Should Google Measure Government?

Google is aiming to be the analytics standard for the feds.

By Eric T. Peterson
05/03/2010 -03:02 PM

On March 18, the nice folks at the Google Analytics blog posted a harmless looking announcement about the impending availability of a browser-based opt-out for their namesake Web analytics application.

According to Amy Chang, Group Product Manager:“Over the past year, we have been exploring ways to offer users more choice on how their data is collected by Google Analytics. We concluded that the best approach would be to develop a global browser based plug-in to allow users to opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics.”

Most folks in the Web analytics community responded with either a yawn or shocked concern that this was the end of accuracy as we know it. I have not discussed my own theories with Google, primarily because Google is not much for talking about stuff they might be doing, but I think the browser opt-out is part of a much bigger picture. I think Google is about to make a big push to replace Webtrends as the Web analytics standard on federal government Web sites. Consider the following:

1. On February 17, Google announced that the General Services Administration (GSA) has approved Google Analytics for use on federal government Web sites, a first for Google Analytics which is now the sole Web analytics provider approved on the apps.gov Web site.

2. Federal Web site managers have long suffered under a cookie policy written in 2000 (OMB M-00-13) and modified slightly in 2003 (OMB M-03-22) that more or less prevents the use of any kind of persistent cookie as part of an effort to enforce privacy policies on federal Web sites. On March 15, NextGov reported that many federal site managers have been using a loophole called the “compelling need” provision to circumvent OMB guidance and deploy cookie-based applications.

3. On March 23, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that on April 7, they would be changing the federal Web site policy that bans the use of cookies. OMB has been circulating a list of changes to federal site managers and beltway insiders for several months, and the new policy draft has included an interesting exclusion policy for “free” applications.

With all of this in mind, I think the federal government is about to get a heaping helping of Google Analytics, and honestly I think that is a pretty good thing.

The browser-based opt-out gives site managers the ability to check a proverbial box, ensuring that the general public has a “reasonably easy” way to opt-out of tracking and dramatically simplifies the process of explaining how opt-out works. This last point is important: If Google Analytics becomes the standard for site measurement within the federal government, a browser-based “universal” opt-out is more or less the perfect answer to privacy advocates’ questions and concerns about tracking in general.

Great, I’m not in government. How does this affect me?

First, don’t panic. Most likely, the availability of the opt-out plug-in will be met with more yawning, at least among most of your audience. But keep in mind that, in the past, the “privacy advocates” have done a pretty good job of raising a fuss about the littlest things (for example, the use of browser cookies) and know that there are people out there who fear the “Googlization” of the federal Web.

If Google Analytics starts to appear on many federal sites, and if the “privacy police” are able to gain traction in the media, all bets are off. Widespread adoption of the opt-out application could definitely hurt Google Analytics reporting, and what’s worse is that you would have no idea how inaccurate your data is becoming. For now I suggest paying more attention to Google’s moves and the privacy community’s response and not worrying so much about your dashboard.

Eric T. Peterson is a recognized digital analytics thought-leader and founder of Web analytics Demystified, Inc., a global measurement consulting group with offices in the U.S. and Europe.