Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
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Keyword Not Provided Passes 70% as Chrome Makes ALL Searches HTTPS
My keywords not provided passed 70% just as Google Chrome has started switching all searches to secure search (https) for all users. Obviously the technical nature of my readership puts my site at the vanguard of this new reality.
But the Chrome switch to HTTPS, which started on December 10th, presages a big jump in not provided numbers for all websites. The secure search occurs in Chrome whether you are logged in or whether you are logged out and searching in in cognito mode. It was only on August 2nd, that my blog passed 60% for not provided traffic from Google. The trend was accelerating even before this most recent change to Chrome.
Of my 15,228 visitors over the past 30 days that came via Google search, 10,661 of them, or 70.009%, did not show the keyword data.
I should have written this post last week as my keywords not provided hit 69%. It would have made for a better title.
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Comments
11 Comments
And with the change in a switch via chrome there goes keyword research out the door.
bye bye keyword research it was nice to know you. Google doesn’t want anyone actually doing that.
Mike- I hate that Google is doing this, but, for us representing small businesses on line, keywords are really pretty simple. How many ways can a person search for a Plumber, or an attorney, or a Dentist.
One must go with the flow, and the flow is clearly less information is better in Googles eyes.
This will obviously change your keyword research process. How would you plan to conduct keyword research going forward for you or for clients’ websites?
That is bunk, man! Selfish, greedy, etc. I manage Adwords accounts where G wants you to go now that the keyword market has been cornered, but this makes life much more difficult for smaller budgets. As far as keyword research, I was thinking that custom and unique had similar weight as attributes of a product. Adwords, showed that custom was used much more for search. This is why it is important to have access to the data. Optimize for the wrong attribute and lose lots of potential clicks. That used to be 100% free data.
Mike: I can’t emphasize how important great keyword research is for certain smb’s wherein that industry is “search dependent” By that I mean that a significant share of revenues, possibly the majority, are the result of searches.
We have smb’s of different types. Some are search dependent and some are not.
I’ve seen a variation on certain theories about search from certain SEO’s with regard to search phrases:
It goes something like this and lets use Plumber in a city, say Denver.
A. Keywords aren’t too difficult. how many ways can you search for a plumber in Denver.
B. True in a manner of speaking but if that SMB is search dependent there is far more to the story.
C. Variations might include but aren’t limited to:
plumbers denver co
plumbing denver co
plumber in denver co
plumbing in denver co
(per the google adwords tool they all have about the same # of monthly searches)
or this group of keywords:
denver plumber
plumbers denver
plumbers in denver
plumber in denver
denver plumbers
According to the google keyword tool all of the above have the same volume of monthly search terms also.
Trust me. They DON’T
Every time I’ve worked on accounts of groups of keywords like the above, even as the keyword tool suggests exactly the same volume of searches it NEVER IS THE SAME…NEVER
Now some other google tools May give greater granularity. They may indicated that for instance Denver plumber is used more often than plumber Denver or plumber in Denver
I never find consistent consistency. Sometimes the city comes first in the phrase more frequently, sometimes the name of the service comes first and shows more frequently.
One needs granularity to win at this game. If one is a plumber in Denver there are a critical finite number of searches (assuming the industry is dependent on search).
If you don’t get the call, one of your competitors does get the call.
Competition is tough.
All of this leads back to the critical need for good keyword research.
While the keyword tool is helpful it doesn’t provide the granularity one needs to try and WIN.
I tend to find that of the keyword phrases that the keyword tool finds as “THE SAME NUMBER Of SEARCHES” that is NEVER THE CASE…and at times one variation might be used twice, three, four, or FIVE times as much as the other variation.
The hard working SMB trying to compete in a hard tough world needs to know which shows MORE OFTEN.
All of this takes us back to the fact that Analytics is showing less and less valuable information.
Large numbers of searches are blocked from one’s analysis. NOT REPORTED is a huge growing phenomena. Chrome blocking all keyword data will take out an ENORMOUS volume of actual search data.
AND the new IOS6 shows up in Analytics as a Direct Source of web traffic.
Keyword analysis from analytics is seriously taking a HIT.
Without a doubt it makes SEO for an SMB far far far more difficult.
I personally like to rely on adwords, even if run at relatively low cost bid prices, if only to get critical granular keyword data. Its far more informative than google trends, webmaster tools, the keyword tool, or my own analytics.
Its a shame for SEO that we are seeing less and less keywords. Its so fundamental to all SEO and critical to G Maps showing as high as possible for the highest volume of keywords.
Analytics Keywords: RIP
Just 39% over here, but yes – on the rise!
Mike: Just saw a little blurb that could have been posted in a couple of places on your blog. Since this is the latest entry and it does have some relevance here goes:
http://www.slashgear.com/ios-6-adoption-jumps-29-after-release-of-google-maps-19261697/
Per one market analysis source: The Google Maps addition as an App on the I phone has increased conversion to IOS6 by a large percentage:
According to the article 5 days after adding Google Maps adoption of IOS6 is soaring versus what Chitika discovered following the first day after the G Maps app was added to the IOS6 system.
The relevance here is that traffic via IOS6 comes across as Direct in your Analytics.
I looked at one acct w/ a mobile and main site.
Recenty the mobile traffic was coming in at 40% Direct. Hey that site does and always has received most of its traffic from search. Always had, and probably always Will.
The data is now really screwed up.
Alternatively this piece of news could have been placed on your blog piece from October 10th wherein you used a survey to question people about their use of the IOS6. ref: https://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/10/10/what-do-consumers-think-of-the-iphone-map-app/
Well, maybe there is a little bit more to the story. What do you think, Mike?
Happy New Year Mike!
Interesting information. Do you have any feelings about whether the 30% of “keywords provided” searches are a representative sample of the others? Or are they biased in some way? Given the volumes you see, the 30% sample size might give you excellent information about the search data you’re not getting.
As a rehabilitated statistician, I’ve always viewed the keyword volume data as “ordinal” in character. The inconsistencies in the data, highlighted above in comments, make it unwise to think of these numbers as “interval” or “ratio” in character. As ordinal data, the search information from Firefox, IE, Safari, etc. might provide sufficient data to rank keyword phrases.
In my experience working with local businesses, keyword research is a critical first step despite the problems with the data. For example, I might never have latched on to “car crash lawyer” for personal injury attorney and “collaborative divorce lawyer” for a collaborative practice attorney. Maybe that’s just me though.
Thanks! Paul
@Paul
Sorry I missed this comment. It was not automatically approved and fell below the radar of the holidays and a rip roaring cold.
I do not know if anyone has tracked whether the 30% of “keywords provided” searches are a representative sample of the others. It is hard to conceive as how to do so without having a more complete picture that only Google has. It is however a reasonable assumption and certainly can be used as a source of information.
We are seeing slightly above 31% across the board on on clients.
We use the Google Keyword suggestions for rooting out additional key words, and a few other tools. Seems to be overall pretty effecrive.
Google encrypting searches in Chrome Omnibox will drive a huge potential increase in “keyword not provided” data. #heartbreaking!
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