OK, so you\’ve logged into Google Analytics, stumbled your web through to where you\’re expecting to see the list of keywords people have used to land on your website…

Hint: Acquisitions -> Keywords -> Organic

And finally you see a list of keywords which is topped by \”Not Provided\” and it accounts for 80% of your keyword traffic.

Why does Google Analytics display keywords as \”(not provided)\”?

Well the answer is relatively simple, many people now have an account registered with Google. It\’s helpful because it puts shortcuts on the Google landing page to your most frequently visited website. However, the reason why it\’s not helpful is because when someone is logged into their Google Account and they perform an organic search it sends the search request over a secure layer which is encrypted. This they assure us is for privacy reasons, but it prevents the search query from being passed on to your website where the Google Analytics code is triggered and keywords are stored…hence why they end up in the (not provided) bin in Google Analytics.

Secure Google search pages are those where the URL begins httpS:// rather than http://. It means the information sent between your computer and the website is encrypted.

The official reason was that this was done in the name of privacy. Google is suggesting that those searching using a secure Google connection would not want their search term to be passed on to the destination site.

So, how do I find out what keywords people are finding my Website for?

Ironically the answer lies within another Google product, Google Webmaster Tools: External Link – http://www.google.com/webmasters/

Google Webmaster Tools another free tool from Google and you will need to verify with Google that you are indeed the webmaster of the website by placing another snippet of code within your site files – they do provide neat instructions or ask your website developer to take care of this for you.

Once you have verified your domain you can then navigate to your website\’s dashboard -> Search Traffic -> Search Queries and voila you will get a more detailed breakdown of the keywords people are searching for on Google and arriving at your website.

The reason why you can see a list of searched for keywords at this point is because even if you are logged into your Google Account when a search is performed Google is allowed to store a list of search results relating to specific keywords, but they are not associated with a specific user. Therefore Webmaster Tools can monitor impressions (how many times your website appears for a specific search term) against click-throughs (how many times someone clicks on your link in the search results for a specific keyword).

There are a variety of websites monitoring the meteoric rise of the (not provided) keyword – For example: http://www.notprovidedcount.com/

Google Webmasters Search Queries

This really useful tool also demonstrated a great deal more useful information about the search terms users have been entering to land on your website including:

Number of Impressions

Clicks

Click Through Rate (CTR) %

Average Position of the Keyword

– See more at: http://www.hostpipe.co.uk/blog/2014/02/simple-google-analytics-not-provided-workaround/

Rob has over 10 years experience designing, building and promoting websites for small, medium and large organisations throughout the UK. Having studied Business Management at University he understands that running a business and attracting new clients is a wide-ranging and complicated subject matter. Rob is a keen follower of emerging web technologies. Especially technologies that business owners can harness to improve their business and marketing reach. – See more about Hostpipe here Hostpipe Web Design

Rob has over 10 years experience designing, building and promoting websites for small, medium and large organisations throughout the UK. Having studied Business Management at University he understands that running a business and attracting new clients is a wide-ranging and complicated subject matter. Rob is a keen follower of emerging web technologies. Especially technologies that business owners can harness to improve their business and marketing reach. – See more about Hostpipe here http://www.hostpipe.co.uk

Author Bio: Rob has over 10 years experience designing, building and promoting websites for small, medium and large organisations throughout the UK. Having studied Business Management at University he understands that running a business and attracting new clients is a wide-ranging and complicated subject matter. Rob is a keen follower of emerging web technologies. Especially technologies that business owners can harness to improve their business and marketing reach. – See more about Hostpipe here Hostpipe Web Design

Category: Internet
Keywords: Google, Analytics, Not Provided, Workaroud, Keywords, Webmaster Tools