Defaulting to page one of Google?

[Ali-v-8]

Like many other people I like to track where my business calls are coming from. Usually people say website design Burnley, Website company Manchester or SEO Burnley.
The last month or so when asked people responded with just SEO and I made the assumption that they meant SEO company Burnley.
One golden rule of marketing and all good SEO's follow is "DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING" and yes I kicked myself when I realised I had assumed.
The frequency in which people had replied "SEO" made me take a look at Google and guess what I saw? Yep ME
So I did what most would have done and checked web history to see if customisation was enabled - NOPE.
Then cleared cache and web history and still was there.
Now this struck me as strange because I never really tried to waste any time and resources on it (concentrate more on word of mouth by getting results much better) so why was it there?
By now you could be wondering "hmmm does this mean he is on page one of google for "SEO"?" Some of you probably searched to see.
Answer - No I am not, but if you click on the link provided you will see that I am. WHY am I there and why the increase in calls suggesting they found me under SEO. The clue was that all the businesses were from Burnley.

The new way that google is integrating personal search is by auto location. Google looks at your internet connection and sets your search providing a map placement (google places) finto your local results. They now also add your website to the organics. So when some one whos IP registers them in Burnley does a search search - I appear.
But why me and not someone else? My best educated guess (going off all factors) is I am number one for SEO company Burnley Via naturals and Places.
Thank you Google for being SOOOO kind - which makes me wonder (suspiciously) - If Google has some devious motive.
Remember google planned on making charges for Places(maps), so maybe it will be a way to entice people into this.
On the flip side if this is indeed the case, the integration would have to stop as the listing would no be organic but would in fact become a sponsored listing.

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

It's a shame Google thinks I am 90 miles away from where I actually am. Guess I can blame BT for that one!
I notice this when I search, business in a town 90 miles away show up in the results now as "Local results"
Not sure if there is anyway to inform google where I am.

 

[Ali-v-8]

If you mean for local search - you click the "change location" left of the screen results on google.
Other then that optimise your google listing on Places.

It's a shame Google thinks I am 90 miles away from where I actually am. Guess I can blame BT for that one!
I notice this when I search, business in a town 90 miles away show up in the results now as "Local results"
Not sure if there is anyway to inform google where I am.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Just a quick amendment to this - For you to obtain page one "without town" you need to be top two in local (naturally).

 

[UKSBD]

It's a shame Google thinks I am 90 miles away from where I actually am.

That reminds me of a test I was going to set up but never got round to.

I was going to make a list of all the BT IP number locations then set some test pages up geolocated to the exact point.

My theory was that if you tagged yourself to the popular IP locations you could get a little boost

Must get around to setting it up, where does Google say you are?

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I have complained about this for ages. If I am sat in Swansea Starbucks and search for double glazing , I get London companies. GREAT STUFF GOOGLE

As I wrote previously, Google are getting too clever for their own good. Or are they? because if the SERP's are crap, then people will click on the Adverts!

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

Must get around to setting it up, where does Google say you are?

Despite setting my location to Felixstowe, signed in and not signed in to google, it still insists I am in Norwich.
It's the wrong bloody county for starters!

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Despite setting my location to Felixstowe, signed in and not signed in to google, it still insists I am in Norwich.
It's the wrong bloody county for starters!

NO NO NO Google are never wrong. that is a 'feature'. Google are the new Microsoft dont ya know? They release half baked stuff and have the public test them and debug them

 

[bdw]

The new way that google is integrating personal search is by auto location. Google looks at your internet connection and sets your search providing a map placement (google places) finto your local results. They now also add your website to the organics. So when some one whos IP registers them in Burnley does a search search - I appear.

It is far from being infallible. On a search for SEO Google correctly registers my server as being in Dumbarton, UK (just over ten miles from Glasgow) but all top ten results are from south of the border (London to Cheshire and points in between).

There are no results from Scotland despite the fact that there dozens of companies doing SEO in the Glasgow area.

.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Please note i am number one for seo company Burnley +number one in the maps.
I tested this for Graphic design Burnley and on maps the same company appears by default.
The setting for location is left of the screen when you have done a search - you dont need to sign in.
@OWG - I thing the personalised search has gone to the next level.

 

[SEO Lady]

Just a quick amendment to this - For you to obtain page one "without town" you need to be top two in local (naturally).

Ali it's the same for my site - great post thank you

 

[Ali-v-8]

It goes to show I was right when I said it was worth targeting your own town and then aim for the world.

 

[finleydesign]

This whole thing is extremely annoying, I appreciate why google thought it might be a good idea, but really, did they think people are too stupid to put in the location they need a service, i don't think anyone living in say Bedford, would just search "plumber" of course there going to put "plumber in bedford"

 

[Ali-v-8]

Again its an assumption - The ammount of times i have been sat with a friend in pub and he has search for local Indian (takeaway not SEO ) and he hasnt put town. Same for taxis.
Least effort quickest answer, but yeah they usually do end up putting town in.

I guess Google watched traffic flow and realised that "IF" location was added automatically results would be more personalised (as they have been trying)

[

QUOTE=finleydesign;2043434]This whole thing is extremely annoying, I appreciate why google thought it might be a good idea, but really, did they think people are too stupid to put in the location they need a service, i don't think anyone living in say Bedford, would just search "plumber" of course there going to put "plumber in bedford"[/QUOTE]

 

[OldWelshGuy]

1:3 searches include a local tag on. Googhle mistakenly feel it is right to ram local based search down our throats. What they are failing to realise is that the UK, unlike the US, simply will not accept having anything forced on them, and will gradually drift away from Google.

As I said, previously, what is the point in delivering local results based on unreliable geo location. This is why Google NEED people to be signed into Google accounts, so that they can control the data flow.

25% or so of the Google budget is being spent on developing local search. One hell of a chunk isn't it.

 

[Andrew Baker]

25% or so of the Google budget is being spent on developing local search. One hell of a chunk isn't it.

I'm not in any way sticking up for Google here, just offering my thoughts on this OldWelshGuy.

I don't know your source but I imagine they are investing that huge amount in the future of our online habits... like it or not the future is mobile, be it tablets or mobile phones. To me laptops are essentially mobile devices, I drag mine around with me all over town and pick up the nearest hotspot or run off my iPhone, the thing is I'm mobile.

In these scenerios it's all about where you are located, the days of desktop searching are numbered.

Granted geo-targeting is truly dreadful in the UK, I made this point on this weeks #ppcchat.

Here > https://twitter.com/AndrewBaker72/status/227809290956722178

& here > https://twitter.com/AndrewBaker72/status/227809453326614528

That necessarily isn't Googs fault (the same applies to Bing BTW) it's down to the IP allocation of ISPs and the granularity.

It will get better by investment and I guess this is what Goog is doing.

 

[Andrew Baker]

That reminds me of a test I was going to set up but never got round to.

I was going to make a list of all the BT IP number locations then set some test pages up geolocated to the exact point.

My theory was that if you tagged yourself to the popular IP locations you could get a little boost

Must get around to setting it up, where does Google say you are?

Great minds

This is a great point and something I'm testing within the location targeting in AdWords.

If I have an Edinburgh based client targeting Edinburgh, putting location KWs (targeted for UK) aside, for geo-targeted searches you would ideally just select Edinburgh or a radius encompassing a population around Edinburgh...

Do this and I will miss potential targets.

We are with BT and their main exchange is Cupar, our IP address location is Cupar, not Edinburgh!

So I will not see any AdWords campaigns geo-targeted for Edinburgh, but I should do as that's where I want results for.

So expanding on your point, know where the main ISP exchanges are around your given location, geo-target these locations within your campaigns and you should reach more potential targets.

Obviously the downside is you will serve ads to some users who are outside your preferred target location.

 

[Ali-v-8]

This was a point touched on nearly 4 year ago with maps and adwords.
I think Steve Gibson cleared it up. It was something to do with how you set it up. Having said that adword have developed on since then.

 

[Andrew Baker]

This was a point touched on nearly 4 year ago with maps and adwords.
I think Steve Gibson cleared it up. It was something to do with how you set it up. Having said that adword have developed on since then.

Yes, massively, AdWords location targeting options have completely changed from 4 years ago.

 

[bdw]

What they are failing to realise is that the UK, unlike the US, simply will not accept having anything forced on them, and will gradually drift away from Google.

Would that this were true!

People have been forecasting Google's demise since the IPO in 2004 but the continue to totally dominate search here in the UK (AFAIK to a greater extent than anywhere else in the world).

.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I'm not in any way sticking up for Google here, just offering my thoughts on this OldWelshGuy.

I don't know your source but I imagine they are investing that huge amount in the future of our online habits... like it or not the future is mobile, be it tablets or mobile phones. To me laptops are essentially mobile devices, I drag mine around with me all over town and pick up the nearest hotspot or run off my iPhone, the thing is I'm mobile.

In these scenerios it's all about where you are located, the days of desktop searching are numbered.

Granted geo-targeting is truly dreadful in the UK, I made this point on this weeks #ppcchat.

Here > https://twitter.com/AndrewBaker72/status/227809290956722178

& here > https://twitter.com/AndrewBaker72/status/227809453326614528

That necessarily isn't Googs fault (the same applies to Bing BTW) it's down to the IP allocation of ISPs and the granularity.

It will get better by investment and I guess this is what Goog is doing.

hell I wasn't being critcal of Google I was pointing out that they know the future is mobile. (and I completely agree). It is said that within 12 months, search on mobile will overtake desktop search. The mobile market is being ignored by many marketers at their peril.

Within 2 years search marketing will have changed completely. I have been involved in geo-spacial marketing for well over 10 years now, we knew it was the future, and thankfully got ahead of the game.

 

[bdw]

In these scenerios it's all about where you are located, the days of desktop searching are numbered.

In any scenario it is about where you are located. Desktops have to be located somewhere too and don't forget that the Internet is not just about B2C. The people who spend the real money (in company purchasing departments for example) don't do it from their Samsung Galaxy.

.

 

[SEO Lady]

In any scenario it is about where you are located. Desktops have to be located somewhere too and don't forget that the Internet is not just about B2C. The people who spend the real money (in company purchasing departments for example) don't do it from their Samsung Galaxy.

Quite correct, however I am in a B2C environment for most of my time and it's beyond essential to have sites optimised for mobile in terms of ease of ordering, entering payment details securely and ensuring fields (address info etc) are maximised for smaller devices as well as tablets.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Strange - no blackberry in that list Nina?

 

[SEO Lady]

Strange - no blackberry in that list Nina?

I'm wondering if that's 'Not Set' Ali

 

[Ali-v-8]

Could be - after all they are well and truly tied in with Bing. May be this is Googles sneaky way to have a bash at them.

I'm wondering if that's 'Not Set' Ali

 

[SEO Lady]

Could be - after all they are well and truly tied in with Bing. May be this is Googles sneaky way to have a bash at them.

Hahaha Very likely!

This week's lesson: Optimise for Bing search as Blackberrys use Bing as their default search engine