[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Does removing Google Analytics penalise a we...
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       Ask HN: Does removing Google Analytics penalise a website in Google
       search?
        
       I have a website which does well in Google results. I've been using
       anonimised Google Analytics but recently thought about removing
       even that, as what little I'm interested in can be gathered from
       server logs.  But I'm worried doing so will penalise the website in
       Google results.  My searches led me to direct answers from Google
       staff that no, they don't take Google Analytics into account in
       rankings[1]. However, those answers are a decade old, from a time
       Google still touted "don't be evil" as a motto. The Google of 2022
       is one I don't expect to keep promises from 2010.  Are there
       reliable and/or recent sources which elucidate the case either way?
       Anecdotal reports can also be helpful.  [1]:
       https://plausible.io/blog/google-analytics-seo
        
       Author : googanalytical
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2022-07-05 20:27 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
       | layer8 wrote:
       | It seems to me that Google could get into legal trouble if that
       | was the case.
        
       | Signez wrote:
       | Doing so would be a textbook abuse of dominance, and would not
       | fly to any antitrust regulator -- I don't think they would try to
       | implement that.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | FinalBriefing wrote:
       | No, I don't see any reason to think that. If anything, it will
       | improve your Page Speed Insights score, which will improve your
       | rankings.
       | 
       | Google collects all they need and more from users using Chrome.
       | They don't need GA anymore, and I'm pretty sure they said a while
       | ago they were going to stop looking at the data (again, because
       | they collect far more data from user using Chrome).
       | 
       | Good on you!
        
         | birken wrote:
         | If you are using GA code that is at all recent, it should have
         | no impact on the page speed as it loads async. All the parts of
         | the page that Google cares about will already have rendered by
         | this point.
        
       | franze wrote:
       | No.
       | 
       | Thats not how search engine optimisation works. Neither in theory
       | nor in the real world.
        
         | franze wrote:
         | And I removed it from a lot of client websites. Just do it.
        
       | mattferderer wrote:
       | I know of many people who believe Google Analytics to be
       | unnecessary & poor quality. Many would argue you can get just as
       | good, if not better info from just using Google Search Console.
       | None of these sources I've heard from have been concerned with a
       | penalty. I unfortunately don't have citations for you.
       | 
       | A counter argument would be if you use Google Analytics for more
       | advanced tracking of user features, such as A/B testing &
       | tracking how users interact with your site.
        
       | xnx wrote:
       | Still no.
        
       | joegahona wrote:
       | This is less than a decade old:
       | https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1389322980547833856
       | 
       | John Mueller is a Search Advocate at Google and has weekly-ish
       | Youtube office hours where you can ask in greater detail, if
       | you'd like.
        
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       (page generated 2022-07-05 23:01 UTC)