Stop fumbling in the dark with your keywords

It’s been a long time since Google decided to remove keyword data in Google Analytics for your organic keywords, citing user privacy. Strangely enough, privacy isn’t an issue when someone clicks on a sponsored result. This means you have to pay to learn about your own site.

Not provided, which is now almost the only thing you see in the keyword report, is a problem for all serious players in search engine optimization. Google no longer provides data sufficient for you to identify which keywords generate revenue for you (unless you advertise with Google). For example, you can’t see what your top 50 converting keywords are—I already know, though. No, of course I don’t know your specific best keywords, but I know the sites I worked with, inside and out.

Back then, you had solid data on your organic keywords, whereas now you are forced to rely on a somewhat clumsy connection to Google Search Console. This is a concern because, first, it gives an unfair advantage to those of us who have experience from that time, and second, it leaves most people groping more in the dark.

An unfair advantage

Those of us who worked with SEO before 2013 have seen the data on our sites. That means we know that Bus Tickets Online converts better than Online Bus Tickets. It means we know that the keywords converting in Google Ads are not the same as those converting through SEO—and we also have a sense of which ones they are. Someone who is completely new or only has a few years in SEO finds it much harder to uncover that knowledge or gain that experience. It’s unfortunate in many ways, as it creates a steeper uphill climb for the younger generation. As if it weren’t already difficult enough to learn SEO now, when it’s so much harder to measure results from, say, a filter.

This leads to more rumors, even more myths floating around in the SEO world, and that’s incredibly frustrating, dragging us closer to the magical thinking that was so strong in the industry 10–15 years ago.

Stop fumbling in the dark

Google Ads and SEO traffic don’t convert in the same way, but they do resemble each other. This means that to get the most out of your SEO, you’ll also want to run Google Ads. The data from Ads is extremely valuable for your SEO efforts. With information on how your keywords convert, you can learn which landing pages to build, which pages to improve, and so on. Here are three quick tips for making solid use of Google Ads to make your data shine.

Three tips to maximize the benefits of your Google Ads

1. A very effective method is to review pages based on conversion data in Ads and improve them until Google Ads delivers higher conversion rates. This way, you also win in SEO.
2. Select the best-converting pages from Google Ads and focus your SEO on these, or on similar pages.
3. Generate keyword suggestions in the Keyword Planner based on specific pages where you have limited data. Run ads on the suggested keywords, see which ones convert, and then optimize your pages for those terms.