Your webpage ranking on a particular position for a specific keyword doesn’t mean that it will show up at the exact same place for all the users.
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Why?
Because of Google’s personalized search.
What’s that?
Google personalizes the search results for every user based on their geographical locations, search history, time & date of search, and online interests.
Does this mean that the SERP data you see for any particular keyword on SEO tools is false?
Yes, SEO tools aren’t accurate when it comes to SERP, but they still can give you an idea of the page rankings for a specific keyword.
Well, this article isn’t about the authenticity of SEO tools; it’s about helping you understand Google’s personalized search.
So, let’s get started.
What is Google’s Personalized Search?
Google’s personalized search is the way Google shows the most relevant search results to its users for any search term.
For example, if you’ve searched for “top premiere pro templates for video,” the web pages that rank in the top two of your SERP might differ from other users. There are chances that you find a webpage from VeedYou on the top if you search for or use this tool frequently.
Google has been delivering the most relevant search results to all the users (even when they haven’t signed in) since December 2009.
Okay, so we know that Google personalizes search results, but the real question is to what extent?
Google doesn’t hyper-personalize the search results. It does it to a very limited degree for location-based searches and other relevant cases. However, there isn’t a clear answer for this from Google.
That’s why it’s essential for search engine optimization experts to optimize their web pages for Google’s personalized search. Also, they recommerded best SERP api to track your pages performance in the google and other search engines.
For starters, get to know the factors that affect Google’s personalized search results.
Here we go.
Factors That Influence Google’s Personalized Search Results
Here are the top factors influencing Google’s personalized search results.
1. Browsing and Search History
Google utilizes your previous searches and the results you clicked on to personalize your search results. Using these details, Google understands your interests to deliver the most relevant web pages.
For example, if you’re a tech enthusiast or anyone who has searched for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, the first SERP result for the term “alphabet” will have the company info in the knowledge panel.
Whereas if you try to search for the term “alphabet” in the incognito window, the knowledge panel will show you the Alphabet as it relates to language.
2. Device Used
We’re at a stage where mobile-first indexing is the new norm, and mobile page-load speed is a ranking factor for search engines.
Although the SERP results for all the devices are mostly the same there can be a few tweaks in the positioning of the webpages based on their speed for that particular device.
For example, webpages that are slow to load on mobile devices will rank lower in the SERP.
3. Location
Location influences your search results significantly, especially when your search query has a location-specific intent. It makes a lot of sense that users from different locations get different search results based on their queries.
Unless you’ve defined your location in the Google advance search options, Google will get your device location via your IP address.
A simple example of location-specific search results can be the results for e-commerce queries like “sneakers for sale.” For this query, Google will show you the results specifically for your country. Moreover, the map locations will be hyper-personalized for your location.
4. Social Media Activities
Although this factor doesn’t affect the SERP much, there is a slight change in the positioning of web pages and answer boxes as per the social platforms you frequently use.
For example, if you’re active on Twitter and search for a public figure on Google, you’re more likely to see that person’s tweets at the top of your search results.
However, the social media activities’ impact on Google’s personalized search results is quite unpredictable.
5. Language
After geographic location, language is the most influential factor for Google’s personalized search results. The language of your search query helps Google find the most relevant web pages for you.
For example, if your search term is in Spanish, say “tipos de flores,” you will most likely see Spanish content in your search results.
Image via Google
Try it out right now to see the difference.
How to Optimize for Google’s Personalized Search
Personalization is crucial for your website for better search results so you need to hire an agency who provide full services. Different agencies can harm your websites due to different approach they used for websites.
Here are some tips for optimizing your web pages or website for Google’s personalized search.
1. Optimize for Location Targeting
Location targeting is essential for businesses that target specific geographic locations for their products and services.
To begin with, create a Google My Business Listing and let Google know about your target locations.
The next step is to use location-specific keywords on your web pages. For example, if you have a movers and packers business in California, use keywords like “movers and packers in California,” “movers and packers San Francisco,” etc.
However, unless your business is targeting an international market and your web pages aren’t particularly specific for any location, there is no need for you to optimize your web pages for a specific location.
2. Focus on Language Optimization
If your target audience speaks a specific language, make sure that your website has all the content written in that particular language.
Don’t bother about other users who don’t understand the language you’re targeting. And even if they land on your website, there is always an option for translating the webpage.
Use top advertising tools for promote your website for long term results. These tools helps you manage your website ads in better way.
Make sure that the keywords you use are an exact match for the search queries in the language you’re targeting. Also you can use AI enabled transcription tool to convert your audio and video, etc in the quick texts in local languages so your visitors can understand in better way.
3. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
We’ve discussed that Google prioritizes mobile-friendly pages for mobile devices, and hence, you must optimize your web pages for mobile devices.
You can use Google’s own tool, PageSpeed Insights, to identify the errors on your web pages. Once you find the errors, get them resolved by your team.
4. Build a Strong Social Media Presence
If you want to populate your target customer’s SERP with tweets and other social media posts from your company’s handles, build a strong presence on social channels.
Prioritize the social media platforms where your target audience is most active and start posting engaging content related to your target keywords. The aim is to rank your social media posts in the SERP for that relevant search queries.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing web pages for Google’s personalized search results is a quick win for SEO. For most market niches with cut-throat competition for several search queries, personalization can be a nitro boost for businesses.
If you have any other queries which we haven’t answered in this article, please leave a comment. We’ll surely help you with your question.