Google Local, Places, + Business Numbers, Analytics TOTALLY unreliable

Who knows?  One month you have 4838 impression and 831 actions, and a few months later, for the same “data set” ie. time frame, it gets a little moody and decides…nah, it’s now 9843 impressions, 983 actions.  This is, of course, for the backend of Google Places / + / Local whuchyama’callit – Google’s version of “Local”.  Confusing on many levels, but in terms of pure analytical data, I have seen time and again after notating numbers on spreadsheets for clients that read something like this:  Client #1.  February 19-March 18, 2013:  4291 impressions, 579 actions.  Ok!  We’re in the game.  I guess that’s what’s posted, that’s what’s going on!  Ok.  Now…let’s pretend 3 months passes.  Ok.  So, now, here we sit three months later and woila, we log back in, and go huh, I wonder what my numbers are for that same period I checked 3 months ago:  Feb 19- March 18 2013?  Let’s check.  I’m not going to give EXACT numbers, but in this case it was 42.82999% HIGHER than it was 3 months PREVIOUS for the same time period.  If you’re confused, OR…if you think we’re in the Twilight Zone, yes, you’re right.  Or, more appropriately, no, you’re fine, but Google seems to be confused!  Again, I don’t know what’s going on here.  But, the trend over the last 24 months or so is that these numbers, when referred to IN THE FUTURE seem to trend HIGHER, not lower.  Very curious indeed.

Here’s how I feel about it:  I don’t trust any of it.  It seems TOTALLY random.  I give these numbers to clients, but I have to say:  it’s not entirely ‘stable’ data.  It’s going up..great!  I’m happy for that, but it’s not…it doesn’t seem to…I don’t know.  Doesn’t seem flush.

The almighty Google.  What is going on?