Windows Live (aka SNAFUBAR) has thrown search marketers and web analytics folks into a bit of a tizzy with their switchover from MSN Search (MSN Search is dead. Long live this new brand name stuck onto the same old search engine.)
Results on the "new" Windows Live Search, which now processes MSN search queries, aren't including the referer data when passing traffic on, so you can't tell where that traffic came from. The referer URLs are apparently stripped out via a piece of JavaScript that Live.com is using for its own click tracking purposes.
Major pain in the butt for people who care about that sort of thing (oh, say, anyone in e-commerce). Especially annoying to those of us who track conversion from organic search specifically, since there are usually other ways to track PPC ads.
MSN dude reportedly chimed in to say:
This is NOT by design. We're looking into it. Thanks for telling us.
So rest assured, I am sure there will be a fix pretty quickly. Well, not over the weekend [http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/004011.html] , but hopefully some time today or early this week.
Avast!(Ye can rest easy in knowin the editor has been made to walk ye ol' plank for not writing this here post in pirate-ese. Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yarr!)
Posted by Melanie Phung
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Windows Live (aka SNAFUBAR) has thrown search marketers and web analytics folks into a bit of a tizzy with their switchover from MSN Search (MSN Search is dead. Long live this new brand name stuck onto the same old search engine.)
Results on the "new" Windows Live Search, which now processes MSN search queries, aren't including the referer data when passing traffic on, so you can't tell where that traffic came from. The referer URLs are apparently stripped out via a piece of JavaScript that Live.com is using for its own click tracking purposes.
Major pain in the butt for people who care about that sort of thing (oh, say, anyone in e-commerce). Especially annoying to those of us who track conversion from organic search specifically, since there are usually other ways to track PPC ads.
MSN dude reportedly chimed in to say:
Avast!
(Ye can rest easy in knowin the editor has been made to walk ye ol' plank for not writing this here post in pirate-ese. Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yarr!)
Posted by Melanie Phung