As of now this means that SEO keyword data is no longer available to any analytics packages, including Google Analytics and unfortunately Infinity.
Back in 2011 Google began encrypting searches for anyone who was logged into Google. The ‘not provided’ had begun. Google stated privacy was the reason behind this. As of last week all keyword search data from Google has been removed irrespective of you being logged in or using private browsing.
There has been much speculation as to why Google have implemented these 'privacy' changes, there are rumours that it could be Google’s attempt to block NSA spying activity or that it is their way of getting more AdWords usage, as everything but ad clicks is now encrypted.
Search Engine Watch approached Google to comment – here is what they had to say:
"We added SSL encryption for our signed-in search users in 2011, as well as searches from the Chrome omnibox earlier this year," a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Watch. "We’re now working to bring this extra protection to more users who are not signed in."
The amount of ‘not provided’ search terms has risen significantly over the last two years as Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari browser in iOS 6 have also now adopted this approach to encrypted search.
But what we must remember here is that all PPC keyword data can still be tracked. And this is important. This is how us marketeers measure and track our return on advertising spend. This is how we make our marketing budgets work for us.
If you have any concerns on how your data will be affected we'll be happy to have a chat with you.
