Well, the hysteria is starting again. Google does something and the world is coming to an end. What am I talking about? This time it’s personalized search. If you don’t know exactly what that is, this article is going to briefly explain what it is and then give a rational explanation as to whether or not it’s something that you should be concerned with if you’re an SEO expert. Keep reading to find out the real truth about this topic.

Okay, so just what is personalized search? Well, this is another one of Google’s brain child ideas. In their infinite wisdom, they decided that they were going to show search results, not based on the SEO that a person does on their site, but on a searcher’s past history. In other words, if a person likes site A, they’re going to show site A at the top of the results when doing a search for those related keywords. The question is, is this something that SEO experts should be worried about? The answer is NO.

Why no? Well, I’m going to try to explain this as simple as I can so that anybody can understand it. Best way to do that is with a hypothetical example.

John Doe wakes up one morning with a hemorrhoid. He’s never had one of these things before and he’s in an absolute tizzy over it. He doesn’t want to get surgery because he’s heard it’s like having your lip pulled up over your forehead, so he goes to Google looking for a natural cure. So he types in “natural hemorrhoid cure.” Remember now, this is the FIRST time he’s ever searched for such a thing. So let me ask you a question.

What is HIS personalized search for THIS keyword phrase? Does he even have one? No, of course not. So what site is going to pop up at the number one position? You got it…the site that did its job to get itself to the top of the SERPs through good old SEO.

Now, you might be saying, “Yeah, but the next time he does a search, that site will come up number one for him again.” Yeah, it will. But if the cure he tried didn’t work, do you REALLY think he’s going to go back to it again? Not even I’m that stupid. He’s going to look to the NEXT site.

Personalized search, in fact, is one of the most worthless things in the world for everybody and has very little real effect on anything. If somebody DOES have a favorite site for whatever it is, they’re not going to search for it again. They’re going to bookmark it and go directly to it.

So do yourself a favor. Don’t worry about personalized search. Work on doing proper SEO for your site and you’ll be just fine.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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