Google Analytics is not a reliable tool by any measure. I've installed it on multiple Web sites and when comparing their data to raw server data they miss as many as 90% of all visits. In some cases they get close to about 80% of traffic.

I don't know why the service cannot track real traffic but it pretty much sucks.

Michael, but how do you know who's more precise, the stats working on your raw logs or Google? For instance, both stats software needs to discount bots when it wants to show human visits, and if you count some of those bots as human you might get higher numbers... (But it's true Google Analytics is not showing people who have JavaScript disabled...)

Michael, I was at SES this past August and someone released an in depth study done that showed Google's analytics service was pretty much the same as all other web analytics services as far as collecting and reporting on the data. The guys who did it were StoneTemple Consulting. I did a quick search and found the report: http://www.stonetemple.com/articles/analytics-report-august-2007.shtml

Also, Philipp, with ASPs there is no legacy version. I took a look at the update you are talking about and they say the data was fixed in the historical reports, too.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a good industry benchmark for Bounce rate metrics for a retail website?

-Scott

Do you know if google analytics tracks unique visitors to all pages that are indexed and visible within analytics or just the home page for the domain. Sorry if its a daft questions.

I have recently started using Statcounter and their unique visitors are nearly double what google analytics is showing.

Regards Dave

> Do you know if google analytics tracks unique
> visitors to all pages that are indexed and visible
> within analytics or just the home page for the
> domain

All pages of that domain, AFAIK.

> I have recently started using Statcounter and their
> unique visitors are nearly double what google analytics
> is showing.

What is Statcounter precisely showing you – unique visits or unique visitors? (And if the latter, how does their help entry on the subject define that value?) Just asking, as the two are different but easy to mix up...