Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
-
Hi,
Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic.
I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months.
Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic?
Please see the attached chart.
Thanks!
-
It absolutely stands out, consistently as the top. So basically, you're telling me that an enormous portion of my web traffic is unaccounted for (in my case about 25%).
Yep, if I add Keyword = (not provided) to this chart, it's pretty clear. And it does look like it's wreaking havoc on my reporting.
Thanks a ton!
-
not provided isnt anything to do with Panda or Penguin. For pretty much every site its their #1 referring organic keyword - Google doe snot provide keyword info for users who are logged into their services anymore
Have you looked at your keywords? I would be surprised if (not provided) did not stand out massively
-
If "not provided" means Panda/Penguin, would that really affect our branded terms? We still rank at the top for them....
Segments haven't changed. I'm the only one that touches them.
Thanks!
-
Have you checked against (not provided)? That may well have swallowed a large chunk of branded
BTW, the big (not provided) switch was early March for the UK and it makes a heck of an impact on reporting
Other things to check:
have you stopped any marketing activities in other channels that would have driven brand traffic?
Are your segments correct? Double check, maybe someone changed whats in them. How are you handling (not provided) with respect to assigning brand or non brand?
Very unlikely: tracking code misfiring on your homepage i.e. affects brand count but not longtail
Stephen
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
People also searched for
Hi There, I am promoting an online events website and would like to know adding long tail keywords (4-6 words unique queries) under "People also searched for:" is a good or bad idea on event pages? My intention is not to stuff page with keywords, although I want to let search engine bot know that particular page is relevant for other mentioned queries as well. So Intent is to sent relevancy signal (via content). So the heading "People also searched for" could be changed to something like: Related searches Searches related to Related queries etc. Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | jamesinhere
James0 -
Homepage alone dropped for one "keyword"
Hi Moz community, Our websites has dropped almost 50 positions for main keyword and Okay with other keywords. Other pages are doing consistent for other keywords. We haven't made any changes in website. What could be reason this ideal scenario of homepage dropping for main keyword. And recent unconfirmed algo update have anything do with this? Thnaks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
"Update" in Search Console is NOT an Algo Update
We've had a few questions about the line labeled "Update" in Google Search Console on the Search Analytics timeline graph (see attached image). Asking around the industry, there seems to be a fair amount of confusion about whether this indicates a Google algorithm update. This is not an algorithm update - it indicates an internal update in how Google is measuring search traffic. Your numbers before and after the update may look different, but this is because Google has essentially changed how they calculate your search traffic for reporting purposes. Your actual ranking and traffic have not changed due to these updates. The latest updated happened on April 27th and is described by Google on this page: Data anomalies in Search Console Given the historical connotations of "update" in reference to Google search, this is a poor choice of words and I've contacted the Webmaster Team about it. 2CsyN7Q
Algorithm Updates | | Dr-Pete12 -
My Site PR lost to PR4 ! I worked as per SEOmoz Suggestion - No Traffic Drop, Organic Search is good and higher than referral or Direct Traffic !
My Site PR5 lost to PR4 ! I worked as per SEOmoz Suggestion - No Traffic Drop, Organic Search is good and higher than referral or Direct Traffic ! What might be the problem ? Nov 29-2012 my site was hacked very badly and google Blacklisted me for the first time and if you see now " it says, Past 90 days nearly 19 times my site was acted as medium to spread virus" Even thought we checked our FTP, Cpanel or Home Directory - Everything seems good. My domain which was hosted - has other domains in the same network and some are porn - those sites are injecting malicious code ! May be that's the reason or please give me some idea how to improve it !
Algorithm Updates | | Esaky0 -
Optimizing Main URL with Various Relevant Keywords
Hi, I am new to working with SEO on my website and making attempts to create rich content to allow me to rank above and near competitors of our very niche market for LED microlights. I understand the concept now of on-page optimization. I have found key words that are perfect for optimizing specific products. I am working on structuring my website with enriching content that specific key words will direct organic search traffic to products. However, what techniques do I use to drive traffic to my main domain with a keyword that is relevant to my site but no specific products? For example, the phrase "light show gloves" or "light show" is a keyword relevant to my site in general, so I would like my main URL to show in search results when these phrases are searched. What can I do to optimize my site for such phrases? Do I merely use them in related categories and product content? And if yes, how can I ensure I have optimized my domain fully for various relevant keywords and compare to competitors? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | Rofldew0 -
Are Keywords Dying?
I'm freelancing in SEO work, looking to make it a full time career, and as a result I'm juggling the prospect of having to pick and choose what area I spend most of my time on when working on client sites. My background is in writing so I always lean towards creating content and engaging people via social media. But the standard is also to optimize page titles and - at a deeper level - descriptions for each page. For larger sites, especially e-commerce with many product pages, this is a daunting task. Is it worth it or is the better strategy to focus the limited time available to content creation? Will page titles, etc. eventually become obsolete anyway?
Algorithm Updates | | Nobody15330770827560 -
Sudden drop in all (keyword) +widgets keywords, after years of dominating
Google seems to be following up on either Panda 2.xx ..or we just got hit with link devaluation. We lost rankings with most of our keywords, where we were ranked 1,2,3 ..first page for most. Now we have dropped on the first page for competitive keywords, and even some to the seconds page. We haven't changed anything on the site itself...and those ranking over us in some areas have very little quality content, and links. Sites like "keyword.info"..or "keyword-keyword.org", etc. seem to be gaining some of the top spots. This comes years after solidly dominating our niche, and steady traffic. My theory is the latest Google changes are affecting link value, and perhaps we simply got some authority loss...but was wondering if you could shed any light on this issue? Thanks.
Algorithm Updates | | kledge0 -
Keyword Research for Real Estate Industry
I just finished reading the Beginners Guide to SEO at SEOMoz and joined as a Pro Member. I have created a campaign for my new SEO project and feel like I have a good understanding now of on-page optimization. I am going to start fixing title tags and on page content for our top 50 pages and start a new campaign to go after some keywords. Our website is 360dwellings. I am struggling to determine what the best keywords are for us to target. Right now our primary markets are Denver and San Diego, we also display listings for all of Colorado as well. We had originally gone after competitive keywords like "Denver Homes for Sale". What I am learning is that even ranking bottom of page one for that term doesn't bring a ton of traffic. Meanwhile, we rank well for a lot of niche content like "5280 best neighborhoods" "Denver Lofts for Sale" and "Denver Neighborhood Map". My questions is do we completely abandon going after big keywords like 'Denver CO Homes for Sale", and 'Denver Real Estate" and go as far as removing them from title tags? We have pages for every Denver neighborhood like Park Hill and the Highlands, but there is no search data for these searches in Google Keywords. My gut says that if each of those pages ranked for terms like "Denver Highlands Neighborhood Homes for Sale" that it would bring good targeted traffic. Does anyone know of search terms for Real Estate that are low competition but have some search volume? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | 360ryan0