The new Google Chrome 25 uses SSL to encrypt searches through Omnibox, the search tool used to type URLs, even if the user is not logged in.  Previously, searchers were encrypted only for logged-in users.  The keyword is no longer passed through analytics software, so this cuts down on the site owner’s ability to track keyword performance.

More (not provided), Fewer Keywords

Firefox made the decision to offer secure search in July 2012, surprising beating out iOS6, which jumped on the bandwagon in September 2012.

Since 2011, when the idea was first implemented, the (not provided) results have been steadily increasing.  Currently, SEO experts report rates between 20 and 39 percent of this message and the numbers are rising consistently.

What can you do about this growing issue?

Fortunately, there are ways to reclaim some of the lost ground.  The keyword data you are searching for does not pass through the referrer but it is still aggregated in Google Webmaster Tools and in AdWords, so look there.  It may not be as simple as using a referrer but you can still get a feel for keyword performance.

Another option is to use other search engine’s data such as Bing or Yahoo.  These two still send information through, so a “spot check” with these search engines may be enlightening.  However, you must understand that it will not be equivalent to Google results.  In other words, there is not necessarily a linear relationship between the number of Google users searching for specific keywords and those on Bing or Yahoo looking for the same keywords.  Bing and Yahoo users tend to be in different demographics than Google users, so they may have different search parameters.

You can also set up filters in Google Analytics to extract keyword position from the referring string, then append it to “not provided” or the landing page in question.  You can also simply look at “not provided” and the land page data.  This is not 100 percent guaranteed to give you good results but it is often useful as you think about common keyword strings.

Implications of Dark Data

What does dark data mean for SEO analysts and webmasters?  Although it is not the end of the world, it is something that must be considered when planning organic search strategy, if only because you no longer have access to the same analytic information as in the past.  Here is a summary of the implications of Google’s decision to “go dark” with Chrome 25:

• - The new version of Google Chrome 25 will encrypt all search data, meaning that all requests via the Omnibox will be hidden from analytics. 
• - Keyword data will not be passed to your analytics software from Chrome’s Omnibox, so you will receive a “not provided” code. 
• - Tracking search traffic by referring keyword is, therefore, becoming increasingly difficult. 
• - It is very likely that these (not provided) codes will appear at an increasing rate in the future.
• - You can use other available data to estimate the lost keyword data from the (not provided) codes.  Possible tools including Webmaster Tools, AdWords, landing pages and Google Analytics.

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It is very easy to download apps. On Android devices, users receive a prompt to allow them to download the app immediately as well as one to allow future downloads. Clicking the second one may not be the best choice, however.

Many users simply do not understand what the app is asking in terms of permission and blindly accept, not realizing that they may be opening themselves to far more invasion than they think. For example, some applications may read your contact list and upload user information for the sponsor’s own purposes without your knowledge.

Apple App Store pre-screens apps before allowing them to appear on its list. However, Apple does not explicitly outline the permission each app is requesting. Google Play does not pre-screen apps in the same manner.

This infographic outlines some good tips about screening apps and permissions to determine if the app is right for you.  Here are some facts gleaned from the information on this graphic about how people use apps and how they may have their privacy invaded:

• 97 percent of users do not understand how to protect their privacy when using apps.
• 18.3 million users have looked up health-related information using an app.
• 32.5 million users have looked up financial or banking information using an app.
• 50 million users post status updates using apps.
• 97 million users text or take photos using apps.
• 218 million users access the Internet over their phones.
• Android apps are capable of asking for more than 124 types of permission; 42 percent of users do not even know what permissions are.
• 83 percent of users do not pay attention to permissions when installing an app.
• 33 percent of apps ask for unnecessary permissions.
• Some permissions enable an app to turn on a phone’s camera, monitor outgoing calls, record screen images including personal information, monitor and view texts or photos, and capture conversations even if there is no active call.

It is important for users to limit the permissions they approve on apps in order to protect their privacy.  Privacy protection is never more important than when discussing online reputation.  Everything that is posted on the web or send through an app can have an impact on your overall online presence.  In fact, an entire group of experts has emerged who focus on reputation management to work on fixing problems that arise due to online reputation issues.  One way for you to manage your own online reputation is to pay attention to the permission you give apps to access your information.  Not only will this protect you from scams and other problems, it will also help you keep your online reputation at its best.

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A sales funnel is only as good as its weakest point. Smart marketers test every aspect of the sales experience and use this information to form plans for improvement.  No matter how good your sales techniques or user experience, there is usually room to improve things with the right adjustments.

This infographicoutlines the basic points you should test for congruence and optimize for customer use to strengthen your entire sales process.

• Landing pages. This is your point of sale, so be sure it is optimized for the best customer experience possible.  You must test every aspect of your landing pages from a customer perspective and ask tough questions:  Is your headline engaging?  Do you have too many unrelated links?  Is there a call to action? Is the font right for the material?  The answers to these seemingly small questions can have a big impact on your business and how you are perceived by customers.
• Signup forms. Be sure your forms are not too burdensome or difficult to navigate.  Customers rarely stick around to sign multi-page forms, especially if they are not sure what they are getting.  Keep your forms straightforward and simple and customers will thank you by responding positively.
• PPC campaigns. Do not assume that because you are paying for clicks that you have a good ROI. Analyze them regularly for performance.  You can test every aspect of your website and compare results from various pages, headlines and other factors. Experiment by clicking yourself and see where you end up.  If your customers are bogged down with too many redirects, you may lose business through the very advertising you pay for.  Keep things simple to keep customer interest and ensure that every possible click takes the customers where he or she wants to go.  Nothing is more frustrating than backtracking because links lead to unrelated pages or pages that do not give the information a customer wants.  Most will not continue with the experience past a click or two.
• Media buying campaigns. Analyze your outlay for advertising to see if your dollars are working for you.  You can easily analyze your cost per click (CPC) but there are also other metrics you can use to determine how much your advertising is costing you.  These metrics can help you determine exactly how much ROI you are getting from your advertising budget.
• Email campaigns. Regularly purge and expand your email lists so that you reach the optimum number of customers. Remember that it is easy for a customer to block your email, so do not overdo the email campaign strategy and assume it is working.  Check regularly to see if your emails are being received and follow up on what action your customers take after receiving a particular email.

Orange County SEO can help you design a sales funnel process that draws your customers in and then analyze your results using proven methods.  You will never again be in doubt about your sales results using data-driven analysis with the help of Orange County SEO.

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Mobile applications or “apps” are rapidly emerging as the next great marketing frontier.  Certainly they are foundational to marketing your products or services to the smart phone generation.  However, many people feel incapable of dealing with apps and tend to ignore their importance in today’s marketing world.  This is unfortunate, because building profitable apps does not have to be impossible or even difficult with the right help and information.

There are several pieces of information you need before you decide on the right apps for your business.  You should know your advertising budget, the type of advertising that would work well with your program, and the projected percentage of active users.  Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to plan for app use and advertising.

What happens inside the Android factory?  This infographic flowchart gives you five ways to build profitable mobile applications.  The flowchart allows you to trace the type of business you have and how you want to advertise through a series of questions that narrow down your choice of app types.  Here are some examples:

• In-app ads—These advertisements should be used by apps that have natural spots for banners and those that do not use virtual currency.  These are the quickest and easiest app advertising opportunities.  However, they can be intrusive.  Some app users find banner ads off-putting, but most will tolerate them for the sake of downloading free apps.
• Pay per downloads—Downloads that cost money should be used by apps without high budgets or large numbers of users.  Users do not mind paying for very specialized apps, but they expect commonly-available programs to be free.  You should only charge for apps that are unique and have particular value to users.
• Freemium—These apps should be used by games with virtual currency.  Setting up a virtual currency system can be time consuming and costly, so be sure this app is working for you to bring in customers before investing your time and budget in a large-scale project.  It might be worthwhile to try this type of app in a limited market before launching it to a larger audience.
• Notifications—These advertisements should be used by apps without a natural spot for banners.  Notifications are somewhat less intrusive than ads, but should still be used sparingly.  Notifications can bring your users’ attention to important points or information quickly, so this type of advertising is very useful if you have “sound bites” to share with your users.
• Paid apps—These types of apps should be used by apps that offer unique products or services and those with high advertising budgets.  Paid apps have several different types of rate structures so it is important for you to know your options when choosing this advertising.

Orange County SEO can help you determine the best types of apps and advertising for your particular business.  Give us a call so that we can help you find the right app strategy to help your business grow.

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Infographics are the embodiment of the old “a picture is worth a thousand words” adage. They are a concentrated form of information that is often easier for people to understand than long, drawn-out text.  Infographics consist of some type of image or “graphic” with information written on or around the picture.  Infographics normally rely more heavily on pictures than words to convey a message.  For example, an infographic might contain a pie chart with minimal labelling and a short blurb explaining the contents.  Some infographics contain no text at all beyond labels.

Infographics work well for SEO and drive inbound traffic from others to your site. Creating infographics is a great way to compact a large amount of information into a small space on your website and to engage your readers quickly and visually.  More people learn visually than through any other sense, so it is important to reach out to this large population of potential customers or clients.

Because infographics drive traffic to your site, they can help both your organic rankings and your deliberate SEO campaigns. They help with link-building efforts as they are easy for others to point to.  You can embed links in your infographics that give you more “bang for your buck” by combining two strategies:  link building and content management.  Combining these two valuable activities into one process saves you time and money and helps your website visitors have a better user experience.

There are four categories of infographics:

• Educational—teaches something or shares important facts
• Humorous—shares humor through stories, cartoons and other visual modes
• Controversial—challenges thought and begins dialogues about topics
• Newsworthy—reports on important current events

In order to create an infographic, you need information. Your designer will take that information and put it into visual form. This form can be as creative as you like; in fact, the more creative your infographics the more likely visitors will pay attention to them.  Finally, you must market your infographic through one or more websites or platforms.

PR can be one of the most important steps in this process. No matter how good your infographic is, it does not matter if no one sees it. There are services that promote infographics by embedding a simple code that can be copied and pasted onto another website with a link back to the original source. This is “free” SEO, driving traffic to your site.

Press releases are a good way to market your infographic, but the personal touch is always valuable as well. Identify lists of bloggers, writers, and others who will benefit from the information and share it with them. You can also use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to get your infographic to the public.

Orange County SEO can help you build and market useful and interesting infographics that will reach your targeted audience quickly and effectively.  Contact us at Orange County SEO today to learn how easy it is to incorporate great infographics into your website.