Google Gets Personalized

Have you ever become overwhelmed by the number of documents accessible via a search engine? If you’re like most people, then you probably have. There are often millions of results, and not every result is likely to be of equal importance to you.

In addition, there is also language ambiguity. Words often have multiple meanings, and people can have different interpretations of the same word. How does a search engine know the difference? Well, at this point, they don’t.

They certainly can’t read your mind, so the only other alternative is to track your online activities in order to tailor results based on your recorded preferences.

Google is one of the first major search engines to test this new technology. They have released a total of 15 new patent applications this month related to this endeavor.

Traditional algorithmic search engines have reached their peak. Personalized search is a natural and necessary progression for Google and other search engines as well. Some alternative search engines have already taken the lead in this endeavor.

Over time, we develop a history of search queries, selected results that were clicked on, advertisements that were clicked on, and a multitude of other browsing activities. Each of these actions reflects our preferences and interests. Other examples of user activity that Google may begin tracking include instant messaging, word processing, participating in online forums, and making phone calls.

Within the proposed system, users can perform searching and browsing activities to enhance their experience.

Each of their online activities gives clues to what they might ultimately be looking for or related areas of interests.

Interestingly, users can also modify their profile information to represent their interests better. For example, a user may delete a search query from their history or provide updated information on new areas of interest.

One of the most interesting aspects of the patent filings is the re-ranking of search results based on the user’s preferences.

After a query is made and the results are received, they are then adjusted based on information from the user’s history. The order of the search results can be adjusted in accordance with core and/or any user-modified settings. Search results can also be ordered based on the standard search result score and the history score to yield optimal results.

A searcher may also be shown an indication of previously visited pages among the search engine results pages (SERPs), including information such as the date and time a page was last visited, and the number of times the user visited the site within a specific period.

A number of the most highly ranked results that the user has previously visited may be displayed in a region above the search results for easy access (similar to results).

They could also be displayed in another section of the page, or even in a separate window. These previously visited pages may be ordered based on several criteria, including the history, pagerank, time of last access, number of accesses, etc.

A user’s and more recent searching activities can also influence the ranking of search results. For example, if a website has been visited by the user, it could have stored data based on the number of times the user has visited that particular website. Google may also track how long visitors stay on any given website. A site that is bookmarked and visited frequently will almost always rank higher.

On the other hand, search results that were previously presented to searchers but not clicked through could be lowered in the results.

What does this mean for you as a webmaster and SEO? It means that your focus should be on quality. When creating your website, prioritize visitor optimization and content optimization over search engine optimization.

The visitor always comes first, and you must create a valuable experience for them. Allow them to quickly and easily bookmark your website. Give them a place to hang out for a while, whether it’s a forum, lots of great content, or fun quizzes.

The future of SEO is about creating quality, authoritative sites.

About This Author: Post excerpts from Kim Roach, a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews