If you have been a long while customer of analytics software like Clicky, Google Analytics, or perhaps Piwik you probably observed a rise in undefined keywords. For anyone who is a new comer to the statistics world, maybe you think the programs do not appropriately track keywords.
I had recently finished a crucial redesign of a web site. Suddenly, I started finding keyword not defined within my Piwik reports. Back then I was not working with Google analytics, but I thought I would install it assuming that my redesign ruined my analytics software. As soon as I got Google Analytics set up I saw a lot of my traffic arrived from "not provided" keywords. So the good news was that I had not shattered my web site. Nonetheless how why couldn't I find out these keywords and phrases?
About a year ago, Google implemented a new level of security for users of their search engine. This Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) of protection keeps the user's search information private. This is great to protect your personal information. Not so great for the webmasters on the other end receiving undefined keywords.
SSL searches are automatically enabled when users are logged into their Google accounts (which includes being logged into Gmail.) Secure searches are also enabled by default on many browsers, including Safari on iPhone. I just checked from my Chrome browser as well as Safari on OS X, while not logged onto Google and searches were secure by default. As you can see, this is causing an increasing number of searches to show up as undefined keyword errors.
I go to the Visitors in Real Time view on Piwik and view my user's entry pages. Although it still uses the undefined keyword, I can see what page visitors entered from. If the keyword they used ranks well on Google it also gives you it's rank number. While this is not the perfect solution, you can at least get an idea of what people might have searched for to land on certain pages of your website.
I had recently finished a crucial redesign of a web site. Suddenly, I started finding keyword not defined within my Piwik reports. Back then I was not working with Google analytics, but I thought I would install it assuming that my redesign ruined my analytics software. As soon as I got Google Analytics set up I saw a lot of my traffic arrived from "not provided" keywords. So the good news was that I had not shattered my web site. Nonetheless how why couldn't I find out these keywords and phrases?
About a year ago, Google implemented a new level of security for users of their search engine. This Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) of protection keeps the user's search information private. This is great to protect your personal information. Not so great for the webmasters on the other end receiving undefined keywords.
SSL searches are automatically enabled when users are logged into their Google accounts (which includes being logged into Gmail.) Secure searches are also enabled by default on many browsers, including Safari on iPhone. I just checked from my Chrome browser as well as Safari on OS X, while not logged onto Google and searches were secure by default. As you can see, this is causing an increasing number of searches to show up as undefined keyword errors.
I go to the Visitors in Real Time view on Piwik and view my user's entry pages. Although it still uses the undefined keyword, I can see what page visitors entered from. If the keyword they used ranks well on Google it also gives you it's rank number. While this is not the perfect solution, you can at least get an idea of what people might have searched for to land on certain pages of your website.
About the Author:
C. Rodriguez is a graphic & web designer at StylishInk.com. Her website features a blog for new internet entepreneurs.. Free reprint available from: Why You May See An Increase In Undefined Keywords In Google Analytics.
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