Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
Today we're helping people get better search results by extending Personalized Search to signed-out users worldwide
That's a staggering statement meaning that every computer accessing Google is now being personalized, signed in or not, so any desktop, laptop or kiosk will start tracking everything everyone does and you won't be able to access the same search results from any two machines.
The possible impact to all is staggering.
you are seriously saying that the most respectful way to engage your customer is to make their choice for them
Not even, no way. I am saying that the most respectful way to treat any user is to provide only what they specifically request or opt-in. This applies to all kinds of areas, including email, search results, anything at all. It's not even respectful to have a checkbox ticked by default in a sales process - and Google knows that.
they have decided that quality serps no longer matter but that getting the maximum amount of data as fast as they can is worth the risk
How does this move change the amount of data they collect? It doesn't do that - it just changes how and when they use the data.
Don't paint me with that particular brush in your hand, please - it's definitely not my color.
All the things that have been driving me crazy about Google results recently must actually be helping the majority find what they are looking for, and doing so in a major way.
Or maybe Joe Blogs does not know that there is perhaps something else better out there in SERPs because it was not presented to him high enough?
Privacy issue aside for the moment, I think the impact on SEO much depends on G. implementation of the personalisation. One possibility could be that if I search for Red Widgets and click on site #6 "Lovely Red Widgets" few times, Google moves #6 to position #1 for me, and purely shifts the other results one place further down the SERPS.
But if my search for "Red Widgets" influences the results I get presented when I search for "Blue Widgets" and I get "Red Widgets" site offered when I search for "Blue Widgets" then it is bad - I am being treated like an idiot who does not know what I want.
Or even worse - if I search for "Blue Widgets" and G. asks me "Did you mean Red Widgets" because of my past history.
I think it needs lots of testing to see exactly how the personalisation is being applied.
Mind you, any of the above would result that over the time two persons would have a completely different SERPs for the same keywords as G. would "promote" sites visited.
I can only infer that the average user must be even more clueless about search than I thought.All the things that have been driving me crazy about Google results recently must actually be helping the majority find what they are looking for, and doing so in a major way.
But most think effort is not required. Indeed, they EXPECT unclear instructions to made up for in the interpretation, with results being relevant almost despite the starting point. The thing is, when you have a one-size-fits-all dumbing down, its difficult to make everyone happy. Using KJ2's example of "football" (or soccer, if you prefer), you might be looking for a specific team, or possibly tickets, or league news. But usually when you use the same 1- or 2-word search, you are looking for the same result. Any it may not be the same as the next person.
If you are really lucky, you might find "reintepretation" being scaled down for the more discerning user, and results actually reflecting what you look for.
[edited by: tedster at 7:39 pm (utc) on Dec. 17, 2009]
How does this move change the amount of data they collect? It doesn't do that
Well, it DOES change that; they DO collect more data now.
Where in the past they could only collect the data of all users in relation to a specific set of results, they can (and certainly do) collect now the relation of a specific user to a specific set of results.
In other words: they can now see how each individual (computer) reacts to his personal result set. From this they will be able to build very sophisticated profiles.
An example: Google could pick a certain target group (say: "those who are located in the U.K. and have searched for 'Manchester United' in the past") and expose them with additional/tweaked results, say a link to a fan shop, and see how this user interacts with the result.
It's a whole new WORLD of data that is being collected.
How does this move change the amount of data they collect? It doesn't do that - it just changes how and when they use the data.
I'm seeing larger sizes ( even if cookies are only measured in bits and bytes ) and thus more data per cookie dropped by GORG properties than before..and more data dropped means more data read when the cookie is read by another GORG property..
GORG cookies have got bigger ..longer strings ..more complex ..and each holds more data ..
So overall they are gathering more data ..and are doing more with it ..and we have absolutely no proof that it is in order to improve search ..that is just the PR line ..any improvements that happen in their search will be a by product of this new policy ..not the objective of it.
...any improvements that happen in their search will be a by product of this new policy ..not the objective of it.
And that is also an opinion, not a verifiable fact. However, it certainly is a possibility. Ad targeting, for one, might be an objective.
Ad targeting, for one, might be an objective.
And the main one, IMO. It is how to boost revenues while hoping not to alienate users. A fine balance which may have been overreached, in this instance.
It's not an opinion ..we discussed in it some threads here ..some even had ASA involved ..and ASA confirmed that if you were in personalised search mode the ads that you would see on adsense areas on sites would match your searching history and not the sites context ..
GORGS own pages on privacy and also on adsense confirm this ..
And many of us here have seen and have discussed already the difference in adwords served up when one is searching personalised ..as opposed to not ..
