Google currently provides a very nice and free analytics program that does wonders in helping online marketers somewhat accurately analyze how their performance is doing (far better than TV Nielson ratings in my opinion or magazine trackings). That said, I’ve come across clients that refuse to use Google Analytics as they are afraid of Google potentially becoming their competitor and using the data within analytics against them. Kevin Gold at Search Marketing Standard (great magazine in my opinion by the way) feels that for the most part Google isn’t going to use its analytics for evil purposes:

[T]he other day I overheard a conversation about Google and how advertisers will not use their Analytics or Optimizer products because of the “big brother” fear. At other times, I have heard website owners claim that Google wiped out their business overnight through some diabolical plot to support other “preferred’ websites.

Who knows…certainly I suppose undercurrents lurk mysteriously in the unknowns…it seems to be happening in politics lately where bribes, influences and other pressures force less than ethical decisions. But I am not sure I believe the big brother fear or the other conspiracy theories. The bigger you get the greater level of scrutiny you receive from governmental and watch dog groups.

For me, I’ll happily use Google Analytics , Optimizer and any other quality product they launch to make my clients more and more money and leave the conspiracy theorists to their own beliefs.

I agree with Kevin on happily using Google Analytics, it truly is a great product (and Google Optimizer looks nice as well), but one always should (one would be very naive otherwise) keep a watchful eye on a powerful corporation (just like you would for the government or any powerful person) to see what they could possibly do with all that data.

Let’s take a look at some other examples in order to give an idea of how things could go wrong:

And yet, Google wants to expand further into online data storage?

It may seem like Google is the “Do No Evil” company at this point in time, but what comes of the day when there is new management? No longer is there a concern about the scrutiny as the new management may think it can get away with the data it has.

Oh, and just because a corporation or government is bigger does not mean it will be less likely to avoid trouble–otherwise the United Nations would be the cleanest government around the world.