SUBMIT 2.0

As of December 4th, 2009, Google personalized search results to all of its users. How does this work, and how will it affect you?

I’m glad you asked. Google personalized search results collects the data from all of your searches in the form of anonymous cookies. From there, it analyzes your search patterns and customizes the results to what it thinks you are looking for.

An example would be if you are regularly searching for personal hygiene and cleaning products. Google would store this information in your computer in the form of cookies. Today, when you do a Google search for “soaps” your results would primarily display the cleaning products, rather than all the latest juicy gossip from the soap operas. Google will also keep a record of the websites you click on most, and will naturally raise them higher in your personalized search engine results.

The Google personalized search results function has been available for customers with a Google account now for some time. It is only recently that it is rolled out to everyone on the internet that uses Google.

Can I turn it off?

Yes. When Google has personalized your results, a “View customizations” link will appear at the top right hand corner of your search results page. If you click on it, it will tell you what customizations Google has made and allow you to turn them off.

What does this mean for my web business?

It will pretty much be business as usual for your web business. One thing that may greatly affect your business, though, is the click through rate of your web pages ranked in Google. The results people click on the most will achieve the highest rankings in their search results. Therefore, you want to have a catchy webpage title that will get a high click through rate in the search results.

Source: ezinearticles

Filed under: Web-Site-SEO