breaking up with your organic keyword data
TRANSCRIPT
#MozCon
ANNIE CUSHING
BREAKING UP WITH YOUR KEYWORD DATA
@AnnieCushing
GOOGLE DECLARED WAR ON KEYWORD DATA
@AnnieCushing
This was when Google started withholding keyword data from site visitors who were logged in to any Google property. To the dismay of many online marketers.
Chill wi’ dat, SEOs. We’re talking single digits. Max.
@AnnieCushing
ACCORDING TO CLICKCONSULT ...
** Based on 60 sites they’re following@AnnieCushing
Biggest. Single. Digit. Evar.
Let me know when you’re done talking about (not provided) ….
@AnnieCushing
Whining about (not provided) will not be the point of this presentation. The topic bores me.
JUL 2012: FIREFOX 14 ENCRYPTED GOOGLE SEARCH
@AnnieCushing
Mozilla, in collusion with Google, made Google searches encrypted by default. Unless it hits Goog’sbottom line (i.e, AdWords). Then screw privacy. That data is unencrypted.
Read about the controversy
JUL 2012: FIREFOX 14 ENCRYPTED GOOGLE SEARCH
According to StatCounter, 17% use 14+ worldwide
14+ = Version 14 or newer
FEB 2013: CHROME 25 ENCRYPTED GOOGLE SEARCH
@AnnieCushing
Surprise, surprise. Google follows Mozilla’s “lead” and also encrypts all searches on google.com. Of course, Google knows there would have been mutiny if they had made the switch first. And I’m not a Google conspiracy theorist. There’s just legerdemain all over this series of events.
FEB 2013: CHROME 25 ENCRYPTED GOOGLE SEARCH
According to StatCounter, 35% use 25+ worldwide
ACCOUNTS FOR ~52% WEB USERS
@AnnieCushing
REFERRING KEYWORDS WILL SHOW UP: (NOT PROVIDED)
If you go to google.com in your browser, and you see https instead of http, none of your keywords will show up in the site’s analytics. They will show up as (not provided), even if you’re logged out.
A NEW THIEF OF KEYWORD DATA
If your site (or your clients’ sites) rely on traffic from local search, there’s a BRAND NEW thief on the scene.
You may have heard about Google using a carousel for local search now. Sexy, right? You’d think that if a searcher clicked on one of the results in the carousel, it would go to their site. If so, you’d be wrong.
Instead, Goog takes the unsuspecting searcher to a REVISED QUERY RESULT. I didn’t search for Brio Tuscan Grille Cherry Hill! I searched for Italian restaurant. So if this searcher just HAPPENS to be searching on an older version of Chrome or Firefox — or IE or Safari — AND isn’t logged in to any Google properties, Brio STILL won’t get my actual search query. If their marketing team (or agency) isn’t keeping on top of these trends or they discard branded traffic, there goes yet another unexplained drop in non-branded traffic.
PREPARE YOUR GOOD-BYES
Yes, I have an over-active imagination.
KEYWORD TRENDING DATA
FROM ANALYTICS
This will need to be your first (and possibly most painful) good bye.
SEPARATING BRANDED AND
NON-BRANDED TRAFFIC
Separating branded and non-branded traffic is an outdated practice in the age of encryption.
WHY THESE HAVE BECOME MYTHS
THE DATA YOU’RE LEFT WITH ISN’T A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
representative sample
nounA small quantity of something whose characteristics represent the entire population
@AnnieCushing
@AnnieCushing
Let’s saying you’re about to make some delish homemade soup, and you have your stock prepared and ready to go.
@AnnieCushing
You throw in your chopped veggies.
@AnnieCushing
And some really gross-looking raw chicken ….
@AnnieCushing
And finally some herbs (which is probably spinach, but they looked like herbs when I was searching). Martha Stewart I am not.
Now let’s say you just throw everything into the pot but then have to walk away before you have a chance to stir your brew, let alone give it time to cook. And then Honey Boo Boocomes along, scoops out a cupful with a ladle, and chows down. You might expect a reaction like this …
This was an animated gif in the presentation. You can probably imagine what she was doing. My point is she’s going to make some judgments about your ability to cook based on a sampling of your soup-cooking abilities based on really bad err data.
In the same way that ladle of goop wasn’t representative of your soup, the keyword data that remains unscathed by encryption isn’t representative of your overall data population. So it’s junk data. Like worthless if you’re trying to use it for trend. This includes month-over-month and year-over-year analysis of keyword performance, as well as forensic analysis, such as investigating why there was a drop in traffic for a particular keyword.
ERGO, REPORTING ON METRICS LIKE THE THESE …
1. ORGANIC NON-BRANDED TRAFFIC
2. ORGANIC TRAFFIC PER KEYWORD
3. REVENUE PER KEYWORD
4. BOUNCE RATE PER KEYWORD
5. ANYTHING ELSE PER KEYWORD
ARE A FOOL’S ERRAND
AND JUST BAD SCIENCE
SO WHAT KEYWORDS CAN WE USE?
SO WHAT KEYWORDS CAN WE USE?
KEYWORDS IN THE CONTEXT
OF LANDING PAGES
Analyze the keywords that are driving traffic to your landing pages ALL DAY.
These are the keywords that drove traffic to a client’s Louis Vuitton product category page. They had quite a few instances of pure brand searches (IOW searches for their company name alone) driving traffic. Issues like this warrant investigation? Why are the search engines getting confused and not sending purebred brand searches to the homepage? Is there no text on the homepage? Are category pages over-optimized for their company name (in comparison to the homepage)? Start digging!
Link to custom report** You have to be logged in to a Google Analytics account to view it.
GET CUSTOM GA REPORT
If you’re logged in to your GA account you can apply the custom report I created by clicking on the link below. If you’re logged in but in a different browser, just copy the link into the browser you’re logged in to. If you get a 404 error, you’re not logged in or in the right browser.
KEYWORDS FOR LANDING
PAGE RESEARCH
If you want to click on keywords in your analytics account, by all means. Just use this custom report that drills down to landing page.
LOOK FOR SIGNS OF SELF-CANNIBALIZATION
@AnnieCushing
Here I clicked on a popular keyword for this client and saw that they have a duplicate version of one of their top money pages and an irrelevant landing page stealing visits.
OR CONVERSION DISTRESS
@AnnieCushing
Here their top landing page is driving very little revenue compared to its duplicate clone.
Link to custom report** You have to be logged in to a Google Analytics account to view it.
GET CUSTOM GA REPORT
WEBMASTER TOOLS
KEYWORD DATA
One of my favorite reports in Google Webmaster Tools
@AnnieCushing
In the Top Queries report you can see the keywords that drove impressions and drill down to see the landing pages that ranked for each keyword. Great way to see if you have multiple pages optimized for the same keyword. The Top Pages report is the converse: click on landing page to see what keywords are driving traffic. Do they make sense?
@AnnieCushing
Make sure you apply these filters, or your data will either be crap or full of noise. By default you’re going to see Web, Image, Mobile, and Video all together. I look at them separately.
@AnnieCushing
@AnnieCushing
I clicked on a client’s main money page that’s all about how women can sell their handbags. You can see all the irrelevant keywords driving impressions and clicks. Fix dat sheet man.
LOOK FOR SIGNS OF ADD IN THESE REPORTS
KEYWORD REPORTS FROM
SEMRUSH / KEYWORD SPY
LOVE these reports!!! But you HAVE to throw it into a pivot table to get any kind of insight from it. If you don’t know how to use a pivot table, I take you by the hand and teach you the dark art in this video tutorial! I promise I take the intimidation out of it. You can repay me with shoes.
Download sample pivot tables
CREATE PIVOT TABLES TO REALLY GET INSIGHT
@AnnieCushing
Learn how to rock pivot tables in this video tutorial — and download an Excel file pulled from SEMRush
LOOK AT ORGANIC
KEYWORDS TO DRIVE
CONTENT STRATEGY
BE PROACTIVE
Invariably the day will come (if it hasn’t already) where your boss or client will ask you why organic traffic has dropped for their fave keyword or non-branded traffic. That’s not the time to try to explain (not provided) and how Google is just trying to make you look lame at every turn.
HIPPOS DON’T CARE ABOUT (NOT PROVIDED)
WHAT HIPPOS CARE ABOUT
#MozCon