What's up with Google?
A lot.
Google Analytics will stop tracking stats on July 1, 2023.
Not only will you no longer have access to your history, but there's also no historical data import to GA4 (the product Google is pushing everyone to).
Why?
It could be because Google is facing (and losing) several European lawsuits over whether Google Analytics is legal (because it tracks granular information).
It could be that in addition to the EU, there are also privacy laws in California and Brazil.
Or, that in the wake of Roe v. Wade, new laws mean search histories could be subpoenaed.
It's that your Google Analytics is increasingly ... inaccurate. (That's the side effect of privacy laws and ad blockers.)
And Google doesn't want that.
It's bad for their multi-billion dollar ad machine.
If your business relies on Google Analytics, you might consider privacy-focused analytics platforms like Plausible, Simple Analytics, or Fathom.
But... Are You Getting Good Search Results?
Google search might be worse now because, like much of the internet, it has matured and has been ruthlessly commercialized. — Charlie Warzel
The other concern with Google is whether you're getting the best search results.
Google is synonymous with search, the GO TO place to find what you need. ... but before that there was Lycos, Altavista, and Yahoo! Search.
Is that where Google is headed?
There's no shortage of articles, videos and podcasts musing about Google:
- The Open Secret of Google Search
- The Internet Google Left Behind
- Be Careful What You Google
- Tech Monopolies (video: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)
- Google Search Quality Declining? (podcast: The Near Memo, talking about "The Open Secret of Google Search")
The search giant is in the midst of a monumental pivot.
Not only are they battling privacy laws, they're also beating back the likes of Jasper, Nichesss and other AI writing tools that auto-generate poor quality articles.
Often, these articles rank until human intervention identifies it as gobbledygook nonsense.
This is something to watch.
Small business advice
- Create high-quality, authentic content: in the long run, this always outperforms irrelevant, low-quality articles
- Mix in alternative search engines for a well-rounded approach (why not give Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Yep a try?)
💌 That's a wrap for this Sunday.
See you again next week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, share it on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
See you again next week.
Have a great day,
Jen
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