April Fools Joke: Not Provided Keywords Are Not Expanded to Google Webmaster Tools

The Not Provided keywords are NOT being expanded to Google Webmaster Tools. In only what I can call an “April Fools prank posted days before April Fools”, Search Engine Watch posted this article that says that Google is expanding the Not Provided keywords to Google Webmaster Tools, taking away even more keyword data from site owners.

This is absolutely a prank article, and you should not believe it.

We have confirmation from Google’s John Mueller regarding this:

And here is even more proof that the Search Engine Watch article is a joke:

In the article, the author states that it’s a privacy issue, and that’s Google’s reasoning behind it:

Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) used to show all important SEO keywords your site ranks for. Where Google Analytics showed a 90 percent keyword “not provided” in your organic search traffic, GWT used to provide various insights. That has all stopped now. Under the cloak of “privacy regulations,” GWT now apparently shows only the search traffic for people that weren’t logged into any Google account.

Well, just because it’s on the internet, doesn’t mean that you should believe it. And especially around April Fool’s Day, as even sometimes I get into it as well. You see, maybe the author of this Search Engine Watch article really read my April Fool’s joke from last year:

Google To Make Not Provided Keywords Exclusively Available to .Google Domain Names

And decided that it was so good, that he would change it up and put a twist on it? Hmmm, it does have to do with Not Provided keywords.