Recently I checked the server logs for my website and compared the statistics with the Google Analytics data for the timespan. I expected that the page views and visits won't be the same, but I haven't expected such a large difference I encountered.Just to make it clear, I don't use Google Analytics for evil, I'm not Google and I'm not interested in advertising or web marketing, I'm just curious what my visitors (you) are looking for and what caught the interest, so I can provide more content in this field.
I know some people that block Analytics tracking in their browser because of the Google octopus, or disabled Java Script at all.
The difference between the Google Analytics statistics and the server logs raised the question in me how reliable the Google Analytics data is when several people block it in their browser. I started to search for some block statistics, but couldn't find any useful information and I also think the actual blocking-rate does crucially depend on the website's audience and used technology. That's why I created a little poll at twtpoll.com and asked my Twitter friends to vote. Big thanks to all that already voted, but not all of you are on Twitter, so I like to ask here too:
Do you block Google Analytics tracking in your browser?
I will publish the results here on my blog after the poll is over on Feb 28, 2010. Thanks for taking your time.
Update 03-10-2010
The results are now available.
What kind of differences do you see? Analytics will ofcourse not work with web crawlers etc.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between the unique visitors from the server logs and the Google Analytics data is too high.
ReplyDeleteInteresting entry - I've never thought about this issue.
ReplyDeleteYou did not include an option for "I have multiple browsers, one of which is set up for not blocking, the rest all block on different levels."
ReplyDeleteI realize that's "me" only, but I'd skew your results if I voted.