How accurate is Google Analytics? / Hello Lisbon!

I, along with other million bloggers, use Google Analytics to track my blog page visitors and where they come from. Since its from the mogul Google (hey that rhymes), I have absolutely no second thoughts about the accuracy of its statistics. Never until now.

According to the map overlay, I have readers in Lisbon. Yes Lisbon, Portugal.

How can a web copywriter tucked in a small office in the heart of traffic central Shaw Blvd. have a reader in Southwest Europe? Comprehensible if you'd think maybe Blogspot admin is located or has a satellite office in Lisbon but no, they're in San Francisco. They couldn't have advertised my blog and told the Portuguese "hey this guy is nuts, check out his blog." My friends couldn't possibly caused it to happen, they can't read. All they do is stare. "Oh nice there's a picture of a surfer." And I'm dead sure tjisme.blogspot.com doesn't have a page rank, yet.

So this leaves me with two conclusions. One, analytics is showing me a big pile of steamy you know what or two, I really do have a steady reader in Lisbon. Someone somehow has accidentally clicked my url, stood on the rooftop edge of a 74 story building and shouted "Este tipo e prodigio! Faco o marcador de paginas o seu blog imediatamente e ler todas as suas palavras brilhantes ate o dia do juizo final. Saude!"

If the latter happens to be true, well great. That means I'm international now. If not, fine. I have readers in Kamuning!