Google’s Personalised Search

Google has offered personalised search results for some time, serving up customised, tailored results for each searcher to provide them with the most relevant results possible. By ‘learning’ about a user’s search history and preferences, Google can then adjust the search results in the future. This was initially only available for people who were logged into a Google account, but since December last year, Google made Personalised Search the default option for everyone.

This recent change appears to have been introduced at a low key level, despite the significant implications for users ‘ in the way that search results are now being presented to them ‘ as well as for companies that are marketing their websites using search engine optimisation. By using a ‘cookie’ file that is saved on each user’s computer when they search Google, the search engine is able to record past activity to help adjust similar search results in the future.

This tracking feature was originally provided in the form of Google’s Search History, which was switched on as a default option for many Google searchers in February 2007. It was renamed as Web History in April 2007, to reflect how it began to track more information about how Google users surfed the web after having conducted a search. It then became known as Personalised Search and was available only for signed-in Google account users, but this recent change has meant that every searcher is now having their search activity recorded in order to help Google serve up more relevant results in the future.

If a user now searches Google, a text link appears at the top right of the screen saying ‘Web History’. This link explains that “search results may be customized using search activity from this computer” and users have the option to disable this function. If you sign into a Google Account, you have the option to register for the more detailed Web History option which then displays more detailed information about previous search activity and the search results may also be adapted in different ways based on this data.

All the main search engines have always retained search history for a set period of either 90 or 180 days, although this data wasn’t linked to individual searchers. With Personalised Search, the data is recorded on the PC, unless the user is signed into a Google Account. Either way, there are privacy issues arising from this data collection and although Google does provide users with an opt-out option, most people are unlikely to be aware of this and will do nothing about it.

Of course, Google’s argument is that by recording this data on search activity they can improve the quality and relevancy of results in the future. The use of cookies and user history has influenced the ranking of Google Ads (AdWords) adverts in the past, and continue to do so. The extension of this feature for all searchers means that users may be presented with quite different results when using different PCs, and popular sites that have been visited in the past are likely to rank better in the future.

From a search engine optimisation perspective, this means that ranking results for a site will potentially vary between different users and will be hard to track changes on an accurate basis. Having said that, ranking positions have always been used as a benchmark in the past and the real measure of a successful SEO campaign will be an increase in search engine referral traffic. In the long term, the data that Google collects about search rankings and user activity is likely to influence ranking results overall.

You can find more information about? Google’s Personalised Search results here? and it’s worth bearing this feature in mind when you use this search engine. If you’d like to know more about this and the impact on your search engine marketing strategy, then please contact us.

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