The search engine optimization (SEO) industry will survive and flourish despite Google’s decision to stop providing organic search traffic data for individual keywords according to Searchmetrics, the leading global provider of digital marketing software and services, which already offers a number of solutions within its software to help search marketers succeed without this information.

Searchmetrics’ statement comes on the back of Google’s plans to block web analytics solutions from identifying which keywords drive traffic to web pages as the search engine extends the “not provided” data trend (so called, because those are the words web masters see in their web analytics software).
“For inbound marketers, the loss of keyword traffic data creates an obvious problem: In order to plan your SEO activity, you have to know which keywords are successful in driving traffic and conversions and which keywords you should focus on in the future. And we’ve had contact from many search marketers who are very concerned about this issue,” explained, Marcus Tober, CTO and founder of Searchmetrics. “But for many months we’ve already been very aware of the not provided trend and the potential that Google might take more keyword traffic data away. We already deliver a number of solutions to allow our customers and partners to address the loss of this information in our Searchmetrics Suite software.”

Searchmetrics Traffic Index
The first of these solutions is the Searchmetrics Traffic Index, an index score calculated by the Searchmetrics Suite for each keyword a domain ranks for. This index number, which is based on keyword ranking data for a domain and search volumes for those keywords, allows search marketers to analyze and compare the estimated traffic potential for individual keywords, allowing them to prioritize and plan their activities.

URL level Optimization
Secondly, Tober states that the SEO industry will continue further along the trend of URL or page level analysis and optimization, instead of the older keyword level focus.

“Today many search marketers optimize on a URL or page level. For example, if I have a page that sells red shoes I now optimize the page, ensuring the content, technical and off page factors for that page work together to generate traffic and conversions. There might be lots of keywords ranking on this page - red shoes, red shoes cheap, red shoes buy online etc, but search marketers are becoming more interested in analyzing and optimizing the overall organic performance of the page – in line with a more content driven strategy. This trend is completely reflected in the Suite, because we also offer URL optimization” said Matthias Bachor, Director Marketing for Searchmetrics.

To support URL optimization, Searchmetrics Suite generates a range of data and insights that help search marketers analyze individual URLs. This includes generating a complete list of keywords that individual URLs rank for based on Searchmetrics’ continually updated database that tracks more than 250 million keywords in 20 countries. The Searchmetrics Suite also provides specific instructions to help search marketers optimize individual URLs on a technical, structural and content level.

Holistic Search, Social, Mobile and Local
Another feature that the Searchmetrics product team has developed which can help to address the “not provided” challenge is Searchmetrics Holistic Search. This creates a valuable connection between SEO and PPC (Adwords campaigns) data. It combines data about a web site’s search rankings for target keywords, the traffic the site generates and the conversion results - and then looks at these three data sources from an organic and from a paid search perspective, helping customers to identify potential opportunities in one source that can be exploited in the other source.

“Being able to view traffic and conversion data for individual keywords through paid search – which Google is continuing to provide - and analyzing this alongside the organic data that Searchmetrics provides, can deliver valuable insights for planning SEO activity. In bigger search marketing teams where the PPC and SEO experts are not constantly exchanging learnings, the holistic approach helps both teams to quickly identify potential opportunities they can use in their own plans,” said Tober.

“Holistic Search helps marketers to create unified online marketing campaigns across multiple channels - of which organic search is one important part. With the intelligent linking of social signals, local and mobile search results for tablets and smartphones that Searchmetrics provides, marketers can develop promising online campaigns and strategies despite not being able to reference keyword data from Google.

“Even in a world in which Google makes information rarely available, we are here to help our customers build successful global online campaigns."