Search Engine Optimization – Keyword Not Provided

For all our Google AdWords Management customers, please be aware that Google recently changed the way it handles keyword phrases.  Apparently, the NSA was doing a little too much poking around in Google’s data, so Google decided to protect the privacy of their users.  To do this, they encrypted the searches that you make on google.com.  This means that web analytics packages (like Google Analytics ), that used to be able to tell you what someone searched for (ie. the keywords) before they came to your website.  This in no way affects our ability to provide you with your AdWords data, or interfere with the way we manage your account.

For the SEO experts however, this missing data was the heart and blood of what they do.  Now they will no longer be able to see that data.  Instead, most of the keyword data provided to them will appear as “Not Provided”.

According to Google:

“We added SSL encryption for our signed-in search users in 2011, as well as searches from the Chrome omnibox earlier this year. We’re now working to bring this extra protection to more users who are not signed in.”  

About a month ago, they rolled this out to all Google webpages – including those where the user is logged-in.

Bottom-line – If you are currently paying someone for SEO services , you may want to ask them how they’re going to manage your data going forward.

I hope this helps.

The post Search Engine Optimization – Keyword Not Provided appeared first on Third Marble Marketing.