Major risks of buying,
leasing, or subscribing to Google Analytics
One risk
associated with Google Analytics is determining which version is best for your
organization, the standard (free) version or Google Analytics 360 Suite. Google
Analytics 360 Suite starts at $150,000 per year; this could be a substantial
investment for some companies (Blast, n.d.). The main differences include
higher data limits and more platform integrations with the 360 Suite. Another
risk when buying, leasing, or subscribing to Google Analytics is security
vulnerabilities associated with the system. This will be discussed in detail
below.
It is interesting to note that U.S. Department
of Homeland Security uses Google Analytics for viewing and analyzing traffic to
the public websites. To avoid risk and protect privacy the Department of
Homeland Security will not allow sharing of Google Analytics data with any of
the Google products. “This decision to opt-out
means that the information is not shared with any Google products (such as AdWords,
AdSense). This is set within the Google Analytics Settings ‘Edit Account and Data Sharing Settings’” (McShea, 2011). The full report
is available at:
Major risks of buying, leasing, or
subscribing to Google AdWords
There are risks associated buying, leasing,
subscribing, and using Google Adwords. Money is at stake; therefore,
organizations are urged to be careful when setting up campaign budgets and
selecting keywords. Another risk is fraudulent clicks. According to Google,
fraudulent or invalid clicks are “illegitimate, such as
unintentional clicks or clicks resulting from malicious software. Each click on
an AdWords ad is examined by our system, and Google has sophisticated systems
to identify invalid clicks and impressions and remove them from your account
data” (AdWords
Help, n.d.). Though
Google has a system in place to detect
and avoid fraudulent and/or invalid clicks, some still get through the cracks
and these invalid clicks can cost companies money.
Additionally, there are other reasons that companies choose
not to use Google AdWords. According to John Rampton, there are five reasons
that organizations should not use AdWords:
1.
You
pay for clicks regardless if a sale was made or not
2.
It is
difficult to compete with big companies
3.
Google
limits the number of characters, meaning using AdWords successfully can be
tricky
4.
Mistakes
can cost companies dearly
5.
It
might not fit your niche. In other words, just because your company is working
with Google, the largest search engine in the world, does not mean your
audience will be able to find you (Rampton, 2014).
Privacy
Concerns Regarding Google Analytics
Google
Analytics is a tool that uses data to create statistical information for use in
algorithms for better search engine optimization. In doing so, Google
obtains a great deal of information that falls under privacy conditions,
however there is always the potential for malicious acts with that data.
Google is required to keep data for 25 months for any particular website
(Stefanski, 2013). This means that a marketer is agreeing for that data
to be held during that time. The Register describes a scenario
where Google Analytics could become a security risk due to the ease of control
of urchin.js. This could allow one to steal session cookies or sniff data
among other methods of attack putting the information at risk (Goodin, 2008).
A blog by Privacy Choice suggests there are concerns regarding the
privacy of Google Analytics as well. Google and its subsidiaries may use
the information that is gathered, and while it cannot disclose the targeting
information to advertisers, they can still use information to target ads
(Privacy Choice, 2009).
Privacy
Concerns Regarding Google AdWords
AdWords
has a few options that strive to provide security. Through “ad settings”, it provides visibility
and control, opt-out options, and education within ads (Google, n.d.). It
also provides guidelines for keeping an AdWords account secure through by providing several
suggestions including reporting unauthorized AdWords activity, protecting your
computer from malware, updating the account password, enabling 2 step
verification, and providing users with specific service levels (Google, n.d.).
Through these tools, and others listed on the AdWords help page, there is
a reasonable expectation of privacy within an account. One concern that
is stated by Google is to be aware of malicious emails or calls claiming to be
from AdWords that could compromise privacy and security (Google, n.d.).
Potential
Security Issues
There are
high security risks at Google Analytics regarding third-party JavaScript.
Widgets that are used by Google Analytics do represent a threat, especially has
a high-profile target. The reason it could happen to Google is due to the
service grants unscrupulous employees that have access to administrative pages.
Google Analytics call up a JavaScript file that is hosted by Google called
urchin.js. This is used to steal session cookies and manipulate data.
There are
also security risks in LarsLofgren.com
that can give a user a code for the homepage they want to destroy. In finding
the property ID, using this code in any other site will corrupt the code and
never allow the primary user to use it again. In using filters and settings,
Google Analytics profiles can become hacker proof.
Google
Adwords back in 2015 was hijacked by malvertisers, where it redirected users to
sites that hosted poisoned ads without visitors having to even click on them.
Reasoning for issues like this to happen can be the way online advertising
firms used mined data to target ads towards relevant customers. Infected ads
are convincing looking with articles that contain fake comments and
endorsements.
In
preventing risks with Google Adwords, checking for unauthorized changes is
important. Check regularly to view if changes are placed in the budget or
statements. Scanning a computer for malware and enabling certain verification
security keys will help prevent security risks to attack Google.
Risks
in Relation to the Estimated Benefits
While
there are great benefits to using Google AdWords and Google Analytics, if not
used properly, there can be risk associated with these systems. While Google
Adwords has the value of drawing traffic to a user’s site, if not utilized properly this traffic can have a negative effect. According to linkedin.com,
if AdWords
is used without a strong negative keywords list, your ads will appear for browsers who are not interested in your site. While this may not
appear to be a pressing issue, it can have the negative effect of skewing
revenue generating click numbers. In this case, it is fairly easy for a user to
lose money through the AdWords app.
Google
Analytics is unique in its structure in that it is relatively low risk. Due to
Google comprising the infrastructure, and providing the coding, it is hard for
the analytics to be useful to anyone outside of the company using the app. However,
there is still risk if this information is accessed by the wrong people. As was
demonstrated in the Dan Merica article titled “Fired
Sanders Aide: I Wasn’t Peeking at Clinton Files”, sensitive information can be used against a company, even if all the data is indecipherable. This would be a potential risk of using the
Google Analytics application.
Google
Analytics and Google AdWords at IVK
IVK like any other company would have to face risks when
implementing any new system. A certain set of procedures need to be followed
that will help in mitigating risks. Google AdWords takes some precautionary
measures to reduce potential threats. Some steps need to be taken to reduce
risks such as building up a very strong negative keyword list. Because it lets
only those people that are searching for a company’s ads and services click those ads. People that
are not searching wouldn’t come across those ads and
services. This reduces the risk of potential costs arising from
non-revenue generating clicks. This in turn reduces the
risk of click fraud by focusing only on those
who are interested in a company’s products and services.
Google AdWords is very efficient as compared to other
advertising platforms when it comes to detecting fraud clicks because it doesn’t require an expert to
be managing it. Instead, anyone with some level of competence with this
platform can manage it efficiently and effectively. Focusing attention on
people who are searching for a company’s products and services is
what businesses need to do. IVK could effectively implement this marketing strategy for its
product offering. However, security concerns remain for customers and customers
need to protect themselves from fraudulent pay per clicks and external attacks.
Every system and technology are prone to threats; however, risk reduction
efforts could result in better systems management and effective business
outcomes. In this case, for IVK minimizing risks of implementing this system
would result in better marketing strategy. This would help IVK improve its
business objectives and meet its organizational goals.
Google analytics in particular have concerns in getting
optimum results and can cause waste of resources like time, effort and most
importantly sends flags to the market about performance. Most of the issues in
getting incorrect analysis are due to reporting and conversions and these can
be categorized into 5 different sections -
·
Directional
·
Data collection
·
Data integration
·
Data interpretation
·
Data reporting
IVK has similar issues with the IR project in terms of
communication, team play and integrating services within and outside the
department. The skills that make Ivan an irreplaceable asset at IVK is what
Barton should aim from his employees. Risks are inevitable in any organization
but as Maggie mentions in the book, IT can leverage these risks by simulating
and testing them. Any organization should not clip its innovation based on risk
management, instead provide a safe and controlled platform to make mistakes
that might cost money rather than making unexpected mistakes that might end up
taking much more resources and time.
. 
Source: (Gallagher, 2016), retrieved from emarketers.com and data from 2014-2018 are projections)
The above graph shows the transition of advertising from TV to all kinds of digital media and therefore many database management approaches can be utilized to maintain the privacy of the customer and Google is leading in their risk management and constantly innovating and integrating services into their model for a better risk free data management and advertisement.
URL - www.corporatezen.com/what-we-do-website-development-company/google-analytics-adwords/
URL - www.corporatezen.com/what-we-do-website-development-company/google-analytics-adwords/
References -
Donohue,
B., Google AdWords Campaigns Hijacked by Malvertisers. (2015, January 15).
Treat Post. Retrieved November 01, 2017, from https://threatpost.com/google-adwords-campaigns-hijacked-by-malvertisers/110457/
Goodin, D. (2008, November 22).
Google Analytics? Yes, it is a security risk. The Register UK. Retrieved from http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/22/google_analytics_as_security_risk/
Google
Analytics 360 vs. Standard (Comparison Chart). Blast (n.d.). Retrieved October
15, 2017, from http://www.blastam.com/google-analytics-360-standard-comparison
Google
Analytics Customers Are Missing Data Due To The Disruption Of Ad Blockers.
(2017, October 07). Martech Series. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://martechseries.com/analytics/marketing-attribution/google-analytics-customers-missing-data-due-disruption-ad-blockers/
Google. (n.d.). About privacy and personalized ads. Retrieved
from: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2375456?hl=en
Google. (n.d.). Keep your account secure. Retrieved from: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2549116?hl=en
Invalid
clicks - AdWords Help. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/42995?hl=en
Merica,
D. (2017). Fired Bernie Sanders aide: I wasn't peeking at Hillary Clinton data
files - CNNPolitics. CNN. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/politics/sanders-dnc-data-breach-josh-uretsky/
Privacy Choice. (2009, September 29). Website analytics and
targeting: is there an elephant in the room? Retrieved from https://privacychoice.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/website-analytics-and-targeting-is-there-an-elephant-in-the-room/
Rampton,
J. (2014, July 07). 5 Reason You Shouldn't Use Google AdWords. Forbes.
Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2014/07/07/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-use-adwords/2/#48b9124c627d
Security
and privacy in Universal Analytics - Google Analytics Help. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 01, 2017, from
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2838718?hl=en
Stefanski, R. (2013, December 12). Five weaknesses of Google
Analytics |. Retrieved from http://www.onehourprofessor.com/weaknesses-of-google-analytics/
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