Does Google have most of the web's statistical data at their fingertips? I had assumed they were getting bounce rates, pageviews, time spent on the page etc. from their toolbar and only allowing a small effect on rankings based on that information.
But every site I'm researching these days seems to have a GA code in the page source.
Do Google know everything? Are there any statistics as to how many of Google's indexed sites are using GA?
I read an article within the last 3-4 weeks that I remember saying the percentage just over 40%. but I can't find the article now and I don't trust my memory all that much. What I particularly don't remember is 40% of what, exactly? All live domains? or all live pages? or all indexed pages (or domains).
However, while searching for the article, I did find this from May 2008:
We put the Alexa global top 500 websites under the microscope and found that 161 out of these 500 websites are using Google Analytics, which is 32.2%.
I have insider knowledge of a large website that currently uses G analytics but is switching due to data inconsistencies and "limited functionality"...of which I personally agree with.
I wonder if over time users who're demanding a more robust package will follow suit?
