Alternatives to Google Analytics 'Not Provided' Organic Search Keywords

Google Closes The Curtain on Organic Keyword Research

Google has mostly shut down the ability to see the organic search terms visitors use when visiting our websites, creating an unwelcome blind-spot when applying organic keyword research to search engine optimization efforts.

To understand what Google did to expand "Secure Search" and what it means to SEO practitioners, read a recent article posted by Thom Craver on September 23, 2013: Goodbye, Keyword Data: Google Moves Entirely to Secure Search.

This is not the end of life as we know it.

But using keyword research to enhance SEO is not dead!

Jennifer Slegg has produced an excellent overview on useful options and tactics to obtain meaningful keyword data for SEO: Google '(Not Provided)' Keywords: 10 Ways to Get Organic Search Data

Here are Jennifer's alternative keyword research suggestions. Read her informative article to learn more:

1. Google Experts (Avinash Kaushik, for example)

2. Non-Google Keywords (BING, for example)

3. Google Webmaster Tools

4. Analyze On-Site Searches

5. Google AdWords

6. Search Volume Tools

7. Filters to Segment "Not Provided" Data

8.  Historical Data on your website

9. Google Trends

10. Additional Ways to Capture Keyword Data

From my own perspective the action Google has taken in cloaking organic search terms is irritating from an SEO perspective, but at the same time this development is not fatal. Far from it.

Organic keyword research solely based upon looking at one's own website analytics can be risky, because like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the organic search terms you see (saw) in Analytics are there only because your webpages ranked for those search terms, and this implies that you already have related, relevant search terms in your website and webpages. But what about the search terms you don't (didn't) see, because your website either doesn't have them, or Google didn't think the content was relevant?

The bottom line is that keyword research must by necessity go beyond the organic search terms used by visitors to your website. In order to cast a wider net for lead generation and target new or overlooked lucrative market niches it is important to use all the options listed by Jennifer in her article.

The best source of valuable keywords will be from your customers and potential customers. What search terms do they use? What terminology and acronyms are important to them? Get close to your markets and customers, find keywords they find important, and you'll be able to ID lucrative opportunities your competition will overlook.

Are You a (Marketing) Secret Weapon?

Be a Marketing Secret Weapon:

Be a Marketing Secret Weapon.

No matter what size your company, if you want to use web marketing to promote your business become a "Secret Weapon". 


I've been called a marketing and business development "Secret Weapon" many times by divisional senior and executive management. To be so described is an honor and a validation of the work I do. But what actions, exactly, am I taking which cause my activities to be associated with "secret" and "weapon"? 


The Secret of the Secret Weapon:
The real secret is using Search Engine Marketing effectively. Organic and Paid Search (Google, Bing) are my primary weapons of choice for lead generation and customer research, validation and 'mind-share'. Wielding this powerful marketing technique brings a tremendous combination of high-quality and high-volume lead generation to a B-to-B business, no matter how big the business is, no matter how small. 


When used with focused, pragmatic, expertise, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through, search engine marketing can literally transform your company or business unit's fortunes. Your main competition may never be aware, understand, nor appreciate how you did it, making your marketing success a stealthy "secret". 


The world is full of potential quality customers looking for solutions which your business offers. Those people go to Google or Bing to start researching. Write concise and precise content that is relevant to your target markets, with a goal to rank high in organic search. You need to be there when they start looking! 


In essence, this is the true "secret" of a marketing "Secret Weapon"... be there, at the right time, the right place, with the right message.


Targeting profitable service niches with organic and paid search, applying long-tail search principles, geo-targeting and language targeting is easy if you have search engine marketing expertise and tools. Do these things well, do them consistently, and you will likely see success. Depending upon the target market, a dependable tsunami of high-value leads can land at your door.... business enquiries that don't reach your competitors. You attracted the potential client's attention and made a positive impression, so they contacted you first.


There are other useful lead-gen marketing tactics, such as brochures, trade shows, advertising, email campaigns, physical mailers, and social media. But the superior business results, reach, and lower costs gained from search engine marketing dwarf all those other options, based upon my experience with technical B-to-B lead generation. If done right, search engine results keep coming, as search engine marketing works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across industries, markets, nations, languages and cultures... always 'on-demand' for prospective customers and always certified 'spam-free'.


Every great Secret Weapon has a visionary who predicted its future. For search engine marketing, that visionary for me is Seth Godin. Seth's then radical but now classic book Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers became a prime inspiration for my priority focus on search engine marketing. History has proven me right, overcoming skeptics over and over again. And I thank my competitors who still don't get it... read my blog A Thank You Note to My Competitors .


Secret Weapons require quality craftsmanship and engineering to make them a success. Here is where your Webmaster comes in. Your webmaster is literally your Secret Weapon mechanic and right-hand man. To win at search engine marketing, your Website must be designed to be friendly for search engines, with an easy to use content management system. Follow best practices for web-design and navigation. The entire site should be extremely friendly and usable for prospective clients.

Search Engine Marketing is Industrial Strength Lead Generation (Or Should Be).