It was destined to happen sooner or later. Google finally has erected the long-awaited brick wall between website owners and users. The wall, of course, is encrypted searches. Recently implemented, encrypted searches block all keyword data from websites. Thus, owners will never again know which keywords are pulling in visitors. Without this knowledge, tracking visitors on the basis of keywords is impossible and the privacy of users is forevermore protected.
For brand marketers intending to segment website traffic according to keyword preferences, this is a huge game changer. Obviously, marketers will be scrambling to find replacement strategies…at least for Google searches.
While Google’s latest security measures will shake things up in the marketing world, secure searches are not entirely new. Encryption has been provided to signed-in searchers since 2011, and to Chrome users beginning earlier this year. But total keyword blockage for all users has never existed until now.
Google claims that secure searches offer users greater protection. But is user protection what’s really behind the recent encryption policy? Encryption could very well be setting the stage to boost revenues for paid searches, in particular AdWords. Remember, the paid variety generate 90%+ of Google’s revenues.
But the new and improved total search security could send website owners and marketers flocking to Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. Indeed, the competition will be good. Unfortunately, encrypted searches may not be so good for Google.
If you have any questions or comments about how your brand might be affected by the new secure Google searches, or about any brand building topic, feel free to send them our way. You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #4033 or bart@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest brand marketing news and tips.