Photo credit: Pixabay, Public Domain
Much ado has been made about Google now encrypting all keyword searches except those that come from pay-per-click ads. They were already doing this for signed-in Google users, but now more than ever, you’ll have no idea what keywords Google users are typing to get to your content. Only Yahoo and Bing will continue to provide that data, and they make up only about a quarter of internet search traffic. Also, without the Google Keyword Tool being available for non-Adwords customers, it’s harder to figure out what keywords to use – although the handy Ubersuggest tool has been handy in the aftermath of that change.
But here’s the big thing. Yes, Google wants more people to use AdWords. That’s how they make money, of course. But the big thing that needs to happen is shifting away from keywords. Yes, tags and categories are still important. You’re still going to be able to know what your Google ranking is. Just not what the phrases are. However, this sort of thing simply can longer be your concern anymore. Therefore, the focus needs to be shifted to simply producing the best, most relevant content that you can.
No matter what it is that you write about, content quality has to be the number one priority. It’s still worth tagging photos and checking on popular searches, of course. But now you simply have to ignore what exact phrases are bringing traffic. If you’ve optimized your pages enough in the past, they should keep bringing in the same sort of traffic. It’s just frustrating from an analytical point of view, even though you can still see that they’re coming from Google organic search. It’s just one piece of information you won’t have anymore.
So while there is a big commotion over this change, optimization is still roughly the same. It will just be a bit trickier to know exactly what is working and will take a bit more keyword research. But if you build up enough thought leadership in your given field and are ranking well in Google now, little should change. Going forward you just have to accept that whatever traffic you get will be relatively anonymous. For those that aren’t ranking well, keyword research is still the same – you simply just will be getting traffic without tagged keyword phrases. It’s a bit frustrating, but you can’t let it get you down. Just keep keywords in mind when you’re writing top-notch content and only worry about the eyeballs coming to your page, not the precise keyword phrases.
Of course, you can always use AdWords. That still works.
But here’s the big thing. Yes, Google wants more people to use AdWords. That’s how they make money, of course. But the big thing that needs to happen is shifting away from keywords. Yes, tags and categories are still important. You’re still going to be able to know what your Google ranking is. Just not what the phrases are. However, this sort of thing simply can longer be your concern anymore. Therefore, the focus needs to be shifted to simply producing the best, most relevant content that you can.
No matter what it is that you write about, content quality has to be the number one priority. It’s still worth tagging photos and checking on popular searches, of course. But now you simply have to ignore what exact phrases are bringing traffic. If you’ve optimized your pages enough in the past, they should keep bringing in the same sort of traffic. It’s just frustrating from an analytical point of view, even though you can still see that they’re coming from Google organic search. It’s just one piece of information you won’t have anymore.
So while there is a big commotion over this change, optimization is still roughly the same. It will just be a bit trickier to know exactly what is working and will take a bit more keyword research. But if you build up enough thought leadership in your given field and are ranking well in Google now, little should change. Going forward you just have to accept that whatever traffic you get will be relatively anonymous. For those that aren’t ranking well, keyword research is still the same – you simply just will be getting traffic without tagged keyword phrases. It’s a bit frustrating, but you can’t let it get you down. Just keep keywords in mind when you’re writing top-notch content and only worry about the eyeballs coming to your page, not the precise keyword phrases.
Of course, you can always use AdWords. That still works.
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