Google Analytics and the Accidental Porn Site
This is a guest post by Susan Lahey of Fishpond Content.
Susan Lahey got a surprise when she saw how Google interpreted her About Page. Photo by mokra
Anybody who’s installed Google Analytics on his website can tout all the cool insights it provides: Who visited your site and how they wound up there; which pages they lingered on and which ones send them packing. It’s almost voyeuristic. Every morning with my coffee I troll my email, social media sites, and my Google Analytics religiously.
But yesterday I discovered another really crucial aspect of Google Analytics: It can tell you if net surfers think you’re a porn site.
It started like this: You know how you’re supposed to make your personality really clear in your content; how it’s important to brand yourself thoroughly, differentiate yourself and use strong language?
In the spirit of thorough branding, I wrote on my About page that, because I was trained as a journalist, I am really anal about deadlines, research, accuracy and making sure the content is sexy enough to land on the front page.
Potent language, right? It says I’m a professional and I write content people are almost irresistibly drawn to.
Then, I was doing my daily Google Analytics check to see where my content was performing well and where it could be strengthened, I clicked the link that shows what keywords people were using to find my site.
Guess which ones? Anal and sexy, and a few other, similar combinations.
Not exactly the branding message I was aiming for. Not really targeting the customer stream I was hoping for either. I’m sure the porn surfers were even more disappointed than I was.
So I rewrote my About page. But because I abhor boring content, I refused to make it milquetoast just to avoid a similar incident. Wonder what they’ll do with the word “badass?”
Editor’s Note: I’ll watch this page to see if I start getting the “wrong kind” of traffic.
Photo by mokra
Expertise: conversion rate optimization, AB testing, marketing strategy, digital marketing, analytics, landing page design, computer programming, entrepreneurship
Speaking: IBM, Inbound, LeadsCon, Content Marketing World, Affiliate Summit, and more
Books and Training: Your Conversion Creation Equation, Video CRO, Marketing Videos that Convert, CRO Best Practices
As Seen On: ClickZ, Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, Conversion Sciences Blog, Intended Consequences podcast
Education: Texas A&M University, BS Computer Science and Management
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Like the article; love the cover art!
Thanks, Tex. Of course, that’s not really Susan.