6 ways to get a different top 10 in Google for the same search
1. Search in google.com
No bias towards Australian websites
2. Search in Google Australia
Google Australia is biased towards Australian sites - you’ll see more .au sites in the top 10
3. Select “Pages From Australia”
“Australian” pages only based on the domain name (.au sites) and the hosting location (.com sites hosted in Australia are usually included)
4. Personalised Search on by default
If you are logged into any Google account such as gmail, gtalk, adwords, analytics etc then you will get results biased towards your search history. Personalised search is activated by default.
5. Natural Fluctuation
The top 10 for any given search fluctuates all the time due to algorithm changes, changes to web pages and even different Google data centres delivering different results.
6. Universal Search Arrives in Australia
It doesn’t look like universal search has fully arrived yet for searches in Google Australia. When it does, expect a different top 10 for many searches.
There was never an easy answer to the question “How do I get in the top 10 in Google?”. Now even the question itself is making a lot less sense. I’d like to see Gord Hotchkiss follow up on this post “Planning for Personalisation“.
Edit: When i wrote this I tried to find stats on the numbers using google.com.au compared with google.com. I couldn’t find any so i emailed Google Australia and got this reply.
” We don’t disclose specifics, but the vast majority use google.com.au.”
Posted in SEO
June 21st, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hi Susan
i noticed this
Hitwise Australia - Leading Search Engines - May, 2007
This list features the top 4 leading search engines based on Australian Internet usage, ranked by volume of searches for the 4 weeks ending May 26, 2007.
Rank Search Engine Volume
1. http://www.google.com.au 70.56%
2. http://www.google.com 16.35%
3. http://www.live.com 4.72%
4. search.yahoo.com 3.09%
From http://www.hitwise.com.au/datacenter/searchengineanalysis.php
Not sure how accurate it is but it could give a general indication of search numbers.
Regards
Paul Egan
June 21st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Hi Paul,
Thanks very much for that. I wonder how many people search “pages from Australia’? I’m guessing not that many but I don’t actually know. It’s interesting to see a breakdown between Google and Google Australia.
Cheers Christine (not Susan : -)
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:33 am
Hi Christine,
I would think it would depend on the search. If the searcher was interested in general information then I would surmise that they wouldn’t be bothered but if they were doing a search for a product to purchase then they would be more likely to do a local search (pages from Australia) this is just a theory though as I dont have figures to back it up.
Regards
Paul
June 25th, 2007 at 6:47 am
Well, thats interesting. I always had the intention that we type google.com.au more often than .com. How true!