Like I said. No where in the admin area is that tracking code
<script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
Anyone else have this happen?
Why do you think Google bought Urchin for an enormous sum of money and then gave it away for free?
Why do you think they created GoogleCheckout?
For that matter, why do you think they created Adwords and AdSense?
Obviously besides the immediate profit of the last two...
they want to "close the circle" and know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE's business process, from start to finish.
That's their means to an end...and that's what will make them the most powerful company in the world.
So it's not surprising that they would find ways to overstep their bounds to get there...the bad side is coming.
It started when they went public and it's consistently growing.
I'm actually just beginning a large campaign that DOESN'T use GoogleAnalytics...
I was curious whether Urchin would track anything from my site without my permisssion. You've given me my answer.
I DON'T hate Google by any means...but their motives are becoming much more obvious lately.
I just don't trust any company that knows that much about everyones business.
Google is going to become the next Microsoft...
with all the stigma and distrust that surrounds that name.
What would you do with intimate knowledge of the sales process of thousands of online businesses?
That's the 64 BILLION dollar question! ;)
Google does not know magic. Somehow, something is feeding the data back to Google and they are displaying it. It is your site, so likely has to be something under your control that is feeding the data.
Google can't magically know when a page is accessed. It knows because the javascript is loaded on the visitor's pc and that sends data back to Google.
So before anyone gets carried away, why not look for a plausible explanation for what is happening instead of blaming Google for something that is not a possibility.
I give Bewenched the benefit of the doubt that he's not tracking his admin,
the same way I give Google the benefit of the doubt that they are innovative enough to watch what you do online without you knowing it.
Who knows what's going on for sure...
except that Google is on a rampage to know every little step you take online.
That was my only reason for posting...
to say out loud what nobody else seems to be noticing.
Google is great for business...
but it's also the making of the largest big brother machine that mankind ever knew.
The most likely explanation is that you have included the tracking code as some part of your sites template, and didn't consider that the template was used in the admin section. If pages from your admin section are showing in your top content reports, etc. then you have placed the tracking code on them somehow.
The Analytics code is not self propagating, so there is an explanation for this. If you'd like, you can StickyMail me your account info and I can have the Analytics team take a look.
AWA2
Often there is a global include as a footer or header which is used even in the admin panel.
The easiest way to check is to browse to an admin page you know is being tracked and then view source and look through the HTML.
If you can narrow down which include is being used, then you can move the code to a non-admin included area to just track external visitors.
