20% Of Google Searches Are Personalised

It turns out that 1 in every 5 Google searches is actually returning personalised results.

This information, reported by witty IT News repository The Register, was brought to light when Google Software Engineer Bryan Horling spoke at the SMX West Conference in Santa Clara.

Apparently there are a number of variables that can be used to sculpt a users search results – web history, online contacts, and the users location. Mr Horling elucidated:

“..between these three techniques, just about every user who's engaging with Google search today is affected.”

This does not apparently include the normal ‘wider range’ changes that Google makes to the results based on geographical location – a search on Google.com for “car hire” returns uk sites after all..

This is a clear indication of the possible future of search and how it has the capacity to effect the SEO industry. If everyone receives a different search result then is there a right one to judge your sites performance against? Is this the beginning of the end for search rankings? Let us know what you think.

..More information can be found on The Register.

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• Search The Human Body With Google Body Browser - December 21, 2010
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