Does Google use Google Analytics for Ranking Purposes?
In response to a tweet, SEO expert John Mueller clarified that Google is not using Google Analytics for ranking purposes.
The notion that Google uses Google Analytics for ranking purposes has been around for a while.
In 2005, Google acquired Urchin, a web statistics analysis company that would eventually become Google Analytics. At the time, the purchase made sense since the analytics service complemented Google’s PPC business.
In 2008, the idea that Google uses Google Analytics for ranking purposes started making rounds online. It began with Google’s official statement about using data from GA in an anonymized and aggregated form.
Over the years, several allegations have claimed that Google uses the data from the web analytics service for ranking purposes. However, there was never any proof. Also, Google neither denied nor confirm the claim.
Twelve years later, the idea that the search and advertising giant uses Google Analytics data for ranking resurfaced on Twitter.
The tweet reads:
“I think the core argument was people used to think google search console data and google analytics were separate entities, and google didn’t rank based on analytics data. Now they are combined (even on the API side). Analytics data can help with search rankings.”
Webmaster Trend Analyst at Google, John Mueller, finally stepped into squash the myth.
Google Doesn’t Use Google Analytics Data for Ranking Purposes
John Mueller clearly stated that Google does not use Google Analytics for ranking purposes. He further pointed out that Google Search Console and Google Analytics track data differently.
Mueller’s tweet reads:
“We don’t use Google Analytics in Search, and Google Analytics & Search Console track data quite differently.”
We don’t use Google Analytics in Search, and Google Analytics & Search Console track data quite differently. SC tracks what’s shown in Search, GA tracks what happens when a user goes to a site. There’s overlap, but it’s not exact.
— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) July 28, 2020
The Google Search Console tracks what happens in Search. These include checking indexing status and optimizing visibility on the search engine.
Google Analytics, on the other hand, tracks what happens when a user visits a website. While the activities of these web analytics tools may overlap, they are not the same.
Last month, Google notified site owners about its intention to combine data from Google Analytics and Search Console in one report. That way, users can access the information they need using either service.