Google Analytics (Not Provided) Update
As part of an effort to beef up search security, in late 2011 Google announced they would no longer provide search query data from users logged into Google accounts. This change also affected the tools and websites Digital Marketers like us use: even Google Analytics began displaying the term “(not provided)” in place of actual data in its Organic keywords and other reports. Since then, Google has switched almost all of its users to Secure Search, which has slowly contributed more “(not provided)” results from Organic searches.
What does this mean for you? In short, we’ll continue to see keyword data associated with “(not provided)” increase, and soon Google Organic keyword data will no longer be available at all. These include keyword rankings, conversions to the keyword and visitor keyword data—that is, the Bounce Rate, or number of visits for a particular keyword. At the moment, there is no established date for when this will be finalized.
RezStream takes this as another nudge from Google to focus on the bigger picture: provide the searcher with a positive experience by offering great content! This should come as no surprise—in the past few years, Google has made significant updates to their algorithm that reward sites which focus on fulfilling the searchers’ needs.
Don’t worry too much about the loss of data: despite losing this report, we still have plenty to work from. Most importantly, your Account Team at RezStream will continue to follow Google’s lead and maximize your website’s Organic channel—this is why we have focused so heavily on quality over quantity in the past year. In addition, we’ll keep utilizing Google’s Analytics, Insights and Webmaster Tools to measure the effectiveness of each phrase and identify new areas of opportunity.
For keyword performance reporting, we still have access to data from other search engines like Yahoo and Bing. As for Google itself, we encourage all our clients to participate in the Google AdWords program—if you aren’t already, now is a good time to think about doing so! For more information about this Paid program, please contact your Account Team so we can answer your questions.
At RezStream, we embrace Google’s updates for their continuing to place more focus on the actual user’s experience. After all, providing a positive experience for every visitor is the best way to assist in increasing conversions.
We know this is a lot of information, so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
About Company: RezStream is a Denver, Colorado based digital marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing and social media.