Kofu

Comparing the two services, Google Analytics and Webmaster.

Google analytics involves putting a javascript code in every page you want tracked. It doesn't work if people turn off javascripts coming from google-analytics.com. Google loads a much bigger chunk of javascript into the page -- take a look, eg. with Firefox's Firebug tool. It's interesting.

Analytics is more for people who (and companies that) are trying to promote their site in various ways, and the Google paid services are pushed.

Google webmaster requires posting just one HTML page on your site, to verify that you can upload pages to the site. Then it provides the same sort of information you could get using Google advanced searches (e.g., outside links to pages on your site), but in a much more compact way with various types of info provided.

I find them both worthwhile, but I had them confused for a few days. I had joined each at different times, and wondered why each had a different set of sites... (I found iWebtalk in a Google search to see what comparisons others make between the two services, and found a closed thread here that didn't really answer the question.)

Spency

I don't really agree with this.

I use the Analytics because I have found it to be one of the best in the business, in terms of how easy it is to use and the data it provides.

The JS is a fair point, but I still think it is one of the best stats programs out there.

I do not use it to promote my company, I really use it just because its easy, clear and ever so simple to get reports.

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Bueno Property Investments - http://www.buenoinvestments.com / Directory 4 Property - http://www.directory4property.co.uk

Kofu

Analytics is useful in many ways, but the emphasis is on site promotion. I guess I haven't figured out the service enough to try any "campaigns" but that's a built-in option, and it'll be set up in a way to encourage using Google's Adwords, etc.

That's okay, and I can ignore it, but for a noncommercial site, it's sort of a distraction (to me).

Also, I don't object to the javascript (hey, I depend on others to not object to it) but Google advertises their service saying you include only a "snippet" of code. A lot of people don't realize the snippet turns into a big chunk of code, tracking all sorts of web activity. I use Firefox with NoScript, and google-analytics.com blocked, and I find it just about everywhere. It doesn't seem to affect how the sites work, but it does mean people aren't tracking my visits to their sites. Interestingly I can check my own analytics with javascript from google-analytics turned off.