BlowUp Information
Once upon a time I could type a term like 'e-conveyancing' into Google and know that a page from our newsletter archive on e-conveyancing would come up fourth. I have used this page as a research vehicle for search engine optimisation (SEO) and it has consistently been coming fourth for some time. If you do a search it will be... fourth.
A simple statement of fact you might think. However it is not a statement I can continue to make with a lot of confidence because in future the position of this page for this keyword is likely to be different for different people. Google is attempting to give you the very best search results based on what it knows about you, and people like you.
What does Google know about you?
If you are logged in as a Google user, say you use Gmail or have the Google toolbar, then Google knows quite a lot about you from your previous search behaviour. If not, then it has to go by the searches you have done in that session and your location, language setting and even browser.
The Google personalisation technology is the subject of a patent they took out in 2003. I wouldn't recommend reading this unless you are really serious about finding out the detail. But there is a handy summary produced by SEO by the Sea. Incidentally this website regularly analyzes patents granted by Google. Although the patent is old, it looks like these ideas are only now being implemented - but a lot of development will have been made since 2003.
The personalisation technology described in the patent application is based around the idea of groups of people. This could be as general as 'searchers in London' or 'people with an interest in conveyancing'. Some of the information may come from your location as determined by your web address, some may come from information you entered when you registered with Google and some might come from search behaviour.
Having determined your most relevant group, Google then knows what web pages tend to come up more frequently in searches by this group; what pages tend to be clicked and the sources of pages that tend to be supplied. So if 'middle-aged males with an interest in conveyancing' often do searches which result in land registry pages being returned, and they often click on them, then Land Registry pages will tend to be returned in a high position for searches on, say, house purchase, whereas the average punter might be getting pages from solicitors.
Google is also working on advertising. Up to now, the ads you see are simply determined by the keywords you typed in. If you type in 'conveyancing' you get ads from people who have purchases that keyword. The positioning of the ads is partially randomised and partially depending on the bid that the advertiser has made and the click-through rate they are achieving. A higher click-through rate means they get a better position.
In future however the ads you see will also be related to the web pages you have visited. Google knows this from previous searches you have made and which of the search results or ads you clicked on.
That is not the end of it. When you start typing keywords into Google, you notice suggestions being given to you in a drop-down below the search box. These suggestions may in the future also be biased towards your history or your group.
Is the sky falling in?
Does this change search engine optimisation?
I don't think it does. You can still find out the position of a web page for a search term, you just have to be very careful about testing. You need to clear all your browser history, clear any cookies, use a standard browser, and load the browser afresh for each search.
So when you do a test you need to make sure the conditions are completely sterile and standardised. A chemist would not find this a surprising statement, whereas some SEO gurus are talking about the sky falling in.
The problem arises when a customer has paid for search engine or pay per click optimisation, and they see different results from their SEO consultant. This needs to be explained to the client - which may or may not be easy. Now is perhaps a good time to start working on them.
About the author
Bob Browning has been working on web development projects since 1995. He heads a small team of web developers in London who work with designers on their web projects. If you need help with web technology please check our website: http://www.textor.com
There is a good introduction to Search Engine Optimisation on the Textor website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Browning
A simple statement of fact you might think. However it is not a statement I can continue to make with a lot of confidence because in future the position of this page for this keyword is likely to be different for different people. Google is attempting to give you the very best search results based on what it knows about you, and people like you.
What does Google know about you?
If you are logged in as a Google user, say you use Gmail or have the Google toolbar, then Google knows quite a lot about you from your previous search behaviour. If not, then it has to go by the searches you have done in that session and your location, language setting and even browser.
The Google personalisation technology is the subject of a patent they took out in 2003. I wouldn't recommend reading this unless you are really serious about finding out the detail. But there is a handy summary produced by SEO by the Sea. Incidentally this website regularly analyzes patents granted by Google. Although the patent is old, it looks like these ideas are only now being implemented - but a lot of development will have been made since 2003.
The personalisation technology described in the patent application is based around the idea of groups of people. This could be as general as 'searchers in London' or 'people with an interest in conveyancing'. Some of the information may come from your location as determined by your web address, some may come from information you entered when you registered with Google and some might come from search behaviour.
Having determined your most relevant group, Google then knows what web pages tend to come up more frequently in searches by this group; what pages tend to be clicked and the sources of pages that tend to be supplied. So if 'middle-aged males with an interest in conveyancing' often do searches which result in land registry pages being returned, and they often click on them, then Land Registry pages will tend to be returned in a high position for searches on, say, house purchase, whereas the average punter might be getting pages from solicitors.
Google is also working on advertising. Up to now, the ads you see are simply determined by the keywords you typed in. If you type in 'conveyancing' you get ads from people who have purchases that keyword. The positioning of the ads is partially randomised and partially depending on the bid that the advertiser has made and the click-through rate they are achieving. A higher click-through rate means they get a better position.
In future however the ads you see will also be related to the web pages you have visited. Google knows this from previous searches you have made and which of the search results or ads you clicked on.
That is not the end of it. When you start typing keywords into Google, you notice suggestions being given to you in a drop-down below the search box. These suggestions may in the future also be biased towards your history or your group.
Is the sky falling in?
Does this change search engine optimisation?
I don't think it does. You can still find out the position of a web page for a search term, you just have to be very careful about testing. You need to clear all your browser history, clear any cookies, use a standard browser, and load the browser afresh for each search.
So when you do a test you need to make sure the conditions are completely sterile and standardised. A chemist would not find this a surprising statement, whereas some SEO gurus are talking about the sky falling in.
The problem arises when a customer has paid for search engine or pay per click optimisation, and they see different results from their SEO consultant. This needs to be explained to the client - which may or may not be easy. Now is perhaps a good time to start working on them.
About the author
Bob Browning has been working on web development projects since 1995. He heads a small team of web developers in London who work with designers on their web projects. If you need help with web technology please check our website: http://www.textor.com
There is a good introduction to Search Engine Optimisation on the Textor website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Browning
Posted in: Internet-and-Businesses-Online,SEO
1 comments:
i also interest for this article...may i take it into my blog too ? ^^
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