Google Using Analytics to Detect Bad Links

[byronc]

Thanks everyone.

It makes sense that GWT wouldn't be very useful to Google in detecting spammy links since the data is coming from them in the first place. But Google Analytics would give them access to traffic data from the site and other data which could be useful.

GA would also allow Google to definitively determine if you own several different sites. In other words, if you own 10 sites and those sites have some links to each other and you are tracking all the sites under one GA account, they would be able to see that the sites are all connected (though there may be other ways to determine that). For people who use "buffer" sites for sketchy link building, but track the website analytics for both sites under one GA account, if Google looked at GA data, then they could see that the sites are connected and connect the sketchy link building tactics back to the main site. Similarly, if you claimed both the buffer site and the main site in GWT, that would tell Google they are connected.

Clearly Cutts is saying they don't us GA data, but I could see how it could be helpful to them if they wanted to. Then again, Matt's response was in April 2011, before they combined all privacy policies and opened up data sharing between products. Maybe things have changed.

i do web design and hoting for my clients all their site point back to mine at the bottom of the page - all on the same hosting account.. why would they penalize me?

[innominds]

Does GA slows down a site? Also if there's any alternate to Google analytics (affordable or Fee)

Thanks!

You can use statcounter.
It's good.
I'm of the opinion that by having GA, the webmaster is revealing its data (mainly bounce rate) to Google.

[dgswilson]

Statcounter has good stats but also slows down page loads. Any request to an external server is not under the control of site owner operator. Might be, at any time, lightening quick or a stick in the mud.

Also, everything that Google can track Google does track. What Google does with what it tracks is unknowable regardless of what any spokesperson or policy statement may imply.

I use Google adsense and web master tools and avoid any other involvement wherever possible including google search

[innominds]

If that is the case, then it is better to stick with web hosting stats.
Those stats may not be comprehensive but still you can get the required data.
Nothing is perfect in terms of tracking but you need to select the ONE which suits your requirement in better way.

[PoisonJam]

You can use statcounter.
It's good.
I'm of the opinion that by having GA, the webmaster is revealing its data (mainly bounce rate) to Google.

You're potentially revealing bounce rate from other channels via GA, yes.

However, Google already knows the bounce rate of any site back to its SERPs. If you click on a SERP listing and hit back to go back to Google, they know the details about it regardless of whether you have GA installed or not. I believe they'd only be interested in whether users bounced quickly from keywords you were ranking for to determine the relevancy and quality factors of your site for those terms in ways that crawlers can't. They could look at other channels but it'd be a waste of their time IMO.

With the GA tracking code now being asynchronous JavaScript (as long as you don't have the outdated, legacy tracking code installed) I don't think it causing delays in page load speed is as big an issue as it once was.

[dgswilson]

If you want to track 404's you can get a fine script (404 Alerter) from http://www.perlscriptsjavascripts.com/

You can configure it to suit. It uses a SSI method and you can use it to track individual pages. Home page, 403 page or whatever. If your error page is set to include referrer, ip, request... then it will record it. It has a send mail feature and you can use it to redirect. I've been using it for some time. It lives on your server. Oh, it's free