Market leaders estimate that around 30% of small business owners conduct their own website promotion for organic search on Google and other search engines.
This task has just become a lot more difficult with the recent changes which limit the data which can be seen in Google Analytics.
With Google’s changes to secure search it’s getting harder and harder for small business owners to understand the complexities of organic search in order to optimise and promote their websites.
The data, previously provided by Google, allowed business owners to see the search terms individuals used to find their website using search. This data enabled the optimisation of websites for higher rankings and helped to provide a focus for website promotion.
All this could have a profound impact on small businesses that may have to outsource their online marketing to an SEO company who have the knowledge to deal with the changing landscape.
One way to access this lost data is to pay for an AdWords campaign, Google will provide precise details of the terms used to find your ads for every person who clicked. There is obviously a cost involved and the more you spend on clicks the more data will be available.
Other options include obtaining ranking data from several sources such as Google Webmaster Tools, Google Places for Business and Google Keyword Planner along with one or more of the various vendors selling ranking information. There is no tool which will give a comprehensive and accurate overview so it’s important to look at lots of information and amalgamate the reports to see a good enough picture of what’s going on.
For small business owners this is no easy task and would certainly take more time than most have to spare. If you’re overwhelmed by the growing complexities of search marketing and would like to discuss your needs with the experts please contact us.