{"id":2979,"date":"2019-04-24T09:26:41","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T09:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/?p=2979"},"modified":"2024-08-27T12:38:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T12:38:50","slug":"5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways GDPR Can Boost SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>Last year in May 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into full effect and since then several online businesses and service providers have been rushing to get in agreement with the new standards. Many businesses have successfully adjusted their website policies to that they can get in compliance with GDPR protocols however many businesses are still languishing.<\/p>\n<p>The other important question that is popping up here is whether GDPR affects SEO. If it does then does it affect positively or negatively? Such questions are bothering small to big businesses as well as marketers worldwide. In this article, such boiling questions will be discussed in detail so that you can get a clear understanding of GDPR and its effects on SEO. <\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s first understand what GDPR is.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#what-is-gdpr\" >What is GDPR?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#1-increased-user-trust-and-reliability\" >1. Increased User Trust and Reliability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#read-also\" >Read Also:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#2-increased-roi-return-on-investment\" >2. Increased ROI (Return on Investment)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#3-dependency-on-seo-and-content-marketing-increases\" >3. Dependency on SEO and Content Marketing Increases<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#4-impact-on-serp-rankings\" >4. Impact on SERP Rankings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#5-targeting-those-who-dont-share-their-personal-data\" >5. Targeting those Who Don\u2019t Share their Personal Data<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/5-ways-gdpr-can-boost-seo\/#final-word\" >Final Word<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-gdpr\"><\/span>What is GDPR?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a set of rules or a directive in EU (European Union) law for data safety and privacy for all persons that are living within the European Union and the European Economic Area.<br \/>\nIn simple terms, GDPR allows EU citizens to provide more control over how their personal data is collected online by websites and used further. Although, GDPR was launched back in April 2016 the full implementation was launched in May 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Every website that gathers and stores information of EU citizens on their website falls into the GDPR regulation process and they must follow it. If a company doesn\u2019t follow data protection laws i.e. GDPR laws then the company can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gdpr.associates\/data-breach-penalties\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">fined up to \u20ac20 million<\/a> or 4% of annual global turnover.<\/p>\n<p>A report published by Osterman Research tells that different data prevention technologies are taken into consideration by companies to specifically address GDPR. It shows that businesses are getting ready for GDPR with a full force. <\/br> <\/br><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Osterman-Research-Report.png\" alt=\"Osterman Research Report\" width=\"587\" height=\"486\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2981\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Osterman-Research-Report.png 587w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Osterman-Research-Report-300x248.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/br> <\/br><\/p>\n<h4>Let&#8217;s see how GDPR can affect SERP rankings and SEO<\/h4>\n<p>Since GDPR has come into full light marketers have been talking about how GDPR has increased the budget &amp; workload for their marketing campaigns. A survey conducted by PwC survey stated that 68% of companies in the United States of America are expecting to spend $1 million to $10 million to meet GDPR requirements. That is indeed a hefty amount that companies are expecting to spend and that will naturally affect other channels of business such as marketing.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/GDPR-spending.png\" alt=\"GDPR spending\" width=\"640\" height=\"371\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/GDPR-spending.png 640w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/GDPR-spending-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/GDPR-spending-624x362.png 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><br \/>\n<center>Image Source: trustarc.com<\/center><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>However, there are some good things as well that GDPR is bringing for businesses such as SEO benefits. Yes, you heard it right. General Data Protection Regulation has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openaccessgovernment.org\/the-five-key-business-benefits-of-gdpr\/44554\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">already started providing benefits<\/a> to many of the businesses worldwide. <\/p>\n<p>Here, I am going to talk about 5 SEO benefits of GDPR.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1-increased-user-trust-and-reliability\"><\/span>1. Increased User Trust and Reliability <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Just like the <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalm.sg\/google-ranking-factors-you-should-know-about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">HTTPS protocol<\/a> GDPR implementation also shows that your business is trustworthy. When you get an SSL certificate and applies HTTPS, it clearly shows your audience that the connection between your browser and the website is completely secure and encrypted.<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br>[Tweet &#8220;\u201cFifty-nine percent of brand respondents and 40% of agency respondents said that their organizations have either appointed or are planning to appoint a data protection officer. \u2013 (Source: econsultancy.com) &#8220;&#8221;]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>The same happens when GDPR is applied correctly. To gain user\u2019s information when you show pop-ups and clearly states why, when and how you will use their data as well as personal information the trust for your brand build up.<\/p>\n<p>There are several websites that stores information without user\u2019s consent and approval and many users know that. When they know that you are following the rules and complying with GDPR protocol then they will trust your company more than before.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"read-also\"><\/span>Read Also:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/ux-design-and-gdpr-everything-you-need-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UX Design and GDPR: Everything You Need to Know<\/a><\/h4>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<p>It will show to users that you care about data protection policies and customer\u2019s information and that is why you are following the rules. It will definitely increase customer loyalty and trustworthiness for your brand.<\/p>\n<p>When users trust your business or brand they like to revisit repeatedly. If they revisit frequently via search engines then it shows Google that your website is more engaging than other websites and so it will start providing a ranking boost to your website.<\/p>\n<p>If users re-visit your website frequently via referral sources or other sources then the percentage of returning visitors will increase and the chance for converting them into a loyal customer will increase too.<\/p>\n<p>You can clearly see, increased loyalty with GDPR implementation brings great SEO benefits doesn\u2019t matter whether the user is organic or referral.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2-increased-roi-return-on-investment\"><\/span>2. Increased ROI (Return on Investment) <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>GDPR compliance can boost your ROI too, you must be wondering how? I will explain.<\/p>\n<p>When you get in compliance with GDPR, you gain the approval of the user to collect and store his personal information like email, credit card information, etc by showing them a notification or pop-up.  If they click yes, then only the system stores the information or you gain the information otherwise not.<\/p>\n<p>So clicking on Yes button on the popup, in other words allowing your website to collect his information itself shows that he is interested in your services or he likes your website\u2019s informative articles and furthermore he wants to hear from you.<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br>[Tweet &#8220;\u201cSixty percent of respondents said GDPR has significantly changed their organizations\u2019 workflows for collecting, using, and protecting personal information. (Source: McDermott, Will &#038; Emery)  \u2013 (Source: McDermott, Will &#038; Emery) &#8220;&#8221;]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>Now compare two situations, one person who just by chance gave his email on your website, one other person acknowledges your GDPR policy and then gives his email for further use. Who do you think is more interested in your services or information? Definitely the second one. He made the effort to acknowledge and then provided his email, it means he wants to hear from your website.<\/p>\n<p>Now imagine you get thousands of emails of such interested persons, wouldn\u2019t it be a goldmine of an extremely relevant database? Indeed it would be. This useful email data will provide a far better ROI than non-relevant email data.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3-dependency-on-seo-and-content-marketing-increases\"><\/span>3. Dependency on SEO and Content Marketing Increases<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are several digital marketing techniques that depend on data collection such as PPC, remarketing, email newsletter, personalized ads and more. When you have GDPR regulation on board, it becomes very difficult to gather the data especially actionable data from users because that extra step of data consent is required.<\/p>\n<p>However, techniques like SEO and content marketing don\u2019t rely on data collection. In such a case of data scarcity, you can take great advantage of SEO and content marketing to make your marketing campaigns successful.<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br>[Tweet &#8220;\u201cThirty-five percent of organizations said they have a data breach reporting process that is aligned to GDPR readiness.  \u2013 (Source: Deloitte) &#8220;&#8221;]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>One simple way to take advantage of content marketing is having a blog on your website that provides valuable information to your audience; it can dramatically increase the number of leads. By providing other resources like case studies, reports, researches, templates you can also keep your users engaged on your website.<\/p>\n<p>GDPR affects data collection and that affects targeting audience for marketing campaigns. Even though you get in compliance with GDPR you are not going to get user information instantly. The process is new and it will take time for both businesses and users to adjust. Until then, you can put more efforts into content and SEO because as we discussed both strategies don\u2019t necessarily need data collection.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4-impact-on-serp-rankings\"><\/span>4. Impact on SERP Rankings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Will those websites that are observing GDPR protocol rank higher on Google? We don\u2019t have a certain answer to this question as of now. There is no clarification on this question from Google as well.<\/p>\n<p>But you can get the answer to this question from this example. Initially, implementing HTTPS was not mandatory for businesses, later Google made <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2014\/08\/https-as-ranking-signal.html?utm_source=datafloq&#038;utm_medium=ref&#038;utm_campaign=datafloq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">HTTPS a ranking factor<\/a> and so businesses started switching their websites to HTTPS from HTTP. After sometime in July 2018, Google made it mandatory for websites to install an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/what-type-of-ssl-certificate-does-your-website-actually-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SSL certificate<\/a> for secured connection.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min.jpg\" alt=\"SSL Report: Vocso.Com\" width=\"1089\" height=\"508\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min.jpg 1089w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min-768x358.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min-1024x478.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSL-Report-vocso-min-624x291.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1089px) 100vw, 1089px\" \/><br \/>\n<center>SSL Test Report: Vocso.Com<\/center><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>This incident shows us that the same may happen to GDPR policy implantation as well. Right now it is only mandatory to follow GDPR for those websites that deal with EU citizens. Websites that don\u2019t deal with EU citizens are not bound to follow GDPR and it is not declared a ranking signal yet by Google.<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br>[Tweet &#8220;\u201cSeventy-one percent of marketers said they believe that lack of compliance could have a detrimental impact on their companies\u2019 ability to conduct business globally. (Source: McDermott, Will &#038; Emery)  &#8220;&#8221;]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>However, in future Google might declare it as a major or minor ranking signal. At that time, when you would have already been observing GDPR will get the instant ranking boost.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5-targeting-those-who-dont-share-their-personal-data\"><\/span>5. Targeting those Who Don\u2019t Share their Personal Data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are many people who don\u2019t like to share their personal information on websites and there are some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/security\/blog\/2013\/08\/22\/5-reasons-not-to-share-personal-information-on-a-website\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">valid reasons<\/a> for that including GDPR. In that case, your website will never get their personal data through which you can personalize your marketing campaigns and improve the targeting.<\/p>\n<p>How would you sell to these people? You can\u2019t do it with PPC, paid ads, sponsored listing, and personalized placements because you don\u2019t have the necessary data. Without the necessary data, you wouldn\u2019t accurately know which demographic area is best, which kind of individuals like to buy from your site. <\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br>[Tweet &#8220;\u201cNearly half (48%) of U.K. adults expressed plans to activate new rights over their personal data as a result of GDPR. (Source: Information Age)  &#8220;&#8221;]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>In such a situation, targeting audience organically is the best way because to search for something on Google a person doesn\u2019t have to provide any personal information. A person can simply use incognito window and search on Google without worrying about personal data stealing. Thus, creating a great SEO plan and personalized content delivery to such users increases the chances of generating more leads.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"final-word\"><\/span>Final Word<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So far, marketers have been struggling with GDPR implementation and that is natural because it\u2019s a new thing. After some time, everyone will get used to it. GDPR compliance has its pros and cons that affect your business but a smart marketer is always ready for such situations when he is ready to make adjustments and deliver the great results.<br \/>\nBecause digital marketing is ever-changing and those who don\u2019t keep up with the changes are left behind.<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Looking for a GDPR compliant website? We\u2019ve helped 500+ startups like yours to grow revenues faster. Let&#8217;s discuss your project to get customized advice that will walk you through how you can grow your business and increase sales online. Start to discuss your web, mobile, and marketing projects with our professionals by scheduling a free 30 minutes consulting call. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year in May 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into full effect and since then several online businesses and service providers have been rushing to get in agreement with the new standards. Many businesses have successfully adjusted their website policies to that they can get in compliance with GDPR protocols however many businesses <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":3092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vocso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}