My slide deck from #BlueglassLA 2012 where I spoke on the topic of how to perform SEO in spite of Google having hidden many organic referrer keywords in their "not provided" bucket

1. Google Took Your Keywords
Away! Now What?
#NobodyPanic
#ItsNotASignOfTheApocalypse
Alan Bleiweiss
Search Team Director
@Click2Rank @AlanBleiweiss
Obligatory Mention:
Unicorns Ponies Rainbows Kittens Puppies
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

2. Don’t assume the data hidden in “not provided”
was even that valuable to begin with
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

3. And it’s never been very scalable
Unless you enjoy scouring hundreds of thousands
of phrases for a few gems
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

4. Sometimes “Not Provided” isn’t even the
worst fail. “other” can be a lot worse
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

5. The smart bet is on
organic keyword data
eventually
disappearing completely
So what’s an SEO to do?
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

6. Search Engine Watch
How To Understand Google Not Provided Traffic You can read articles
http://bit.ly/AbWIRo
on magic ways
Avinash Kaushak’s to get around the wall
Smarter Data Analysis of Google's https (not
provided) change: 5 Steps http://bit.ly/t3W5cb
State Of Search
Yet Another Way to Reclaim Your (not provided)
Data http://bit.ly/t3W5cb
Seer Interactive
Is (not provided) Driving You Crazy? Get Some of
Your Data Back http://bit.ly/y1vPkB
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

7. Or you can
Join the new wave of
hipsters!
Use information that’s
been right in front of your
face the whole time
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

8. @AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

9. From 15k organic visits a day to more than
60k visits a day
without the use of granular keyword data
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

10. Even smaller sites can still see
tremendous annual growth
Without relying on
Google Organic Keyword Data
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

11. No, I’m not talking
about having a
magic fairy
Sprinkle pixie dust
on your site*
*Missy Ward probably has
an affiliate link
to one
If you really need that
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

12. Maximum SEO without
granular keyword data will only
work if your site is already
properly optimized
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

13. If your site is an
unorganized, chaotic,
poorly optimized
pile of trash
Forget about what
I am about to show you.
You have
bigger problems
to fix first.
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

14. My methods can
help only if you
have a well
organized site
with discoverable
content
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

15. Remember
What it was like
Before you
Became
Dependent on
Granular data
Unlearn your organic keyword habit
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

16. Remember there’s other data
already waiting for you to
make use of
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

17. Look for ways other than Google’s
keyword data to determine
phrases people find relevant
Google Analytics “In Page Analytics” can reveal
areas to improve or remove
#BlueglassLA
@AlanBleiweiss

18. Track actual keywords you optimized
your landing pages &
converting pages for
Embed landing page & converting
page keywords into your conversion
tracking solution
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

19. @AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

20. Review Page Level Data
average Visit /
time Conversion
Page Visits on page conversions Ratio
./blue-widgets/ 15000 6:43 744 20.16
./red-widgets/ 12941 7:28 936 13.83
./big-widgets/ 8000 3:29 54 148.15
./fuzzy-widget-balls/ 399 8:21 227 1.76
•Highest Visited
•Stickiest
•Total Conversions
•Most Conversions To Visits (Lowest ratio)
#BlueglassLA
@AlanBleiweiss

21. Already have highly converting pages?
Don’t ignore them or rest on your laurels!
Add more pages directly related to them
Do more off-page SEO to keep the momentum going
Use social media to remind people
“these are our best products/services”
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

22. Highest Visited and/or Stickiest Pages not converting?
Test ways to improve them!
•A/B Test your Call to Action
•A/B Test your content wording and message
•Review the persona the page is targeting
Is it your likeliest prospect?
Or is it speaking to lookers not ready to buy?
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

23. Lowest visited, least sticky, and lowest converting pages
Can they be salvaged?
Should they be salvaged?
On your worst performing pages: ask: can you better
optimize them or should you 301 to higher value pages?
Remember to evaluate individual pages and then entire
sections
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

24. Poorly performing
pages? Do new keyword
research to see if there
are better, more
appropriate, more
relevant phrases
Sometimes phrases that made sense
a year ago may no longer be valid
Sometimes a market has learned new ways
to describe something
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

25. Follow this process
And you just may get
such great results
you’ll think you’re in
heaven!
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA

26. Takeaways:
Organic Keyword Data will go away completely
Make use of other data you already have
Track referrer & page title data through to conversion
Examine page visits, stickiness, conversion ratios
Look for opportunities to build on the great, improve
the good and fix or scrap the bad
@AlanBleiweiss #BlueglassLA