Goog to Know You

Late last week, Google introduced personalized search results for all Google account holders. Whenever they are logged into a Google service, sites that they find popular are weaved into organic search results. While Google users might not notice effects immediately, over time the contents of their personal Google Search History files and Google Bookmarks will be used to determine search rankings based on each users unique profile. As those files start to fill up, individual users will increasingly see search results tailored to their personal tastes.

The primary goal of any search engine is to present results that are as relevant as possible. That seems simple enough but, of course it isn’t. Information, like the people who use it, is complex and ever evolving. Over the years, the goal line has shifted with the evolution of technology.

At one time, the word, as found on page, in links and in the title and source-code of a document was the major determinant of relevancy. As the Internet grew, location became a determining factor, along with the importance of the word. Today, personal data is used to instruct Google what is and is not relevant to individual users.

In other words, the question isn’t “Relevant to what?” it’s “Relevant to whom?”

Google has always been able to develop incredibly complex but elegantly engineered tools that are simple enough to be used by virtually anyone. In building that tool, Google created its own conundrum. While it was known to present the best set of results to any given keyword query it was also only capable of delivering a general set of results.

Every person who uses Google is different. It’s hard to homogenize a billion or more users. Each one of those users has a unique set of circumstances and their own way of relating to information around them. They live in different places and earn a wide range of incomes. The all have different needs when it comes to information and making it easy to cut through the clutter is an integral survival skill in this phase of the digital age.

Here is an example of where personalization-effected results will prove invaluable.

A construction company in Chicago that always buys construction supplies from its regular suppliers does not need to know about Jobs and Careers in Chicago. When looking for rebar, they don’t need information about rust free trucks or bridges. They probably don’t need to read the Wikipedia entries on subjects relating to their professional searches either.

That construction company does need to know when their primary suppliers have the specific materials in stock they were searching the web for. Given the number of construction material suppliers in the Chicago area, ten results on a page might not be enough so weeding out the useless ones is important.

Over time, sites the staff of that construction firm refer to regularly and those they include in their Google Bookmark files, will begin to populate their search results, assuming they are logged in to a Google service.

Logging into a Google service is as easy as opening your Gmail account or checking in with Google Analytics. While neither service is currently used to provide personalization data, both are account log-in triggers that activate Google Search History.

Personalization is going to have an enormous effect on the SEO industry. I cover much of that impact in an article, “Google’s Personalized Results” published in today’s SiteProNews newsletter. In Monday’s post, I mentioned an article, “Google Ramps Up Personalized Search“ by Danny Sullivan, calling it requisite reading for SEOs. I wanted to note the article a second time because it is so tremendously detailed.