No Data For You: SEO Experts Offer Opinions On Google’s Move To Withhold Even More Search Term Data

 Google quietly confirmed earlier on that it might be encrypting all search information, in spite of whether or not a user was signed in or not. the corporate offered the subsequent statement to clarify their explosive call to withhold the data:

 we tend to additional SSL coding for our signed-in search users in 2011, similarly as searches from the Chrome omnibox earlier this year. We’re currently operating to bring this additional protection to a lot of users WHO don\'t seem to be signed in.

Marketing Land’s Danny Sullivan wrote regarding Google’s move to inscribe all non-paid searches, explaining, “The modification makes it terribly doubtless that within the close to future, publishers can receive no search term information sent to them directly through the decades-old and industry-standard ‘referrer’ system.”

In light-weight of Google’s call to form search term information “100% not provided”, we tend to asked a couple of of our SEO columnists and different search selling professionals their opinions on Google’s call to withhold the information and what marketers ought to do currently.

“This definitely will create things more durable on publishers WHO wish to understand what kinds of things square measure looking thereon finally ends up delivery them to their website,” same Stone Temple’s founder and chief executive officer Eric Enge, “This is pretty basic info that they\'ll use to higher perceive whether or not or not the content they\'re providing on the pages of their website matches up well with the incoming search queries.”

Enge points out that the search information is on the market via Google’s Webmaster Tools, however pull the data may be cumbersome. “You will get that information, however solely by clicking on the search term,” same Enge, “When you are doing, you get a screen like this (see image below). pull this information across thousands of terms is clearly not attending to happen.”

search question information graph Eric Enge

Enge offered variety of solutions for locating keyword information, as well as Google counsel and YouTube counsel to ascertain common variants of search queries, PPC tools like SEMRush and SpyFu (“This are going to be PPC based mostly information, however ought to be smart,” same Enge), and Bing’s keyword tool, in conjunction with different keyword tools like WordTracker and Keyword Discovery.

“Monday was the day keywords died,” same LunaMetrics SEO project manager Thomas Reid Bandremer. “This could be a immense challenge, however it’s additionally an excellent chance for prime agencies to differentiate themselves from those that can’t adapt.”

After hearing the news, Bandremer same his company command a group action session that enclosed team members from LunaMetrics PPC and Google Analytics departments. The SEO project manager offered the subsequent recommendation culled from his company’s group action session:

    First, SEO practitioners ought to frame their downside. they have to pin down the gaps in unjust insight they have to fill: What square measure the selections you and your shoppers create that deem keyword data? What specific metrics and reports does one use to come back up with the insights needed to form same decisions?

    The second factor to try to to is brainstorm solutions. for instance, we tend to came up with eight doable ways that to estimate the quantitative relation of non-branded to total organic search traffic.

    The third factor to try to to is vet the solutions. It appears that there square measure 3 factors that create an answer to issues caused by “100% not provided” viable: one.) the issues it resolves, 2.) information accuracy, and 3.) quantifiability and utility.

    There’s a fourth step in overcoming “100% not provided”. that might be continuous improvement. we\'d like to stay checking our ways, keep reading the trade literature and keep searching for higher concepts. the matter is simply too huge to tackle alone.

As the director of net selling for 352 Media cluster, Erin Everhart was appalled. “It was appalling,” same Everhart, “But, it’s very not that unhealthy. we tend to knew in this day and age was coming back.”

According to Everhart, marketers ought to be a lot of analytical in what they\'re measurement, and pay a lot of attention to KPI’s like page level metrics, traffic sources and breakdowns by campaigns. “All of those things really show North American country far more regarding however our web site is acting than keyword information,” same Everhart, “Clients square measure those generally demanding  keyword information and rankings, therefore it’s our responsibility to coach them.”

Everheart says that her company has been getting ready shoppers for these changes.

“It’s undoubtedly annoying it popped up all of a explosive, which you\'ll be able to still get keyword information if you acquire it,” same Everhart, “You can’t claim it’s for users’ privacy if you’re turning around and marketing that information to the best, or any, bidder.”

Other SEO professionals square measure questioning Google’s motives similarly.

“In terms of the haste of the choice,” same SEO firm Conductor’s director of analysis Nathan Safran, “I will solely speculate that it’s regarding eager to seem protecting of the user.”

Referencing the recent Prism scandal wherever Google was defendant of giving information to the National Security Agency, Safran queries Google’s intentions to withhold the information, “How they didn\'t anticipate however that might seem, given their disposition to pass keyword information in paid search, really baffles Maine.”

For marketers, Safran’s agency is encouraging corporations to seem at the broader image once it involves keywords:

 we predict it means that they [marketers] ought to shift from being strictly keyword centered to being a lot of content centered, measurement however content is rolling instead of strictly however keywords square measure acting. measurement search visibility really becomes a lot of vital as a prime of the funnel measure since keyword traffic information is currently gone.

The Link Building Company owner Julie James Augustine Aloysius Joyce wasn\'t hot and bothered by the news. “I will honestly say that Google’s call to try to to this doesn’t have an enormous result on however I work,” same James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, “I’m way more involved with viewing which internet sites send referring traffic through the links I’ve designed, for instance, than i\'m on that keywords bring users to the location.”

Joyce admits she uses keyword information, however merely doesn’t deem it. Still, whereas she wasn’t stunned by the choice, she was nonplused by however quickly the modification was created.

“The haste of the switch did throw Maine alittle as I knew it had been coming back, however was undoubtedly stunned to ascertain it happen therefore quickly, but, in the end, it’s their product therefore I suppose it’s their right.”

Like Everhart, James Augustine Aloysius Joyce recommends that marketers think about a brand new metric, or KPI, to suit their functions. She suggests mistreatment Google’s Webmaster Tools or presumably running atiny low Adwords campaign if necessary, “I hate to advise folks to pay cash to induce one thing that they wont to get without charge,” same James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, “If that’s however it’s attending to be, i believe it’s higher to simply accept it and cope with it than it\'s to remain stressed and complain regarding it for ages.”