#1 on Google is not a global constant

 

After Jody’s excellent article on dealing with search engine algorithm updates we received a number of questions by folks who had noticed that their rankings change depending on where they are. You are likely seeing different results at work than you do at home; the same will often happen when you’re travelling.

Google serves different results in two important ways right now:

• Geo-targeting: Enquiro is located in Kelowna, BC, about a 5-hour drive from Vancouver. I get astonishingly different results (both organic and sponsored) between using our native IP address and a US-based proxy. For some clients we see a change of over 100 results on the SERP depending on where the searcher is located (or appears to be located). Google also recently clarified that the practice of serving different pages to users based on their IP address and location (called IP delivery and Geolocation ) is just fine, as long as you treat Googlebot just like any other searcher.
• Personalized Results: Millions of people use Google’s services beyond search: Gmail, webmaster tools, analytics, Ad Words and a host of others. If you’re logged in then Google will adjust the search results to make them more relevant to you.

The solution is to look at search engine visibility. This involves examining your whole keyword basket, across multiple engines. You can’t be over-focused on how one or two keywords are performing, but look at the whole picture. Think strategically.

You also need to consider the impact of geographically relevant results, personalized results, and Universal Search results.

So if you’re ranking for a particular keyword in a particular engine changes, remember it’s only one part of a very large puzzle. A comprehensive search marketing campaign with both organic and sponsored solutions is still the best way to make sure your website gains, and maintains, great visibility.