Searchmetrics aims to help marketers close data gulf created by Google’s secure search expansion
Searchmetrics has created a tool designed to return the missing keyword referral data to marketers that has become obscured as part of Google’s expansion of secure search.
Google began encrypting natural searches in the UK last year as part of its strategy to protect consumer privacy. The move meant marketers could no longer see what natural search terms people have used to arrive on their sites.
Agencies reported in October that an average 80 per cent of traffic was being hit across their client bases, with many seeing this rise to 100 per cent since then.
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The new Traffic Insight feature released by Searchmetrics is designed to provide analysis of keywords that drive traffic to specific landing pages, including the keywords used by people to arrive there.
The software, which is part of the Searchmetrics suite, uses advanced mathematical calculations using data gathered from a number of sources, to estimate the traffic that individual keywords are bringing to a site.
Searchmetrics founder and CTO Marcus Tober said: “Website owners, and their digital marketing and SEO professionals have struggled in the wake of the keyword data ‘not provided’ challenge created by Google’s expansion of secure search.
“Knowing which keywords drive your organic traffic gives you essential insights about the main reasons why people might be visiting specific web pages and in what numbers. It lets you plan meaningful SEO and digital marketing strategies based around prioritising keywords and optimising web content to better drive traffic and conversions.”
The move has been welcomed by agencies. DigitasLBi’s head of media innovation, Andrew Girdwood, said: “I’d contest that no one else is able to do this. Big agencies which can master the data processing required can investigate keyword data again. We’re certainly doing it.
"What Searchmetrics offers is a third party solution for the same sort of approach, using its scale across many specialists, smaller agencies, brands (which is where its 240m keywords come from) for others to use.
"Is it a help? Absolutely. Keyword data has gone from being part of the process to an expertise. Keywords have gone from being common knowledge to niche knowledge. Searchmetrics is certainly helping marketers.”
Meanwhile Adrian Cutler, head of performance products and global clients EMEA at Aegis-owned performance agency iProspect, said: "It sounds like Searchmetrics is using historic data and what keywords relate to each other usually in SEO. This would mean it can match what keywords would be good to target based on the focus of the page in question.
“The downside is that this seems to be based from historic performance and does not allow for what keywords have effect on what part of the path.”
Cutler said a good way to still cover this is via paid search, which still provides full access to keywords and the place they have in the funnel, so marketers can understand what keywords assist actions on the page, as well as what drives those actions to the page.
“Using this paid search data and Google conversion tracking, you can identify from Paid Search what keywords are good traffic drivers and converters, both direct and assisting to conversions.
"This does put more emphasis on paid search to drive SEO strategy when keyword based but with the changes to the Google Algorithm for SEO, more importance is put on the social sharing and links of the fresh content. Keywords still play a role but the content itself has to be great for the theme,” he said.
This October Google introduced Estimated Total Conversions, a tool for its AdWords designed to help advertisers monitor their conversation rates across separate platforms and differing browsers.