Why Not Provided Keywords in Google Analytics?
The number one question that I get asked often is, “Why not provide keywords in Google Analytics?” I can’t tell you why I ask that; I don’t know. This very question confuses me. You see, I don’t know why not provide keywords in Google Analytics… but neither do I think it’s a good idea.
I’d say the reason why not provided keywords in Google Analytics is that the user has zero control over the content provided to the user in the SERPs or Search Engine Results Pages. When you request a Google search tracking URL, you’re requesting information from Google.
When the user clicks on the Google search tracking link, Google provides the URL and the underlying pages in an HTML format transmitted to the user’s web browser. This is where the problem starts. There is no “search query parameter” or way to set a custom search query parameter in the Google Analytics code that you’re using to track organic traffic.
What this means is, if you use the Google search analytics tracking JavaScript snippet, you’re either going to have to do a lot of “advanced tracking” on your own to collect the information you need (which is time-consuming), or you’ll have to slap some external script on your site to allow Google to extract the information without the need for cookies, JavaScript, etc.
If you want to do any advanced tracking on your own, you’ll have to be able to set up cookies on every page your visitors go to… or use a third-party solution like Google’s own in-built Google widgets. The sad reality is neither of those two options is a good option. It’s far more convenient to use the Google search console instead.
If you’re looking to make advanced analytics work for you, however, you need to extract the “naked” keywords from the organic search data. Fortunately, there are tools such as Advanced Link Analytics Pro, which allows you to extract the information using JavaScript code. That way, you can easily analyze the relationships between keywords and optimize your site for better search engine rankings.
But that’s not all there is to it, either. To make the most of your Google Analytics account, you should also understand using the search terms tool or the site navigator. Most people aren’t aware that you can drill down into your data with the search terms tool and access the inner workings of Google’s ranking system by clicking the “Search” button on the top-right corner of the Google Analytics interface.
You can then go to the individual search terms associated with your keywords and look at the details. For instance, you can find out what organic search engines, and other third-party networks, have been sending you and which of those campaigns have led to the most conversions.
Now, if you want to compare campaigns from two different sites, you can do so by navigating to the campaign that is performing better (since it’s more relevant) and then drilling down using the drop-down menu on the top-right-hand side of the interface. That will reveal the landing page, as well as any ad variations that were used to drive visitors to the landing page.
Digital marketers need to make sure that they’re getting inbound links from high-quality websites with content directly relevant to their own. A great tool for doing this is called “Inbound Links Profiler.” This tool will generate a highly accurate figure regarding the number of inbound links your competitor is receiving and will also provide a breakdown of which sites are linking to them, how many pages they link to, and much more.
An insight into the traffic flow of your competitors will allow digital marketers to understand better the traffic they’re generating and where the traffic is coming from – information that’s essential for leading campaigns.
Google Analytics isn’t just useful for identifying your keyword performance, but you can also utilize the tool provided to identify your competition. Keyword tracking is a primary tool provided to digital marketers to identify what words your competition is using and identify key phrases that your company could use to optimize your website or PPC ads.
Understanding what your competitors are doing will give you a competitive advantage and help you generate more revenue. It will also help you learn more about how to rank within the search engine ranking positions and get additional backlinks to your site.
