Google Rankings - do they change based on location?

[Derek]

my web/SEO guy lives in Florida and i'm in NY. my site's rankings are different for him than when i search the same CC'ing queries.

this makes me wonder, will it differ for various clients located at extreme ends of my service area?

any way to find out?

why aren't these rankings all uniform with Google, no matter if you search a query from NY or China?

 

[FredC]

Yes. If cookies/cache are cleared and the location is changed via the search tools he should get the same...but not always.

Most rank tracking software doesn't have the ability so reports are usually slightly off.

On the other hand if you are not performing the same "cleaning" procedure he may actually be getting the more correct results. Results are also based on your search history...and possibly that of others you are connected to.....

 

[Newman]

Use a browser for only rankings searches. Never click on any links from this browser. They learn what you want to see and skew your results.

I use Foxfire for my daily meanderings. I like google chrome for rank checking. In google chrome there is an "incognito window" option, when you select it from the upper right side menu on the screen. This keeps the browser history clear. I am not sure about the cache??

I also use cuterank. http://cuterank.net/ it is a free keyword rank tracker. Kind of limited in free version but still a fine tool for the price.

 

[The Great Oz]

According to Google's own analytics, people that are searching for products and services most often include the name of their town to block results they can't use, like carpet cleaners in NY or China. Google tries to pre-empt that town search and will use anything that identifies the location of the search computer to do so. The IP/ISP is usually enough, but I've found that if you do a lot of searching for something in, say, Boca Raton, pretty soon you can search for anything and get Boca Raton results.

If you want to test how your site comes up at the edges of your territory, drop in at libraries in those places and search. Should be completely random except for the location of the computer.

 

[Derek]

well this morning after me and my SEO guy thinking i was at #3 for carpet cleaning rochester ny i went and cleared cache / cookies / history and apparently i get the true results: i'm at #22 on page 3.


thanks for the heads up Fred!


a lot more work to do apparently.

 

[Royal Man]

well this morning after me and my SEO guy thinking i was at #3 for carpet cleaning rochester ny i went and cleared cache / cookies / history and apparently i get the true results: i'm at #22 on page 3.


thanks for the heads up Fred!


a lot more work to do apparently.

I found your listing in the middle of page 3. If you want to get some visibility until you gain rank you might want to try Adwords? You are however one page one for commercial carpet cleaning which seems your forte. The commercial keyword should be easier to gain rank than some other keywords.

 

[Derek]

my SEO guy said i would probably get more commercial prospects calling with plain old "carpet cleaner" keywords versus "commercial carpet cleaner", makes sense i reckon.

for now i will wait on investing in adwords...i'll at least wait until my SEO guy gets me on page 1 when i then have to pay him. no sense in investing in other avenues, i'll see if he can get me there 1st. it'll just take time, i'm not in a huge rush.

 

[Hoody]

'carpet cleaning victor ny' has an extremely low amount of searches. Rochester is certainly much higher, and New York Carpet Cleaning is an extremely high searched for keyword phrase.

 

[Derek]

tx for the info Steven. where do you get this info??

 

[FredC]

'carpet cleaning victor ny' has an extremely low amount of searches. Rochester is certainly much higher, and New York Carpet Cleaning is an extremely high searched for keyword phrase.

Keep in mind those search volumes are often skewed by seo guys..............

 

[FredC]

tx for the info Steven. where do you get this info??

You can use the adwords keyword tool:

http://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2472679?hl=en

another quick indicator is how the results are displayed

 

[Duke Brothers]

Use a browser for only rankings searches. Never click on any links from this browser. They learn what you want to see and skew your results.

I use Foxfire for my daily meanderings. I like google chrome for rank checking. In google chrome there is an "incognito window" option, when you select it from the upper right side menu on the screen. This keeps the browser history clear. I am not sure about the cache??

I also use cuterank. http://cuterank.net/ it is a free keyword rank tracker. Kind of limited in free version but still a fine tool for the price.

I bought cuterank full version so I could keep track of three sites. It takes a long time to check all of my key words for all three sites " about75 key words", but I'm completely satisfied with it. Free version works fine for just checking key words for one URL.

 

[Newman]

I bought cuterank full version so I could keep track of three sites. It takes a long time to check all of my key words for all three sites " about75 key words", but I'm completely satisfied with it. Free version works fine for just checking key words for one URL.

I looked at many website keyword ranking checker programs and decided on cuterank because it seemed complete and I could own the software for $60.00
Most other programs want the monthly payments in perpetuity.