igoogle homepage announced

earlier today, google announced their newest homepage personalization, the igoogle interface. the igoogle personalized homepage will help localize search and also features "non-programming" gadgets for the everyday user, including a photo tool, a mini blog tool, a youtube video favorites and more. (source: google blogoscoped)

the igoogle product will affect search by taking into account your prior search history and your physical location. the caveat is you must be signed into your google account while searching with igoogle. by logging into your account, your physical location is connected to your search query. you must also be signed in for google to record and file your search history for future searches. (source: searchenginewatch.com)

one example of how this localized search would help; if i am searching for an italian restaurant close to my house, i no longer need to be location-specific in my searches. my search query changes from "italian pizzeria seattle" to simply "italian pizzeria." although it isn't a dramatic change, the igoogle product corresponds with google maps, in hopes of targeting your search more geographically.

prior search history helps out if you are searching for terms that fall under multiple categories. for instance, without using the igoogle feature, when i search for one of our clients, baden sports, i am shown search results for baden, germany. if i had searched for baden in the past, while logged in, the igoogle feature would have logged that and transitioned my future "baden" searches to show baden sports.

the downside to this feature is that not everyone logs into their account. i use several google products, including adwords, adsense, gmail and more, but i am not always logged into my account while searching. plus, if you have more than one user for your computer but only one login, the computer will only show results catered to the whole family, not the individual.

in conclusion, i believe this is a positive step forward in localizing search. the hope is that everyone can compete in the search engine world if search is localized. for instance, a self storage company in los angeles may have the strongest seo foundation, but they do not need to dominate the entire market if they cannot provide to the entire market.

although i am scared of google's potential to create a monopoly in the search engine world, they continue to try and improve their services, which at least creates some optimism from this semp.

as always, if you have any questions about this blog or your own seo/m campaign, please feel to comment on the blog or email seo@fgi.com.us