Has Google's keyword encryption killed content marketing

Will Google’s keyword encryption kill content marketing?

It may have been on the cards for a while, but last week when Google announced it was encrypting all keywords and cutting everyone off from vital organic-search keyword data, it came as a bit of a shock. I won’t deny it, my eyes watered.

What is a content marketer to do?  You need all that juicy intelligence on keywords and phrases so you can create strategic content to attract the right people to your web properties.

Can content marketing even be done without insights into which keywords do best, what phrases drive your traffic and what stories might bring you boat loads of search-engine optimized readers?

How will you know if the people visiting your site are bonafide members of your audience?

It feels a bit like Google has left content marketers flying blind and without critical instruments.

But there is a silver lining to this dark cloud. Privacy has trumped marketing and that is probably a good thing.

Cutting copywriters and content marketers off from the keyword data takes the focus off data and redirects it to real people.

Without having that spreadsheet of stats to rely on, listening to all your audiences becomes a big deal.

If you have not created them already, now is a good time to develop three-dimensional buyer personas for each character-type that matters to your business. Go beyond the demographics and really learn what makes each persona tick.

Get to know your personas as well as you know a good friend.  Know how they speak and what interests them. You can use that knowledge as a lens to assess each piece of content. Just pause and ask, “Is this just right? What would Goldilocks [insert your persona name here] think of it?”.

When you really know the people you are talking to, you know what interests them and that puts you in a great position to provide stories and other compelling content.

With encrypted keywords, content marketers need to put even more energy and resources into creating stellar content. And, given that Google’s stated goal is to serve the best of the best results for every search, you have to wonder if there isn’t some wisdom behind cutting the cord to keyword data.

Picture credit: © Rhouck | Dreamstime Stock Photos

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