New Google product: Nowhere for websites to hide

Websites are naked now and have no way to find more clothing. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has finally launched the much-rumored service, Trends For Websites. It measures daily unique visitors for all but the smallest internet properties.

The first reaction to the product is that it will hurt paid services like comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), but the change Google is making runs deeper than that. No website of any kind, in any part of the industry, will be able to keep its traffic trends from its advertisers, or its competition.

As an example, traffic to msnbc.com has been rising recently. Traffic to CNN.com is not doing as well.

Democracy has hit the internet in many ways, but having a chance to keep confidential traffic data had not made it into that realm. Web publishers had some privacy about the size of their businesses. Now, that has changed, too.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.