Personalized Search - Personalized search is any
web search that reflects the personal preferences or past history of the user.
It is also the name of a specific
Google feature that can
be turned on or off by users.
In actual practice, large search engines "personalize" search to some extent
and have been doing so for years. Users in the UK will get different results
searching for certain terms, especially commercial ones, than users in the USA,
and users in San Francisco may get different results from those in New York. For
Yahoo! and similar
engines, this may depend in part on whether or not the site is registered in a
specific regional server.
Personalized search is intended to improve the quality and utility of search
results. If I search for "boot" I am probably looking for footwear. If someone
in Cornwall searches for "boot" they might be looking for articles about the
rear storage space of automobiles. If I search for "Java" I am probably looking
for articles about the programming language, but you might be looking for travel
information to an island in the Pacific or the history of that place.
Personalized search algorithms can be divided into active and
passive. Passive algorithms simply look at where the user is located or what
sort of pages the user has been interested in in the past, and decide on that
basis if they are interested in Java the programming language or Java the
person. Active algorithms and gadgets like Google's SearchWiki allow the user to
change the ranking and to give input about usefulness of different pages
retrieved for a search result.
Some have predicted that personalized search may spell the end of
Search Engine Optimization
(
SEO).
This can be argued from two points of view. Passive personalization has been
going on for a long time. If it is done right, it shoudn't obviate the need to
optimizing your Web page, and it should not harm you. If you are selling
footwear, you really don't need all those UK visitors who want to read about the
rear storage space of an automobile anyhow.
In active personalization like
SearchWiki, users determine the popular pages
either for themselves or for everyone based on different criteria than those
used by SEO. However, the basic premise of SEO is that
most users only check the first 10 search results at most, and generally only click on
the top result. If so, nearly all the personalization optimization done by users is
going to be done on the top 10 pages. Yes, personalized search will have an effect, and yes it can
be subject to abuse, but if it is not useful, it is doubtful if active
personalization will catch on.
Ami Isseroff
November 23, 2008
Note - Definitions of Search Engine
Optimization terms are based on inferences from common usage and definitions given by other sources. Conclusions about
search engine behavior are based on understanding of the behavior of the most popular search engines. Both are subject
to error or may change. Search engine company management may define or use a term or set or change any policy in any way
they see fit, and may make these definitions and specifications public or not. These decisions and definitions are
beyond our control. Notice: Copyright
All materials are copyright 2008 by Ami Isseroff. All rights reserved. These pages may not be reproduced in any
form in electronic or printed media without express written permission from the author.
SEO Glossary
