WebProNews

Individual site-level data won't be in Trends, Ad Planner

Along with adding that tiny link to its privacy policy ahead of the holiday weekend, Google also noted something its free Analytics service does not do.

Google made a lot more information available to users of its services. Both the general public and the advertising clients who feed its bottom line received access to expanded looks at the habits of Internet viewers, courtesy of the Google Trends for Websites and Ad Planner products.

There's something these services won't do, the company said in the Google Analytics blog. Despite the extra access, Google claimed neither product will expose site-level data about individual websites:

These products gather data from multiple sources, then check the data against anonymous, aggregate, industry benchmarking data within Google Analytics.

This helps Google Trends for Websites and Google Ad Planner calibrate category data and correct for under- or over-reporting in certain verticals. The benchmarking data comes from Google Analytics customers who've chosen to share their data in aggregate.

Google added a Privacy link to its home page recently, as well as placing one at the bottom of its search results pages. That change along with this clarification arrives as Google faces new Congressional scrutiny of its practices as a result of its search advertising deal with former rival Yahoo.