I discovered this article on Twitter. If true it is very worrying and puts Google potentially in the same position as Microsoft vis exploiting its Monopolistic position.
In short if this is being rolled out by Google all non Google analytics programs will be rendered useless. I like many people use non Google sites to look at keyword analysis and keyword searches and its probably the most important items I track.
This article puts it much more sucinctly than I ever could... read the full story @ http://tinyurl.com/c5uv8e
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As the various postings on other blogs have shown, this is potentially a big issue if it's rolled out fully.
ReplyDeleteFor any business to have a clear picture of what phrases result in people clicking through to their websites, is vitally important. If you don't know which phrases led someone into the site then, although you may be able to still track the visitor path through your site, you wouldn't have the full picture because you wouldn't know whether it was the search phrase that wasn't quite right, or whether the website was at fault.
So why would Google want to stop people with analytics from picking up on actual search phrases that people typed? My view is that it's possibly a long-term game and it won't be long before Google are saying that people who use their own browser and Google Analytics combined, will be able to see those search phrases, but people who use other browswers (e.g. IE, Firefox) and other analytics systems (e.g. Webstat) won't have that privilege.
A cynic would say that perhaps Google intend to make the availability of such keyword phrase data a 'pay for' item, although I don't personally think they'd be that stupid as it'd shoot them in the foot.
What's highly likely to happen is that the IE and Firefox browsers will have to go through an upgrade that tries to get round the problem but ultimately, if Google hold all the cards, then that may be fruitless.
The most logical approach from rivals such as Yahoo and MSN would be to fly the flag of "our search systems don't enforce such restrictions, which is good for companies who want to analyse what phrases people typed before clicking through to websites". This would get the small fish (in PPC/Search terms) of Yahoo and Microsoft in favour with anyone who is in a position of influence with company websites.
For any SEO/analytics expert, to say to client companies "we can't analyse much of the traffic from Google, which really doesn't help you as a business - therefore, we advise that you put more resources into visibility on the systems (Yahoo/MSN etc.) that will allow you to get a greater understanding of your website visitors. And while you're at it, encourage everyone in your organisation to use Yahoo, MSN etc. as search mechanisms as a protest against Google".
Perhaps that wouldn't actually happen but if Yahoo and Microsoft played it right, they could pull in a lot more people using their systems, which of course, pulls in more PPC revenue.
I don't think Google are that stupid though - they have plenty more up their sleeve on this issue I'm sure. Having said that, Google do seem to have a view that they're untouchable in a way not disimilar to Microsoft many years ago. This time though it could be the ex-monopoly holders who come to the rescue and force Google into retreat.
Andy