What's the best way to figure out which keywords are the highest converting?

[timfrick]

We have a client using Google Analytics. They currently have 3 goals set up to track when website visitors fill out 3 forms: Form A, Form B, Form C.

I can easily figure out what traffic sources have driven the highest number of conversions on each form (Search for Form A, for instance, or Referrals for Form B), but of course, when I try to drill down on search terms that have driven conversions to each form, I get stuck in "not provided" territory.

I'd like to know what people are searching for when they ultimately fill out each form. This will answer questions like: are people familiar with us already when they convert, or did they randomly find our website when searching for something we sell?

It seems like there must be a way, using Google Webmaster Tools, Analytics, or another third-party app, to answer the question: what keyword searches are responsible for the highest number of conversions? Especially on a website that has traffic of 10,000+/month and a healthy dose of search traffic. Right? Where am I missing this information?

[DonnaDuncan]

LindaLV's suggestion is a good one too. Take a look at that. GWMT gives you not all but more keyword data that Google Analytics.

[timfrick]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. A PPC campaign is a great idea, however, we're just at the starting point doing research, not taking any specific actions. The idea is to figure out what's been working already and how, exactly, converting customers are finding the page in the first place through search. Really appreciate all the ideas — and sometimes it's just nice to get validation from other SEOs that we can't get that granular.

[CommT]

Thinking outside the box... Why not run a short PPC campaign using the keywords you are appearing on page 1 for (assuming you track them). Google is perfectly happy to supply keyword information, so long as you pay for it! So, you could use that information as an indication as to which keywords convert organic traffic too.

LOL - just seen that Donna suggested the same

[Linda-Vassily]

Here is an interesting article on that subject: http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2330149/how-to-find-keyword-conversions-by-url-using-google-webmaster-tools#

Not a perfect solution, but it might be a starting point for you...

[DonnaDuncan]

Agree with Hutch42, and also suggest you can do some experimentation with Adwords. It's not perfect, but it does make it easier to identify and segment the phrases that are actually converting.

[Hutch42]

Unfortunately, you cannot from Google traffic. Ever since Google stopped giving search terms for secure searches (any time a person is logged into any Google property) directly linking keywords to performance has gone away.  The closest you can do is link landing pages to conversions and then see what keywords are driving to those pages.  While it is not perfect, it works well enough to make marketing and keyword decisions.