Google Personalized Search

Posted by Ross Jones on December 6, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Possibly the biggest change ever in how Google works just happened. In effect, every person that uses Google will now be seeing different results.

Google is now personalizing the results you see based on 2 primary things: 1) Your Location & 2) Your Web History. What you see will be different than what everyone else sees.

For salons & spas, it makes the question "where do I rank on Google?" harder to answer & less important. For people using Google to find things, it can make it easier to find things you've found before. But on the flip side, it might be harder to find new stuff.

Google has been taking your location into account for some time. For example, if you search for Burger King, Google assumes you want to find a restaurant close to you instead 700 miles away. Makes sense, right?

Taking your Web Browsing History into account is much newer. In the past, Google has ONLY tracked how you use Google & other websites if you're logged into Google (via GMail, Google Accounts, Google Calandar or one of the other Google tools that require you to login). The new change means that they will track and use your web usage history even if you're not logged in to Google.

The bottom line is that you can't expcet what you see on Google to be the same as what someone else sees. So what should you do?

First, don't get hung up on where you rank for something on Google.

Second, focus on results: Is your website getting visitors? Are you getting customers because of your website? If you're not asking new customers how they found you, it's time to start.

A StyleNet website can be the best investment you make. As your web partner, we've made sure that your website is built in a Google-Friendly way. Most salon websites are not.

If your website ins't getting the results you need, we can help. Just give us a call at 888-595-0676. We'll do a review of your situation to see how we can help you make more money with your website.