Google Personalized Search

Google Personalized Search is a feature of Google Search and provided by Google. When a user is logged into a Google Account, all of their searches on Google Search are recorded into Google Web History. Then, when a user performs a search, the search results are not only based on the relevancy of each web page to the search term, but the service also takes into account what websites the user previously visited through search results to determine which search results to determine for future searches, to provide a more personalized experience. The feature only takes effect after the user has performed several searches, so that it can be calibrated to the user's tastes.^[1]

History

The feature was originally introduced with a test version, which was available on March 29, 2004.^[2] Later, Personalized Search was made available as a service on April 20, 2005, at the time still separate from Google Search.^[3] The feature was first introduced to Google Search on June 28, 2005, to users with Google Accounts.^[4] Originally a part of Google Labs as a beta product, the feature graduated from Labs on November 11, 2005, and become a part of the normal Google Search.^[5] On December 4, 2009, Personalized Search was introduced to all users of Google, including those who are not logged in to a Google Account.^[6]

Reception

Several concerns have been brought up regarding the feature. It decreases the likelihood of finding new information by biasing search results towards what the user has already found. It introduces potential privacy problems in which a user may not be aware that their search results are personalized for them, and wonder why the things that they are interested in have become so relevant. The feature also has profound effects on the search engine optimization industry, due to the fact that search results will no longer be ranked the same way for every user.^[7]

References