Google Analytics removed keyword data from its database and replaced it in 2013 with “not provided”.
The advent of Google Analytics’ “Not Listed” keywords was an indication that Google Analytics was trying to complicate the SEO process and destroy the world of online advertising, according to conspiracy theorists.
It did, however, limit keyword data access and make analysis more difficult. However, it didn’t end with SEO.
This change has been accepted by digital marketers in Phoenix. While many still find it annoying, it is still possible to use search engine optimization to increase online visibility to attract qualified traffic.
Sometimes we just need to dig a little deeper to find the information that we are looking for.
Six ways to access keyword data will be covered. This will allow you to gain more information about your visitors and improve your SEO strategy.
What does the Google Analytics keyword not provided mean?
We’ll need to go back to 2011 to get a complete understanding of the Google Analytics keyword term (not provided).
Site owners had access to a lot of information about how users found their content when Google Analytics was first launched.
They could see what keywords attracted visitors and how user behavior differed between keywords.
This made it simple to identify the most important keywords for SEO.
If a site owner noticed that visitors who came to their site after searching a specific phrase had a higher than-average conversion rate, it was an indicator that they should try to improve their ranking for that keyword.
However, Google began encrypting search data in 2011.
This was explained in a blog post by the company. It was done with the goal of ” making searching more secure.”
Although some SEOs believed that Larry Page ( Co-Founders of Google ) and Sergey Brin ( Co-Founders of Google ), were plotting the online scheme to the century, the final change was made to protect user privacy.
The post explained that their increased privacy was partly due to the introduction of personalized search results.
Most people don’t think twice about the fact that search results include personal information.
We expect Google to show us nearby restaurants when we search for them, even if we don’t include location-based keywords.
This wasn’t always true.
Google began to include these types of details in search results and they made it a priority for users to be protected.
The first step was to encrypt the keyword data of logged-in Google users.
How does this process work?
All it takes is the search bar.
Before this change, users would be redirected to an HTTP :// version when they typed in a Google search.
For example, if someone searched Google for “Kobe Digital”, and then clicked the domain in the search results, they would be directed to this URL:
Google started redirecting users to HTTPS versions of websites with its security update. The “S” stands for secure.
Although it may seem like a minor change, this had a significant impact on site owners’ access to keyword data.
This is because redirecting users toward a secure version of their domain of choice encrypts the search queries.
This change was great for privacy from a user perspective, and I will admit it.
Google Search now has an additional layer of security thanks to the new encryption process.
It was, and is, a major obstacle for those in SEO and online marketing.
Site owners suddenly found themselves in the dark about how large a portion of their visitors discovered their site after this change took effect.
Many of us began to notice a large portion of our keyword reports being lumped under the “(not provided”)” umbrella in the months that followed this update.
Google blocked access to all data on its Analytics platform to improve the security of searches and the privacy of users.
You can see the loss of insight and data over time if you look at the percentage of total Google Traffic in the weeks after this update.
It’s pretty crazy, right?
However, this access was further limited when Google announced in September 2013 that all searches would be made secure.
Keep in mind that Google did not redirect users to secure URLs with the original encryption update.
With the second update, users logged in were not the only ones directed to the https:// version.
Every Google search since then has been encrypted. This means that keywords labeled ‘(not supplied)’ now account for close to 100% of site owners’ reports.
This was not surprising given the low popularity of SEO.
It was an enormous increase in data that digital marketers had access to.
Several years later, site owners still do not have access to keywords in Google Analytics.
Monitoring and analyzing the success of an SEO strategy is now much more difficult than it was previously.
Determining which keywords are attracting traffic to your site, and which are generating the most qualified leads is no longer a straightforward process.
You might be wondering where all the qualified traffic is coming in if there’s a huge fluctuation in conversion rates for a page.
Before the advent of ‘(not supplied),’ it was simple to identify which keywords led to page conversions and then optimize the page using that information.
This is no longer true.
It was also more difficult to spot discrepancies between user expectations and page content.
If you notice that users searching for a keyword have a high bounce rate you can check the content of the page to determine if it meets the search intent.
You can easily change the page to reflect the search terms users are searching for. This will fix the problem and increase the time that future searchers spend on your site.
It is not easy to determine why users bounce.
For larger sites, the easiest way to solve this problem was to use Bing’s Webmaster tools.
Google is responsible for more than 95% of all online searches globally, but Bing only accounts for 3%.
It’s unlikely that your search engine traffic is significant unless you have a high overall traffic number.
It could give site owners with a good number of visitors similar insights to Analytics.
Bing rescued them when Google stopped providing the data that they needed. It allowed them to continue accessing keyword data and a clear view of which keywords brought visitors to their websites.
You can see the direction this is heading, right?
2015 saw the launch of the search engine following Google’s lead. They began encrypting searches by default — eliminating another valuable source for keyword data.
Google’s recent updates made SEO more difficult.
They didn’t make it difficult.
Even though Google Analytics has made it impossible for you to view keyword data, there are some workarounds that you can use to get insight to help you improve your SEO strategy.
I will be covering six methods to get around the ‘Not Provided Data’ restriction by Google.
How to find keywords not available in Google Analytics
You can approach your analytics using unconventional methods if you are willing to try new approaches. There are simple, but not simple, ways to find the information you need to increase your search visibility and bring more qualified traffic to your site.
1. Google Search Console
Formerly known as Webmaster Tools, Search Console is a Google tool that allows you to monitor and maintain your site’s search engine presence.
This platform is not even close to Google Analytics’ raw data.
Analytics is not designed to provide insight into the behavior of your visitors, unlike Analytics.
It’s not intended to be a tool to monitor your position in search results. It can be used to first identify issues in how Google crawls or indexes your website and then to fix them so they don’t affect your search visibility.
Analytics shows you what users do when they visit your site. Search Console, however, shows you how your site ranks in search results.
Search Console can provide an exclusive service to uncover keywords that are not provided by Analytics.
You can navigate to Search Traffic > Search Analytics to see which shows you the keywords that your site appeared in search results over the last month.
Four metrics can be viewed for each keyword: Impressions, clicks, average clickthrough rate (or CTR), and position.
These metrics will provide insight into which keywords are the most valuable to your site.
Important to remember is that this report only provides data on keywords for your entire site and not individual pages.
You might not be pleased if you open the report expecting to see how users find specific pages on your website and how to improve them to match search intent.
It can be useful if you use it to get a general overview of your keyword performance.
As long as your site content is well-known, it’s likely that you can make informed guesses about which pages correspond with the keywords in your report.
Notable is also the fact that Google revamped its Search Console in early 2018 adding advanced functionality.
Site owners used to be able to filter reports by search type or query, country, device, or both. They could only filter by one of these variables at once.
You can now filter these variables however many you wish.
The screenshot below, for example, shows data from searches made by the keyword “search engine” within the United States over the past three months.
These filters can’t be used to layer multiple comparisons. If you want to compare data from different countries or devices, you will need to create separate reports and manually compare them.
These reports still offer more detail than data available through the platform’s limited functionality.
Nevertheless, it is important to be careful how you read this report.
You must recognize that keywords don’t necessarily represent all clicks to your website for any given period.
However, the keyword data beneath the graph accounts for only 49 clicks, or 28%.
Google then counts each time your site appears under the impressions column. This includes when your site appears in search results on the fourth and fifth pages, where nobody sees it.
This is a different definition of impressions than most digital marketers know, which can lead to confusion.
Even though you might have a loose understanding of what impressions are, your clickthrough rates may not be as low as this report suggests.
A CTR of 4 or 5 percent for results on the first page is quite low. It’s possible to achieve this with a second-page result.
As you look through your Search Console report, remember that it does not give the complete picture.
It does however give you an indication of which keywords are most important for your site. Analytics doesn’t offer this information.
Notable is also the fact that Google has quadrupled site owners’ access to date-range data in its latest Search Console update.
The old version allowed site owners to only view 90 days of site data. Site owners now have the option of viewing ranges for three, six, 12, or 16 months at once.
This gives you more data to analyze year-over-year comparisons and monitor keyword performance changes.
Although the platform does not provide as much data as Analytics, it is a great place to start for insight into the most important keywords on your site.
2. Filters for segment ‘(not supplied)’ data
It can be overwhelming to see the sheer number of keywords in your reports that are ‘(not supplied)’.
Some site owners are moved to tears when they lose access to data they used to take as a given.
You can still segment your data in Google Analytics for a better understanding of how visitors arrive at your site.
While you cannot see the exact keywords that drive traffic to your site, you can see which keywords are driving them to your site.
You will need to set up Google Analytics filters to show you landing pages for all your ‘not provided traffic. This will give you a good idea of what content is most popular in organic search.
This will allow you to understand which pages and topics are most effective at attracting new users to your website.
This insight will allow you to make informed decisions regarding the content you wish to create for your website.
It is possible to also make educated guesses about which keywords and queries led users to these pages, especially if your filtered reports are cross-referenced with the Search Console data I mentioned in the previous section.
It is easy to create filtered reports.
This is the basic process described in this tutorial by Infront.
1. Choose the view to which you wish to apply your filter
This can be done from the Google Analytics Admin dashboard. You will most likely need to create a brand-new view.
This filter should not be applied to all traffic to your site, no matter what you do. This would remove important data from your Analytics account, which you will not be able to recover.
After you have chosen the view that you wish to work with click “Filters”.
2. Add a filter
Click here to add a filter.
You can give your filter a name that is logical and will help you organize it within your view.
3. Adjust your filter parameters
Select “Custom” under Filter Type. Next, choose “Advanced” from the Custom Filter Options.
Next, enter these parameters (shown in the screenshot below), into the respective fields.
- Field A: Search Term: (.not provided).
- Field B: “Request URI”,: (. *)
- Field C: “Campaign term”: np-$B1
Finally, make sure to check all boxes except “Case Sensitive”
You can save your filter by clicking Save.
You might see useful data within hours if your site receives a lot of traffic.
However, most sites will only be able to gather significant data in a matter of days or weeks.
Once you have set up your filters you will need patience. You don’t want your marketing decisions to be based on the behavior of a few users.
You’ll be able to see where visitors from unspecified search terms land on your site and you’ll be able to understand where your traffic comes from.
It is possible to see which content performs well in organic searches and which topics bring new users to your website.
This is not as simple as just sitting back and enjoying the Google data. The data is not nearly as simple.
It’s an excellent way to get insight into your visitors’ origins. This is a worthwhile step if you’re looking to better understand your audience.
3. Google Trends
Google Trends is the most underutilized tool on this list.
This is not due to a lack of awareness.
You probably know the tool and its functions if you are a Miami digital marketing professional or SEO.
However, can you use it to identify potential keywords and guide your SEO strategy?
I think the answer is no.
It’s a shame because it offers a powerful punch to anyone who wants to learn more about keywords that attract traffic to their site.
Google Trends is a simple tool that tracks trends in Google.
You can enter any keyword or phrase that you are interested in learning about into the search box. The data is based on Google search data.
You can then filter the data by time frame, geographic location, search category, and search type.
You can also add more terms to see how they compare.
If you want to look at how Google Shopping searches in the United States vary between “women’s sneakers”, “men’s sneakers” and “children’s sneakers” over 12 months, the results will look something like this:
This tool can reveal some interesting trends in user behavior.
How does this apply to keyword data, however?
It is easy to see how your website has performed in terms of keyword popularity over the past few years or months.
This will provide a broad overview of brand awareness and show you how many people are finding your site via branded searches.
You can then add more specific terms to your search to find out what users are searching for.
The search trends in this instance reflect a positive shift.
Although searches for blogs show that users find the site’s content interesting and useful, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are searching to purchase.
However, pricing information searches have a very clear intent. Users are likely looking for information about product costs, presumably to make an informed decision.
You might be surprised by what you discover when you spend some time testing your website’s target keywords using Google Trends.
A high search volume for keywords that you are targeting could indicate that they could be a significant portion of your (not provided)’ traffic.
If you discover any keywords with high volumes that are related to your brand, this could indicate that they might be a good addition to your SEO strategy.
Google Trends, when used strategically can be used to accurately determine the reason for traffic influxes and decreases.
It will also allow you to stay current with market trends and customer needs.
Although the information you get from these reports may not always yield straightforward conclusions, it can provide valuable insights into how users search for your brand or interact with your content.
4. AdWords data
Many long-time SEOs and marketers are likely to be disgruntled by the changes in Google’s policies.
This is particularly true for their privacy and data policies, making it more difficult to gather information about audience behavior.
Some marketers are particularly upset that these changes don’t concern privacy.
You’ve probably seen industry professionals say that security changes were made to make a profit if you’ve ever spent time on SEO forums and blogs.
This is because keyword data in Google AdWords remains relatively accessible.
Google has now restricted keyword data to users of its free Analytics platform. However, they provide insights for those who pay to run PPC campaigns.
Initially, marketers were hesitant to even think about the PPC side of Google.
If you believe that the company removed access to data to force site owners into a paid platform, then it is reasonable to not give in to that pressure.
However, AdWords is used by many people to run PPC campaigns.
It’s the only way you can earn advertising space on Google, the most popular search engine in the globe.
The platform can be used to instantly unlock all keyword data that you have been searching for, whether you are already running AdWords campaigns or you want to get more insight into user search behavior.
You can view data from your AdWords campaign dashboard to see which keywords are generating the most clicks or conversions for your campaigns.
You can also access additional AdWords information from your Analytics account.
First, ensure that all accounts are connected. This can be done by following these instructions.
You can then access your AdWords data using Analytics by going to Acquisition > AdWords. This tab provides an overview of your campaign’s performance.
You can then open the Keyword report.
This will display all the keywords in your AdWords campaigns. These are the keywords that you have already targeted in your AdWords campaigns, ranked according to the number of clicks.
The report will also include the total cost of each keyword’s ads, as well as the average cost per view (or CPC).
This report can be very useful as it gives you an overview of keywords that users are most interested in. It’s useful only for managing paid advertising campaigns.
The Search Queries report is the best way to get the most out of your AdWords data and inform your SEO strategy.
This report is different from the Keywords report which only shows you the keywords you have chosen to target. It can also show you the exact search terms users used before you see any of your ads.
After opening the report, navigate the secondary dimensions drop-down menu and choose Advertising > Keyword.
You’ll then see every search query which triggered your ads next to the target keywords of each ad.
This data can be used to improve keyword targeting in both your AdWords campaigns as well as your SEO strategy.
These are the actual words and phrases your audience types into the search bar, not the terms you have already chosen.
This is an excellent resource, especially because SEO campaigns are designed to optimize for keywords potential customers search.
You might be able to add search queries that are not yet used in your SEO strategy to make your site more interesting.
You can also launch a campaign if AdWords is not used yet. This allows you to access keyword data.
AdWords campaigns are the most popular paid advertising platform for the world’s largest search engine. They allow you to reach your target audience while they’re actively looking for information about your products and services.
If you are still trying to establish organic rankings or want to reach users who search keywords that are too competitive for organic rankings, running a campaign can be a great way of attracting qualified traffic.
5. Invest in SEO software
Although it’s not the most cost-effective option, this is the easiest and most convenient.
While many digital marketers saw the announcement of “(not provided”)” as a major inconvenience, others saw it as an opportunity for tools that offered alternative solutions.
They took advantage of the inconvenience and created paid tools to access previously unpaid information.
There are many tools available to analyze keyword data and unlock the box where Google has put all this information.
One of the most popular is Keyword Hero.
This tool can be integrated directly with Google Analytics, allowing users to see the keywords that their audience searched before they arrived on their site.
Analytics shares the same data, but it offers all the metrics you need to make informed decisions about keywords in your strategy.
This tool is and follows three steps.
It merges Search Console data and its Cognitive Services data.
The software then attempts to match keywords with Analytics sessions.
It then evaluates the accuracy of the results. There are always errors because these keyword reports are compiled from multiple data sources and not directly from users’ sessions.
Keyword Hero only includes keywords with an 83% probability or greater. 50-60% of keywords can be matched with absolute certainty.
You can also view detailed metrics for each keyword that brought you traffic to your website within the report.
These metrics will allow you to not only identify which keywords your target audience uses but also which keywords are most likely to attract qualified, engaged visitors.
You can use metrics such as pages per session or average session length to get an idea of the keywords that are bringing you users who are most likely to spend a lot of time on your site and read your content.
Metrics such as goal completions and goal conversion rates will then show which keywords are high-converting.
These keywords can be very valuable in your SEO strategy. However, they should be used on different pages of your website.
Using the information in this report you can be certain that each keyword you target is being used for its best purpose.
Keyword Hero offers four plans if you are interested in using them for your website.
The free plan is great for smaller sites or if you just want to try the tool.
There is a range of paid plans available, starting at $9–$99 per month. The best plan for your business will depend on how many pages your site has.
6. Searches for internal sites
You can also examine what keywords users search once they reach your site to find out how they found it.
This will give you a better understanding of the purpose behind each user’s visit. This information can be used to determine the content they are looking for and then to deduce their reasons for visiting your site.
We have already written about the process of setting up search analytics for internal sites. However, this article focuses on the essentials of the process.
Navigate to your Google Analytics Admin dashboard. Next, select “View Settings” to choose the View that you wish to work with. Next, click on “Site Search Settings” and toggle “Site Search Tracking” on.
Next, locate your website query parameters. This can be done by performing a search and looking at the URL.
In our case, the query parameter to our blog’s search function for “s” is used.
Once you have found the information you need, you can put it in the “Query parameter” field. Save your changes.
It may take several days depending on how much traffic you get to compile enough data to make this report worthwhile.
Once your site has been searched for a reasonable amount, you can access search data by going to Behavior > Site Search.
You’ll find a report that looks or something similar.
This report will tell you what keywords users are searching for when they arrive at your site. Even if you don’t target any of these keywords, many of them can likely be logical additions to your SEO strategy.
Conclusion
Google’s “(not provided”)” data is admittedly a problem for digital marketers in Los Angeles.
It was much more difficult to understand the intent of audience members and to create a data-backed approach for keyword optimization after this shift to protect user data.
It doesn’t mean you can’t access useful keyword data.
You can use the strategies here to access all the data you need to understand your audience and optimize your site for qualified traffic.
These might not be as simple as opening a default Google Analytics Report, but they will get the job done.
