So last week Google unveiled its “personalized search” and what finally came to fruition was what I’ve been telling friends and clients for the past 6 months…
Searches are becoming more and more personalized on the Internet and I believe that in some way, shape or form they will continue to become more personalized or at least give you the option of having personalized searches as we move into the future.
Personally, I have mixed emotions about it. On one hand, personalized searches allow you to basically get recommendations from your friends in your searches through the use of the “+1″ button and Google Plus, so if you’re looking for a really good table and chairs set (see pictures below) your friends’ recommendations will show up higher in the search results than they would in a non-personalized search and have their picture and “John +1′d this” next to it to let you know which of your friends recommended it (see picture above).
On the other hand, for you and your business, it could hurt your search engine ranking as search results will be skewed because Google chose to make this feature automatically enabled…basically, most people aren’t even aware that they have to “opt out” of it to get true organic search results.
On a humourous note, Twitter and Facebook have proven that a lot of people don’t think before they post something, so we will undoubtedly learn things we never knew about our friends by what they choose to recommend with a “+1.” lol
It’s important to be aware of the personalized search and, as I posted at an earlier date, add the +1 feature to your site and encourage friends and visitors to “+1″ your website. At least for the foreseeable future, you as a business person will have to reckon with this virtual SEO monkey wrench and a good SEO consultant will help you understand and navigate those waters. Frankly, if you or your consultant are doing your SEO properly, just keep doing what you’re doing because it only gives you a more solid foundation and ranking that will ultimately endure.
Google ticked off more than just a few people when they introduced this personalized search last week because it was automatically activated on your Google account, forcing you to “opt out” rather than giving you the choice to “opt in.” Now the FTC is investigating the fairness of it, etc., but for the time being we have to deal with it smartly and properly.
The moral of the story?
For the time being, be aware of your truly organic search results as opposed to the personalized results. It’s really easy…just make sure you’re not logged in to your Google account when you do a search on Google. That will eliminate the “+1′s” showing up in your search and give you a true reading of where your business ranks in the organic results.
Whenever the quagmire of getting found on the Internet doesn’t make sense to you, give me a call or drop me an email here on my site:)
