During the course of my daily SEO work I spend a lot of time analysing organic search results, links, search engine results page (SERP’s) extensions etc. As many people know search engines (Google for example) now display many different types of results within the SERP’s e.g. map/business results, products, images etc. along with paid ads and indented site links – all is getting rather complicated to explain to clients and armchair ‘quizzers’ alike!
Many of my clients query why the search results that they see do not match the results that I am sending them data on or discussing with them on the phone. It has been mooted for a long time now that the likes of the search giant Google and social media behemoth Facebook display different search results for different people based on the history, topic, frequency, location (and much more) of their search queries – basically these sites that have become part of our everyday online lives are now filtering the results that we see based on information that we are feeding them on a daily basis.
Catching up on some reading, I came across an article that explains this scenario, the current and future state of the Internet with regards to a’personalised Internet’ much better than I ever can … thought provoking stuff.
Should we be scared of the made-to-measure internet? http://bit.ly/lMsMoh
(c) 2011 Guardian Newspapers Limited.
