Google Analytics Now Offers Benchmarking

If you run a small website, but haven't heard of Google Analytics then you're missing out. Google offers a hosted stats system for website owners who want to take an interest in where their traffic is coming from and how long visitors spend on their site, but that offering has just become a lot more interesting.

Analytics used to offer the same stats as any other package, with the notable additional ability to tell you how well your Google Adwords (paid adverts) were doing. Now, you can take advantage of this hosted solution in a way not available to people running stats packages on their own servers.

Benchmarking allows you to compare your site's performance and popularity amongst other sites of similar content and size. This lets you keep track of how you measure up against your competition, which in turn should provide you with valuable hints as to untapped areas of interest for you to take advantage of.

For people running online businesses, access to statistical information about your competition could easily mean more money, but Google in it's constant push to remain on top of the Internet information food-chain is making it available without charge to those who contribute to the pool of information by making their de-identified website statistics available to the service.

Give a little... potentially gain a lot.

It's definitely a worthwhile deal for website owners, but it does beg the question: Is there something about us Google doesn't know?