Comparing Google Analytics with server logs
I’ve been running Google Analytics on my blog for around a year now, and every time I look at the data it provides, I trust it less and less. Frequently, the statistics it provides are misleading, if not flat-out wrong 1 . And in addition to that, many people block google analytics, so I don’t actually know how many views I’m getting.
A few days ago, I decided to compare my google analytics dashboard with my server logs 2 to see how many people actually block google analytics. Here’s what I found:
Out of 1, 565 users in my sample, 565 blocked google analytics (≈ (%). The breakdown by browser was as follows:
Browser
|
% Blocking
|
|
|
(Chrome)
| % Firefox |
|
% Safari |
|
% |
|
|
There were a few other browsers in the sample, but there were not data data about them to be meaningful (There were
By operating system, it broke down as follows:
Operating System
|
% Blocking
|
|
(Mac)
| % |
Windows |
|
% Android |
|
0% |
iOS |
|
% |
Linux (non-Android) |
|
% ChromeOS |
|
% |
|
There was also one BSD user in the sample, who blocked google analytics.
I think the only really surprising thing about this is how high the percentage on ChromeOS is – I would have expected it to be much lower. This also shows how bad the adblocking situation is on mobile right now – I’d imagine most users who block GA / ads on desktop would also want to on mobile, but can’t just because it’s so difficult to set up an adblocker on mobile .
It’s worth noting that my blog is absolutely not average, since I attract a much more technical audience, but the numbers should be roughly transferable to other programming blogs.
If you’re in NYC and want to meet up over lunch / coffee to chat about the future of technology, get in touch with me .
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