by Marelise da Silva | Jun 21, 2022 | Google
Ever wondered how Google can read your mind? It all boils down to Google’s personalised search results.
Many Google users are unaware that search results differ depending on whether the user is logged into a Google account or not. In other words, if a person is logged in to their Google account, they are seeing a different search result to other users.
Am I Logged In?
You can tell if you are logged into your Google account by seeing your profile picture in a circle in the top right corner. If you have not uploaded a picture, you will see your initial(s) in the circle.
If you are logged into a Google account, Google will give you your own set of “personal” search results, which will be different from everyone else’s. Your search results are customised based factors like gender, age, geography, previous searches, and more. Google increases the ranking of pages you’ve clicked on before. This means that you are likely to see the same pages over and over.
Why Does Google’s Personalisation Hurt Businesses?
While Google is motivated to deliver the optimal search for its users, this could prevent users from finding new service providers, for example. Google will keep giving you pages you have used before and while you are seeing the result ranking high, other people are not necessarily. You need to be aware that just because your own company is ranking high in your search results, it does not mean that it is up there for other people’s searches. You may have a false sense of your business’s visibility on the net.
How To Stop Google Personalised Results For Future Searches:
Check to see whether you are logged in to Google on the upper right-hand corner of the Google search page. Hover your cursor over the circle and it will tell you the account you are logged in to. Then click on the circle; click “Manage your account” on the right; click “Privacy and personalization”; scroll down to “Personal results in search” (on the right) and clicking the upper right, toggle the switch off.
The personalisation also applies to suggestions that Google gives when you start to type a search. Turning off personalisation will give you common public suggestions instead. This is far better in terms of understanding trends and conducting research.
Alternatively, you can turn it off by clicking the flywheel left of the circle in the upper right-hand corner. You then click “Your data in search” and scroll down to “Personal results” and click. This takes you to the same settings page.
The fact is that Google really is the best in its class when it comes to search engines. Benefits like the Chrome browser tie-ins make it a lot easier and more convenient than most others. However, knowing that there is a lot of unseen, algorithmic adjustment taking place when you perform even a basic action, like searching one or two-word terms on Google is disconcerting. Knowing that there’s not much we can do to get a neutral result is even more so.
Google’s algorithms – aided by AI software – are outside the understanding of the average user, meaning that even lawmakers, privacy watchdogs and advocacy groups cannot grasp them. That could be problematic for Google in terms of privacy and legislation.
For more help on simplifying the internet – including Google’s personalised search results – get in touch with WSI OMS without delay!
by Marianna Muscat | Oct 9, 2018 | Content Marketing, Google
Earlier this year, Google rolled out an exciting tool for marketers, specifically marketers who are engaged in video campaigns. Google’s Reach Planner helps you plan your reach on YouTube and other video sharing platforms.
The tool is available in Google AdWords; it is currently still in its Beta phase of testing. It allows you to get unique data on your reach in more than fifty countries and you can look at people’s demographics all the way down to the devices that people are using to watch your videos.
You can get recommendations based on your budget and the assets you have available. You could, for example, tell Google’s Reach Planner that you have 3 minutes of video, what your budget is, and ask for advice on how to go about marketing your video on YouTube. In just a few clicks, you’ll see a reach curve, frequency, and other key metrics for the audience you defined. You can also make on-the-fly adjustments to flighting or other campaign inputs to see how these metrics change.
Reach Planner can be used to:
- Reach audiences across multiple devices.
- Accurately plan the reach of your ads across YouTube and Google video partner sites and apps in 50+ global markets.
- Develop Target Rating Point and Cost Per Point calculations.
If you have a Google Sales Representative, then you can request that the Reach Planner is added to your AdWords account.
Need help with your video marketing campaigns? Then contact WSI OMS for more information today.
by Francois Muscat | Jun 27, 2018 | Google, Search Engines, SEO
Google’s Answer Boxes are the featured snippets that are ranked at the top of Google. The answer boxes often rank above the top search results and below the ads. They can draw quite a lot of traffic, which is why it’s worth your time to try to get your content featured here.
There are three kinds of answer boxes that appear in Google’s search results, namely paragraphs, lists and tables. To get featured in any of these types of answer boxes, you will firstly need to do some research on Google to find out which search terms prompt a featured snippet or answer box to appear. You will notice that an answer box appears when a user asks a question in Google.
After you have found which questions you want to answer, you will need to optimise your content so that it answers a question. The content that Google features in the Answer Box reads as if it is answering a question, so make sure you are writing it in a how-to, explanatory or step-by-step style.
An important factor to keep in mind when you are trying to rank in Google’s answer box is that Google generally features authoritative websites in these results. If you are struggling to make your site more authoritative, focus on the low hanging fruit like requesting a page on Wikipedia.
Need help with your seo strategy? Then http://www.wsioms.co.za/contact-us contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Mar 19, 2018 | Content Marketing, Google
As most people know by now, Google’s algorithms are continuously updated. If you have low-quality content or web pages, then you will start to lose rankings. The problem, however, comes when you’re trying to determine if your site is suffering from an algorithmic penalty or if the better content is simply outperforming your own content.
You can go to webmaster tools to find out if Google thinks there is keyword stuffing or keyword cloaking on your site (you will get a notification and then you can start investigating the problem from there). Checking your Google webmaster tools will highlight any crawl errors or other problems that you can start to solve yourself.
In 2012 alone, over 600 algorithmic changes were rolled out by Google. So, if you’re affected by an algorithm penalty, it’s not always as clear-cut. Google will often issue a news release if they have a big update that will impact many websites, such as the Panda algorithm, which is targeted at quality content, for example.
In general, if your website isn’t ranking where you want it to rank, it’s probably algorithmic. It’s always possible for you to check out what higher ranking web pages are doing and to tweak your own content and website so that you can improve your own rankings. As you change your site, the algorithms will reprocess the site and it can continue to rank better.
WSI OMS offers a range of SEO, link building and content marketing solutions that can help you boost your search results. Contact us for digital marketing solutions today.
by Francois Muscat | Jul 17, 2017 | Google
The rapid spike in mobile device use over the past few years has forced Google to adapt – and consequently Google is forcing the internet to adapt…and quickly. Google’s roll out of its ‘mobile first index’ has huge significance for digital marketing, SEO, web development and website owners – and businesses that don’t adapt are going to suffer for it. So it helps to understand what this mobile first index is and why Google is adopting it.
Google’s mission
Google mission is and has always been to serve the needs of its users. Google strives to serve up what people want, and to do that it relied on keywords in website code, then links, the analysis of user behaviour and preferences. The latest user behaviour metric is loud and clear about the fact that people increasingly prefer accessing the net from mobile devices.
Mobile-first indexing
Because what users see and can do on a mobile site might not be the same as what they get accessing the same site from a laptop or desktop, Google has had to prioritise the mobile version of a site to index for its ‘catalogue’ of websites – complete with the information that the search engine needs to fulfil its mission to serve the needs of its users. Mobile sites are more relevant to mobile users – and mobile users are now Google’s main customer base, therefore Google needs mobile device compliance and it will get this through its mobile-first index.
SEO and web design for mobile-first
With the advent of developments such as Google’s mobile index, the previously inexact ‘art’ of SEO is becoming more focused on mobile functionality and innovations. You still need content marketing and link building along with many ‘traditional’ aspects of digital marketing strategy, but mobile-friendly website design, along with apps and accelerated mobile content delivery, is now paramount as a foundation for SEO.
However, the end result of SEO is no longer just a place you get to and stay, it’s a place you’ll need to keep running to stay in. If your site isn’t yet adapted and optimised for mobile devices, you are close to being forced out of the race – but there’s still time to catch up and even overtake your competitors.
Contact us today for more information on how WSI OMS can help your business compete online with targeted, adaptive SEO and other marketing and web design services that keep pace with online trends, technological innovation and the needs of mobile device users.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 8, 2017 | Articles, Google
When starting an SEO project, clients often ask us how long it will take to rank in Google and the simple answer is that it’s difficult to say. There’s no stock standard answer for all clients because it on many variables.
A big data analysis from Ahrefs, however, has shed some light and given us a few more quantifiable answers. Ahrefs analysed the top ranking pages of 2 million random keywords to find out what the common denominators are. The average top ranking pages are:
- 2+ years old
- Only 5.7% of all the studied pages ranked in the Top10 search results for a single keyword
- Pages from websites with a high Domain Rating (DR) performed way better than those with a low DR
To find out more about how the “lucky” pages made it to the top 10 search results within 2 – 6 months, read Ahrefs review of their study here https://ahrefs.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-rank/
