What Brings People to Your Website? Google Analytics Won’t Say
Maybe you're the leading wombat breeder in Milwaukee.
No? Use your imagination. Regardless of your business, it helps to know what brings people to your website. Do people type "Milwaukee wombats" into Google? "Pets on Dearborn Street"?
Google Analytics used to tell you what works best, but that's changed. You still get visitor numbers, but you won't know what they typed. Since most traffic comes from "long tail" searches — things people type once or twice — this information was invaluable. If your business got a lot of hits for "Pet shops 53206," this told you to feature the zip code throughout your website.
The change is a major loss for SEO companies and customers alike. The logic is unclear, as is its impact. We'll keep you updated on how it affects SEO strategy.