How does Google Analytics figure visitor location?

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How does Google Analytics figure visitor location?

Looking for insight on source and method to help interpret map overlay

Bentler

4:56 pm on Jan 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

Does anyone know how Google identifies city of origin for visitors to a site, which Analytics displays in its Map Overlay? I can't find any documentation to help me understand what the data means. I'm wondering if it's based on ISP location, user address via third party data mining or Google account data, or some other method. I realize they might like to keep their methods secret, but just the same it would be good to have a sense of the data accuracy to qualify decisions based on it.

BradleyT

6:49 pm on Jan 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

Everyone at work shows as being from the city our ISP is in, not the city we're actually in.

Bentler

6:51 pm on Jan 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

Not to answer my own question, but based on my observations and guesswork, locations appear to reference the first router location rather than where the ISP is located or site visitors actually access from. If so, one locality might accrete the visitor stats for the surrounding service area, including other city locations, and some regions might pipe through the network infrastructure that counts
visits to large cities.

piatkow

9:59 am on Jan 25, 2008 (gmt 0)

And some business private networks will connect to the net at a different location, maybe even a different country, to the actual offices.

luisin

3:20 pm on Feb 2, 2008 (gmt 0)

Google get the IP of the user and resolve that IP to know what is the ISP of the user and to know the country...