With the SSL, Google has taken the web search security to the next level; the trick is to balance the data security for the web users and to keep the advertisers happy.

1. Google Makes Web Search More Secure
Google recently announced that it will now use the encryption protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to encrypt
all the searches that people do using the Google Search Engine if they are signed-in using their Google Account login.
This means that these logged-in Google users will be redirected to https://www.google.com (note the extra’s’) from
http://www.google.com (non SSL) once they are signed-in with their Google account. This switch to SSL encrypts your
search query which means that the sites the user visits after clicking on the results from Google will no longer contain
the “Referrer data” (data which tells the destination site how it was found, whether from a search term entered into
a search engine or from an external link) except in the case of ads.
Only Google and your web browser will see your
searches and a third party (not even Google Analytics)
will not know what is being searched. The new
encryption will block referrer data, which means site
owners will know that you came from Google, but
won’t receive information on what the exact search
was.
How does this affect SEO?
With the new system in place, Organic Traffic can still
be tracked, but it will not be possible to drill down to
the keywords from which the website visit was
derived. Even Google Analytics isn’t spared, one will
no longer be able to isolate the search term associated
with the visit in GA. However the keywords or terms
Google search engine users use to find their websites
will still be offered on Google Webmaster Central.
Presently, Google Webmaster Central shows the top
1,000 queries that a site appeared for at Google – as
well as was selected for – over a 30 day period.
Referrer Data for Ads:
However referrer data will be passed into the advertiser’s site, which means they (ad sites), will still receive
information that they currently get with unencrypted search. The main reason stated by Google being that advertisers
need the referrer data to evaluate their ad campaigns, to know which keywords or search terms are driving traffic in
order to improve the ads which we believe is to keep the advertisers happy.
However, when the user is signed-in and clicks on an ad with the advertiser’s website being HTTP rather than HTTPS,
Google will send the search term for that specific search to the advertiser over HTTP.
The encryption change as per Google will impact only the single digit percentage of search users, anyone who hasn’t
signed-in will still send referrer data to the websites he/she visits which means lots of data for SEOs to do a
conversion analysis to the keyword level.
With the move to SSL, Google has taken web search security to the next level; the trick is to balance data security for
the web users and to keep advertisers happy.
© Position2, Inc. 1

2. About Position2
Position2 is a Search and Social Media Marketing firm that delivers continuous growth for our clients using our
proprietary “Surround and Intent” Marketing Methodology, delivered by our products. Our proprietary methodology is
a result of years of experience in working with diverse clients to deliver customer acquisition goals through search
engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and Pay Per Click (PPC) and online media advertising.
Position2 was founded in 2006 with funding from Accel Venture Partners, and has offices in Palo Alto, Bangalore and
Mumbai. Position2 is a certified agency with Google, Yahoo, Bing and is also part of the Google Adwords advisory
council.
Position2's flagship product is Position2 Brand MonitorTM, a platform that allows users to listen, discover and engage
with social media conversations in real time. With a team of over 100 professionals, Position 2 also provides expertise
in online marketing solutions: SEO, PPC, Media and Advertising.
Position2 works with leading global brands:
This article is also available on the Position2 Blog: http://blog.position2.com.
For more information, visit http://brandmonitor.position2.com or email info@position2.com.
© Position2, Inc. 2