Google and perhaps other search engines are now returning different results for the same key word and the same
language in different parts of the world. Your Web site might be listed as number 1 in Western USA, but it might not
even be among the first ten retrieved by Google for users in New York City.
Search engine result localization reflects what Google thinks is the audience preference in that part of the world.
It may be very useful for advertisers who want to reach an audience in their own geographic area as well as users
looking for businesses in their part of the world. The utility of this for users who are looking for information is not
clear. Search Engine optimization rules work the same for the UK as they do in the United States, and history of World
War I, for example should be the same in different countries.
Criteria that may influence localization are not known. Localization seems to depend on where your server is located,
who links to you (from what parts of the world), languages used in your Web site or pages, and possibly, the proportion
of traffic coming to your site from different parts of the world and even the sites chosen by Google visitors in their
personal preferences, which are tracked by Google and perhaps by other search engines. At this time it is not known how
these data are used. It is certain however, that results for a keyword viewed in English language Google from Israel or
Holland or Germany or Japan, are not necessarily the same as the results seen in North America. This is a major concern.
Don't set up your site in Belize if you want to attract USA visitors and customers.
