That depends on what Google does with the data. Think about this scenario:

“Bob” is a GMail user and uses the Google search engine. Google knows:

1. What Bob is searching on via a cookie on his computer. (if he types a url that doesn’t exist into the Google toolbar, that URL gets sent to Google).
2. What domain names he visits (Search + Analytics).
3. Who owns those domains (Google is an ICANN-accredited registrar).
4. What pages he clicks on (Analytics) .
5. What ads he clicks on (Adsense).
6. The content of emails he receives (unlimited data retention from Gmail).
7. Who is sending Bob emails (via “content extraction”).

Of course, in the recent email from Google describing benchmarking, Google said they want to provide “you with transparency, control, and new services”.  I think this was a typo made by Google, they should replace the word “you” with the word “Google”.

Google has just rolled out a “Optional Benchmarking Feature” in Google Analytics. This allows website owners to share data with Google.

Why share your data with Google? Well if you don’t share, then Google says that you you will miss out on “greater insight and flexibility” in new services and features such as the AdWords Conversion Optimizer.

If you decide to share your data anonymously, then Google will “remove all identifiable information about your website, then combine that data with hundreds of other anonymous sites in comparable industries and report them in an aggregate form“.

The other interesting thing about this, is that historical data is being included! Google includes data from up to a month before your opt-in date.

Looking into my crystal ball, I can see Google doing a similar thing to Alexa as well as offering Internet marketing reporting to corporates – similar to that of Hitwise Intelligence reporting etc..  For those that have not read one of these reports, its essentially a “Where does your site rank in your industry”.

Stay tuned….