Goodbye, Google Keyword Data

Do you regularly check your Google Analytics, analysing which keywords are used to find your website? Well thanks to Google’s latest update, you won’t be able to for much longer…. Back in 2011, Google began encrypting search data for users’ who were logged into their Google accounts, thus resulting in the ‘not provided’ showing within analytics for site owners. But now, this has been extended, so that every visitor to Google is redirected to the secure search (HTTPS) So, what does this mean for you? As Google has demonstrated in the past, they are free to make whatever updates they like, whenever they like, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. The encrypted searches were rolled out around the 23rd Sept 2013, so you’ll see a decline in the keyword data you’re provided with. and an increase in ‘not provided’. However, if you use PPC (AdWords), then keyword data will still be available to you. (Don’t forget – other search engines, such as Bing will still pass data on) But don’t sit there wondering what to do now you can’t see this data – SEO goes on. You’ll still be able to identify visitors from their source (search, referral, etc), see which pages were most popular and track other useful info. Concentrate on writing high quality content for your website, get some decent links, become active on social media and think about the whole process of SEO, not just the keywords. If you’d like any help with your SEO or website following Google’s changes, contact us today