Why Google presents different results to different people
The basics of localised and personalised search
Regular readers of this blog will know that we write articles which try to answer basic questions about internet marketing in a straightforward and accessible way. The ideas for the articles are often generated out of conversations with dental clients where it has becomes clear that basic principles of how the web works, are misunderstood.
Today’s blog is in the same vein and results from a recent conversation with a new SEO client where SEO strategy was being discussed, in particular how to optimise a dental website for regional searches in Google.
During the discussions it became clear that the dentist did not understand how Google presents different information to searchers dependent on various factors, for example where they are physically located and their historical search pattern i.e. localised and personalised search. This is extremely important to understand for dentists who are developing a search marketing strategy, whether in-house or in association with their web marketing partner. So let’s make a very quick overview of local and personalised search and how it affects your web promotion campaigns.
Localised search
Over the last few years, Google has started to give search result preference to businesses which are physically located in the same region as the searcher i.e. using IP address (amongst other techniques) to locate you. This is not just for the local search results (the results in the middle of page one allied with location maps) but also in the main listings around them. So for me, searching from Derby for “dental implants”, I’m going to see very different results from someone searching that phrase in London. It is possible to set your Google search preference to different locations but surprisingly few people know about this.
This is very important for all businesses and particularly those which operate from multiple locations. I recently advised two dentists who have multiple practices against trying to incorporate all of their locations in a single website. This just isn’t going to work well these days and, whilst there is an increased cost to establish one website per practice, this is definitely the way to go if you are serious about securing a decent local ranking for each location.
If you are interested to know more about local search, Google “venice update” which will lead you to more in depth content.
Personalised search
This aspect of search is also completely unknown to many. It covers how Google presents search results to you based not just on your location (see above) but also on other factors such as your historical browsing activity. For many this actually represents an intrusion on privacy and you will possible have seen media articles to this effect. However, you can ‘opt’ out – at least theoretically. What Google is actually doing is monitoring you search activity, particularly if you are logged into your Google account as you surf the web. Cookies, stored on your PC as you visit various websites, also offer the opportunity to serve targeted adverts to you as well as personalised search results. Some would say that this is just a bit too manipulative but others actually like the idea of being served individualised content.
How do these factors affect a dental practice SEO strategy?
Understanding localised search is very important when establishing an SEO plan for a dental website. Quite often we see examples where a website owner or their marketing company has attempted to optimise a site for multiple locations but frankly this will just serve to dilute the ranking potential for the primary location. By all means, once prominence has been establish for the main area, try to broaden the foot-print to adjacent locations, but do understand why this will be harder. As discussed already, if you own more than one practice, unless they are very close to each other, a separate website for each practice is recommended.
Summary
When using Google to search for products and services, please remember that the results you see aren’t necessarily what others are seeing.
In simple terms, this is because of the way that Google serves results based on location and user search history.
Understanding this behaviour is important when establishing your website and for ongoing search optimisation strategy.
For more insight into how search engines work or to discuss optimisation of your dental website, please call the Dental Media SEO team on 01332 672548.