Google announced on October 18th that it would be pulling keyword data from Google Analytics reports for all users who are signed in to their Google account.  (Read the official post here).  This news has sent SEO’s into a frenzy about the quality of their analytical data.

Google has faced a lot of heat recently over privacy issues, and this latest attack on (what could be) anonymous data has got the search community fired up.

What’s the fuss?

Google, in an effort to protect privacy for it’s logged in users, has removed the search query data from organic search from it’s Google Analytics platform.  What this means is, anytime a Google search is conducted by a user who is logged in to their Google account, their search queries will not be shown in Google Analytics.  While the visit to your site will be recorded as “organic” and show the traffic source as “Google”, the most valuable information, the keyword they used to find your site, will not be available.

This is important because SEO’s use this data to help make informed decisions about the performance of keywords in an SEO campaign.  If a certain keyword phrase isn’t driving traffic that converts, then adjustments can be made. Without this data, it will become more difficult for SEO’s to accurately determine how visitors from organic search find a client’s website.

Google claims that this change “will affect only a minority of your traffic. You will continue to see aggregate query data with no change, including visits from users who aren’t signed in and visits from Google ‘cpc’. “  The real truth is that Google is encouraging more and more people to use it’s Google tools, such as Google Plus, which means that users have to be logged in.  And the more folks that are logged in, the more skewed your keyword based Google Analytics data will become.

There is a fix

We don’t have to loose this important data.  Google has the ability to pass on search query data while keeping it anonymous for the purpose of analytical research though.  Notice how Google AdWords data will not be affected.  The same technique used to pull this data without compromising user privacy could be applied to Google’s organic search.  But currently it isn’t.

Not only does this issue spell trouble for SEO’s trying to make sound decisions about keyword performance, it can have a ripple effect through every business trying to optimize their website for the end user.  Not all business owners use Google AdWords (and it isn’t a good fit for all businesses) but they shouldn’t be penalized by inaccurate organic search query data because of it.

I encourage everyone who uses Google Analytics to either comment on the Google Webmaster blog post here or comment to them through the Google Analytics Twitter account here.  Let’s try to keep valuable, anonymous data in our Google Analytics accounts.

As with most things SEO, there are two schools of thought.  Some believe that it’s ‘low hanging fruit’ and should absolutely be optimized (arguing that although their are fewer searches, there is generally less competition and cheaper CPC).  Others feel it’s a waste of time and that focusing efforts on keywords that drive traffic and are properly spelled are the way to go.  Their counter argument is that search engines typically try to correct misspellings by offering suggestions of the proper spelling.

A quick search using the misspelling of mortgage, ‘morgage’ shows that Google has defaulted to the correct spelling because the misspelling was close enough to the correct spelling:

Below, I tried a second variation with a less common misspelling to show the “Did you mean” feature in Google. :

So depending on the misspelling, you could get completed different search results for the same intended search.

To see what type of competition and search volume misspellings could provide, I ran a quick report.

SEOBook offers a free tools which generates misspellings based on the proper spelling.  (To be honest, I didn’t think it was that useful, and I ended up just coming up with variations myself.  But the link to the typo tool is here.)  For this test I used the same keyword, ‘mortgage’, which I used in the example above.  Admittedly, this is a broad keyword in a competitive niche.

I pulled the proper spelling and then 3 misspellings to see what type of traffic and competition those keywords get.  I also wanted to look at competition levels and average CPC for the misspellings.  Here are the results:

from Google AdWords Keyword Tool

Notice that in this case, the correct spelling actually has the highest search volume, the lowest competition level, and the lowest approximate CPC!  The misspelling ‘mortgege’ has a much lower search volume but the approximate cost per click is more than double the proper spelling. If anything, this tells me that there are plenty of people out there who think it’s worth optimizing for misspellings.  But, if I’m trying to get the most reach from my SEO campaign, I’d go for the highest volume keyword with the lowest competition.  In this case, that’s the proper spelling.

Now, I’m not saying this is true in every case.  In fact, if you were to delve into mortgage niches, or long tail mortgage keyword phrases and include misspellings at that level, the results could be different. I tested adding the word ‘broker and the words ‘broker richmond va’ to the misspellings but there wasn’t enough search volume to suggest it was viable in this instance.

For PPC advertising, going after misspellings may be much more appealing.  Andrew Miller, PPC consultant and owner of Your Search Advisor says “Google is usually pretty good about correcting misspellings for common keywords in organic search results, but I typically see great results in PPC channels by bidding on misspelled brand, product, and company names. These clicks are usually much cheaper thanks to lower competition and convert as well or better than correctly spelled keywords!”

So should you optimize around misspellings?  The answer is: It depends.   As with all things in the online marketing world, it pays to do your homework first.   I’d suggest doing your keyword research first to determine the competitive nature and approximate traffic volume of the misspellings.  I’d also suggest typing in the misspellings into Google to see if Google is automatically defaulting to the correct spelling.   It seems that the greatest value from marketing online around misspellings may come from utilizing them in PPC marketing.  Again, do your keyword research first and monitor your CPC to ensure your aren’t actually paying more and getting less conversions from the misspellings.

Cheers!

1.       WordPress SEO by Yoast

The WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin is quickly becoming the top WordPress plugins for SEO. Not only can you set up meta data and page titles in a flash, the plugin actually suggests them for you and lets you know if you’ve gone over the acceptable limit of characters. Even cooler, you can access and alter the .htaccess file directly from the plugin, making redirects a snap. WordPress is already search engine friendly, and adding this free plug-in can ensure your site has basic SEO structure like proper meta title and description.

2.       Google Analytics

Monitoring your site’s traffic is critical to online success which is why installing the Google Analytics plugin should be a must for all business owners. Google’s free Analytics software is extremely robust (and free!) , don’t miss this opportunity to easily integrate it into your WordPress based site.

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Any dedicated business owner should seriously consider using EZPZ One Click Backup because it backs up every bit of information stored on your WordPress blog. In the event that your blog crashes, you can get all of the information back. However, this plugin does not work on Windows-based servers.

4.       All in One Video Pack

The All in One Video Pack allows users to put video on their WordPress blog. Business owners can upload, record, and edit videos directly from their WordPress account. Users can also track the statistics for their videos if they want to.

5.       Facebook Likes You

With the Facebook Likes You plugin, business owners now have the opportunity to add the Facebook “Like” button to the end of each blog post, generating more readership and publicity for the company on Facebook.  Even cooler, Google Analytics can now track these clicks with the recent addition of their social metrics.

6.       SMSGlobal

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7.       Fast Secure Contact Form

I love Gravity Forms but if you’re looking for a free and easy way for your customers and clients to be able to contact you directly through your site, I’d suggest Fast Secure Contact Form.  This free add-on allows various levels of customization and multiple different forms from a single install.

8.       Under Construction

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9.       Cf Shopping Cart

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10.   WordPress Mobile Pack

The WordPress Mobile Pack allows users to view your web page on a mobile phone and still keep the content looking nice.
Do you have any plug-ins you rely on?