Since the announcements of Google Trends for Websites and Google Ad Planner last week, we've gotten lots of interest from agencies and advertisers excited about the opportunity to expand their media plans to sites that they might have overlooked before. But we've also noticed some confusion as to how Google Analytics data might be used in those products, and we'd like to clear that up. Google Analytics doesn't share individual, site-level information with Google Trends for Websites or Google Ad Planner. These products gather data from multiple sources, then check the data against anonymous, aggregate, industry benchmarking data within Google Analytics. This helps Google Trends for Websites and Google Ad Planner calibrate category data and correct for under- or over-reporting in certain verticals. The benchmarking data comes from Google Analytics customers who've chosen to share their data in aggregate (see our earlier blog post ). Your data confidentiality is important to us, and we're committed to preserving your trust in us. You can check out Google Trends for Websites for yourself here or sign up for the Google Ad Planner beta here . More information is available on the Trends for Websites Help page and on the Google Ad Planner Help Center . Posted by Brett Crosby, Google Analytics Team