How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data

We’ve all seen it, lurking in our Analytics reports, nearly always at the top, sucking a huge chunk of data into a black hole of uncertainty and uselessness. Not provided was predicted as having a single-digit impact on sites . In my research, I’ve found it to have upwards of a 40% impact, especially on smaller traffic sites. In conversations with clients, and looking at my own sites, I knew the numbers had to be better – but what do you tell a client when chunks of data, in some cases over 30%, are attributed to (not provided) instead of the keywords you’ve given time, attention and tears to over the previous months and years. Honestly the standard, “It’s happening, but Google isn’t showing us what it is ” is just not good enough. Its not good enough for me; why would it be good enough for a client? I was on a mission… to find some way to make this data useful again. My g...

Full article: http://searchengineland.com/turning-not-provided-into-use...

Tweets

@herbertwest1 » 15 Nov '12, 1pm
Un filtre GA pour analyser le (Not Provided) >>> [link] / via @aurelienbardon @renaudjoly #seo #wafr
@ozeo_ » 09 Nov '12, 5pm
RT @MontseCano: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] #seo
@eotob » 07 Nov '12, 8am
Article on how to easily set up GA to automatically break up (not provided) into "not provided but landed on X page" [link]
@danbarker » 02 Nov '12, 12am
@robwatts this one: [link] vs this one: [link]
@a1_westy » 29 Oct '12, 11pm
Great article and a great way to look at your not provided traffic [link]
@CarrieHill » 29 Oct '12, 7pm
My @sengineland post [link] about not provided was mentioned on @mediaPost today by @Ryandeshazer - Thanks for the shout out!
@WhitepaperDepot » 28 Oct '12, 5pm
This'll make you want to hug @carriehill: 'How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data' [link] #analytics
@Web_Loco_Roma » 26 Oct '12, 2pm
Render espliciti i #notprovided di #googleanalytics [link] #SEO
@3knedle » 25 Oct '12, 7pm
RT @necodymiconer: Skvělý filtr do Google Analytics, který z Not provided získá alespoň nějaká data [link]
@flagstonesm » 25 Oct '12, 5pm
Thx 4 this @carriehill Advanced Filters To Improve Not Provided Results @kissmetrics @sengineland [link] #google #analytics
@fjosegs » 25 Oct '12, 5pm
RT @KISSmetrics: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] #measure #ctbcn
@adamsfallen » 25 Oct '12, 5pm
Smart: How to use GA to turn (Not Provided) searches into useful, actionable data [link]
@cloudRocio » 25 Oct '12, 5pm
RT @KISSmetrics: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] #measure
@ljmarcus » 25 Oct '12, 1am
Just because it's (not provided) doesn't make it useless - How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful Data [link] via @sengineland
@Motoricerca » 24 Oct '12, 4pm
Come sfruttare le keyword (Not Provided) su Analytics in modo utile [link]
@YTLancaster » 24 Oct '12, 3pm
RT @cumpsty: How To Turn 'Not Provided' Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@devarubanm » 24 Oct '12, 11am
RT @sameerkhanseo: How To Turn (#NotProvided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@alexmoss » 24 Oct '12, 9am
RT @rhyswynne: First article shared is How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] from @GideonSEO #3dd
@rhyswynne » 24 Oct '12, 9am
First article shared is How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] from @GideonSEO #3dd
@kieronmayers » 24 Oct '12, 5am
RT @ciaranj: Great tip on how to squeeze some data out of (not provided) [link]
@ciaranj » 24 Oct '12, 5am
Great tip on how to squeeze some data out of (not provided) [link]
@cleverphd » 23 Oct '12, 9pm
Use descriptive URLs? How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] via @sengineland Very clever @carriehill
@RavenTrialGuy » 23 Oct '12, 8pm
Start reclaiming your analytics with this helpful post: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@EverJeni » 23 Oct '12, 6pm
RT @RavenTools: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] by the smart @carriehill
@RavenTools » 23 Oct '12, 6pm
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] by the smart @carriehill
@scott_benson » 23 Oct '12, 4pm
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data via @sengineland [link] Really great post!
@seotweetz » 23 Oct '12, 4pm
RT @vcastro: Good one and applies to other analytics suites too MT @winooski: GA #SEO KW tip: filter for "(not provided)" [link] cc @seland
@vcastro » 23 Oct '12, 4pm
Good one and applies to other analytics suites too MT @winooski: GA #SEO KW tip: filter for "(not provided)" [link] cc @seland
@seotweetz » 23 Oct '12, 4pm
RT @Winooski: Google Analytics #SEO KW tip: Use an advanced filter to swap out "(not provided)" for the entry page's URL [link] via @seland
@Winooski » 23 Oct '12, 4pm
Google Analytics #SEO KW tip: Use an advanced filter to swap out "(not provided)" for the entry page's URL [link] via @seland
@MarketSamurai » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
How to turn (Not Provided) into useful, actionable data ^tv [link]
@MikeTek » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
Excellent. RT @dr_pete: NIce, accessible approach --> How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@CTCTHelp » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] #smallbiz #smb ^HM
@vitalmaque » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] (via Instapaper)
@rahvalor » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
Good to know! > How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@vinceblackham » 23 Oct '12, 2pm
RT @dr_pete: NIce, accessible approach --> How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@dr_pete » 23 Oct '12, 2pm
NIce, accessible approach --> How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@Dr_RezaMir » 23 Oct '12, 11am
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] توسط @sengineland
@guaca » 23 Oct '12, 7am
RT @mjcachon: RT @aleyda: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] vía @sengineland
@ohcourtneyk » 23 Oct '12, 6am
How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] has anyone tried this? #seo #google
@WMKT_fr » 23 Oct '12, 6am
RT @martin1975: Comment redonner du sens au « Not Provided » dans les statistiques de fréquentation d'un site [link] #se
@martin1975 » 23 Oct '12, 6am
Comment redonner du sens au « Not Provided » dans les statistiques de fréquentation d'un site [link] #se
@petrakraft » 23 Oct '12, 6am
Super useful from @carriehill via @sengineland How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@seotweetz » 23 Oct '12, 12am
RT @miguelful2: "@seo4anyone: #seo article: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]"
@miguelful2 » 22 Oct '12, 11pm
"@seo4anyone: #seo article: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]"
@Brianna5mith » 22 Oct '12, 10pm
RT @SteadyRain: How to Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]
@jaypasana » 22 Oct '12, 5pm
RT @LinkBuildRocket: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] #SEO
@boalt » 22 Oct '12, 4pm
RT @timothyjjensen: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link] via @sengineland
@Logan_gramatr » 22 Oct '12, 4pm
Looking for a way to improve your #SEM #analytics? Use custom filters on @Adwords - [link] via @sengineland
@sengineland » 22 Oct '12, 4pm
Posted last week: How To Turn (Not Provided) Into Useful, Actionable Data [link]