept the formatting (which might not look like you want it) and 500 lines of xml which you then have to box into excel is also not a nice option...

I don´t really understand, why you don´t enable csv download...

idexplore said...

I'm using blogspot and analystic is really help me to control. Easy and interactive.

Phil said...

I need to create reports based on traffic to specific subdirectories.

Advanced Segments would seem to be the solution for me but unfortunately it provides incorrect results. I ask to include only /directoryx/ and get 90% of that plus random other subdirectories.
I ended up creating a whole list of filters and profiles to get around this but it doesn't really allow me to show comparative results.

Like How your traffic compares with the site as a whole.

Mark Red said...

I just rediscovered this great blog post.

Regarding "MYTH 5: It's not possible to export your data from Google Analytics" -- there is now Excellent Analytics as well. It's a free Microsoft Excel plugin that allows you to easily import Google Analytics data to Excel.

http://excellentanalytics.com

Faiz said...

Thanks for the info. It helps. ^_^


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