Why Do I Have (not provided) in my Analytics Keyword Reports?

You have probably noticed that when you view reports in Google Analytics the term (not provided) often appears near the top of the keywords driving traffic to the site. For many of the larger sites I've looked at, it is often the single highest keyword term.

Why does the keyword report show (not provided)?

This (not provided) keyword will show on any report that includes information for Google natural search visitors.  This is down to a change rolled out in November 2011 by Google. They decided that they would no longer pass on the search term used by anyone logged into any Google account when they made the search.

Unfortunately, due to Google's strength in email (with Gmail) social media (with Google+, YouTube) and other tools, such as Adwords, Analytics and Apps, more and more site visitors complete searches while logged into a Google account. This means that a substantial proportion of your site traffic will have their keywords hidden.

Why did Google hide the keyword search data?

Google stated in their official announcement of the change that the main reason was to make search more secure for their users.There has been a lot of debate as to whether this is actually the true reason but the effects are the same - for a substantial proportion of your data you cannot see what search terms they are using.
Unfortunately, this may have started a trend, as Firefox have recently stated that they are planning to make all Google searches secure by default, which will have the same effect as being logged in.
There is a possibility for websites to use searches from logged in users to identify the specific visitor, something Google Analytics has always prevented you from doing. This change will reduce that, but at the cost of losing critical information on a substantial proportion of your traffic.

So what's the big deal about losing keyword data?

Active website managers are always looking at the keyword data and the pages it is landing on to ensure they are providing the best service for their visitors. If you see a substantial growth in a particular keyword can influence re-writes and new pages being added.
For instance, on this blog I've written a beginners guide to installing Google Analytics.  If I was looking at the search traffic for this page, and noted a substatial number of searches for 'How do I test My Google Analytics installation?, I'd probably write a new post specifically on that topic and link to it from the original. Without this information, I would never know I am getting traffic that is not finding what it is looking for.
Unfortunately, for many on the sites I've reviewed since the change, traffic under (not provided) has higher bounce rates and lower conversion than the site average, but there is no direct way to improve the experience for those visitors.

Is there anything I can do to get round (not provided)?

There is no way of getting that information back Google is blocking it at the source, so even switching to a different analytics package will not get the information back. However, there are some techniques to reduce the impact.

• Use Adwords traffic data. Traffic from visitors who click on a paid ad still provide the keyword data. This has led to critisism about  double standard, but at least you can use this data to analytse keyword bounce and conversion rates if you are running and adwords campaign.
• Use segments to hide this data. You can create a custom Advanced Segment to hide the traffic that comes in with a Seatch matching exactly '(not provided)'. This will at least allow better analysis of the information you do have, and improvements to poorly perfoming terms you are aware off will improve the experience for the visitors where you cannot see the terms.
• Ask visitors directly. There is nothing to stop you triggering an on-site survey to get direct feedback. You may even be able to ask only those where the keywor data is blocked.
• Use on-site search data. By logging the usage of your on-site search box - the landing pages, keywords used and the outcomes - you may be able to determine what searches are not providing the visitors with what they want on the landing page.
• Ask Google to change their policy. While there are some good reasons for hiding this data, Google may do more harm than good in the long terms as sites become LESS responsive to visitors needs - the opposite of what all other advice about quality web page should be. If you have any influence with the Google Search team you could ask them to start passing the keyword data gain - but I'm not being optimistic!

Enhanced Keyword Research Tool Help You Target the Best Search Terms

When you are looking at the performance of an existing site, and then deciding where to put your SEO and PPC efforts, one of the first places I tend to go is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

It is available with or without a Google account, but you get a bit more data if you are signed in.

The premise is fairly simple. You give it a keyword or an existing site to look at, and it will show the related search terms that people are using, and the volume, as well as the competition. This is hugely important, as it can save a lot of wasted effort creating content, SEO campaigns or Adwords campaigns for terms that no-one is searching for. The competition value gives an indication of how hard it will be to get a first page ranking for that term.

The latest update is a great little improvement. If you enter an existing website address in the box, you can see how that website is performing in terms of the number of times it appears on the first page of search.

The new tool seems to be in beta at the moment as I am only seeing data intermittently.

How Do I Use this New Keyword Tool Data?

This is going to be primarily useful for sites that already have quite good visibility on Google. Use the tool to work out your approximate visibility for the searches for each of the terms you are targeting. More than 80% is going to be a good rate for first page appearances, due to differences in location and personal based targeting.

You can also use your Analytics data to determine natural search or Adwords click through rates for those exact terms, but you will have to do this manually.  Typical click rates for top of natural search are 2% to 4%, but there is a lot of variations, especially for brand name searches.

Now you have identified the key terms where you are getting lower visibility or click through rate, you can look at the page and work on improving both visibility and clicks. First, have a look at where you are ranking for this term. If you are showing below first place position, there is obviously an opportunity to get more traffic by increasing your search position for that search term, so use your favourite SEO techniques to boost that search engine rank.


You may decide that you want a new page to more specifically target this term, which could be a new blog post, product or service information page, which you can then promote both from your existing pages and off-site.

Lastly, look at the landing page itself. First port of call is the 'snippet' that appears beneath a search result. Make sure this is as enticing as possible for the searchers you are targeting. This is usually controlled by the Meta Keywords attribute on the page. A Good snippet will boost the click through rate no matter what the position you appear in.