Google Analytics Not Showing Keywords Used in Organic Search. Why not?

Google analytics is, for many businesses now a days, an important tool to measure not just the traffic to your website, but how efficient is the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or SMO (Social Media Optimization) implemented in your website and Social Networks. It shows you not only the organic searches statistics but detail on what keywords were used, what technology, demographics etc.

But what happens when you go to your account in Google analytics and you want to see the keywords used to find your website on the organic searches and you find that there are hundreGoogle Analyticsds of searches done on "(not provided)", what does that mean? And why do I have so many searches with that keyword?

To begin with, if you are logged into your google account and you do a search on http://www.google.com, as soon as you press "search" the URL of the results will begin with https://www.google.com/.... not http:// but https://

Why? Because your search is encrypted with SSL, or Secure-Socket Layers, which is the same type of encryption you see when you enter your credit card during an online purchase. To read more about this you can go to: http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/making-search-more-secure.html

Apart from many other things, this means that the keywords you use in your search will not be shared in tools like Google analytics due to the encryption and instead you will have "(not provided)"

Now if you are the type of person or business that keeps a close eye to the results generated by SEO and SMO to be able to measure ROI then you will need to make use of other tools to complement Google analytics, like Google Webmaster Tools, Alexa.com and many others available for free.

And for the ones that are not tracking yet the keywords, I will like to say that ranking on Google is a phrase used everywhere, people say "I want my business to rank on Google" but what keyword do you rank with or what keyword would you like to rank with or even better what keyword will be the easiest and most profitable one to rank with which is the KEY to have not just high traffic but good conversion?

Facebook Travel App Gogobot Hits 1 Million Registered Users

Facebook social travel app Gogobot announced on Wednesday that it has reached the 1 million registered users mark.

The app launched on Facebook in January, when the social network unveiled a slew of integrated apps, including Gogobot. Gogobot was in use before that time, launching in private beta 18 month ago. Now the app is exploding in popularity: A new user joins every 15 seconds, more than 5 million places have been shared on Gogobot and overall membership has grown 65x year-on-year.

The social travel site lets you share your vacation photos with friends and strangers on the site. You can give recommendations to people who post questions regarding travel or destinations you may have been to. Users can also create a “passport” listing places they’ve been and include reviews and recommendations of spots to visit. Create trip itineraries or search trips other users have shared to get a better perspective on things to do on your vacation.

Gogobot also launched the latest version of its free app in the iTunes store for iPhone and iPod Touch. This latest version allows users to comment on postcards, plus adds a richer search experience, including the ability to search for restaurants by cuisine and attractions by distance.

CEO and Founder Travis Katz told Mashable back in January that he created Gogobot out of his desire to collect travel recommendation and information from friends, rather than sifting through impersonal guide books.

Do you use Gogobot? What do you think of it? Tell us in the comments.

How To Get More Followers With Your Social Media Buttons

Look around at websites today and you'll notice that most lack a strategy when it comes to those little "follow us" social media buttons found on homepages. By placing the icons in the wrong location or designing them poorly, many sites are costing their social media channels valuable, potential followers.

In response, I've come up with these tips to help you avoid others' mistakes and start winning over more followers. The great thing about these tips is that they are easy and require very little time on your part, but they can make a big impact on your social media efforts.

1. Don't Hide Your Social Media Icons
Sounds like common sense, yet this remains one of the biggest problems among sites. A large number of them bury their icons in the footer or below the fold.

A better approach is to place your icons above the fold to give visitors a better chance of seeing them.

2. Entice Your Website's Visitors
Try to get away from bland social media buttons. Grab your online audience's attention with icons that suggest that your social media is fun and, well, social.

3. Don't Use Tiny Buttons
Seeing so many sites use extremely small icons makes me wonder whether or not they want followers, especially as more people are using devices like cell phones where small screens and big thumbs don't play nice with tiny icons.

4. Literally Tell Your Visitors To Follow Your Social Media
This was the biggest surprise for me: hardly any websites tell visitors what the icons are for.

I was talking to a friend of mine who told me that she didn't know that social media icons are clickable. She thought the icons were merely to inform people that a site uses social media.

Some of your site's visitors could fail to make the connection as well. For example, you know that the "t" icon on your site is for Twitter. But some of your site's visitors might not. And even if they do know, they might fail to recognize that they can click the icon to follow your organization.

5. Experiment
Have some fun. Maybe do some A/B testing. Branch out and try completely different approaches that no one uses. Your imagination is the limit.

6. Use Icons That Fit In With Your Site's Design
Here is an example of well-integrated icons:

7. Don't Camouflage Your Icons
I have seen this a bit. Organizations blend their icons too much with the design of their sites, resulting in fewer visitors noticing them.

8. Hire A Freelance Graphic Designer
If you want custom, eye-popping, attractive designs that fit your site's look and feel, consider hiring a graphic designer. They're great at these kind of things and they often charge a modest rate relative to what you get in return.

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