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For example, an engineer who frequently searches for the part "springs" will get a different result than that of the world traveler who types in "Springs" looking for the Springs Resort or "Colorado" Springs. For now according to Google's Melissa Mayer "personalized results only show up in about one of every five searches and would only lift two results into the top 10, never replacing the number one organic result." However Google is banking on this to drive even more users to their search engine and the competition won't be far behind.

How does Google get your search history?
Google is automatically enrolling anyone who has signed up for any of their services (Gmail, AdSense, Google Analytics among others). Most users have no idea that their search history is being tracked and it can be overridden but since it doesn't occur to most people they won't. You can see your search history by going into your Google account.

See your Search History.

Go to your Google account
and click on"Search History".

Here is an example what your search history would look like.

How does this affect your marketing plans?
The good news is for the searchers who will get more relevant results to match their interests. The bad news is how on earth do you target your marketing for a search term that will provide different results for each user?

But let's face it, the general search engines have always been tough for B-to-B companies because it is made to accommodate the masses and that's the B-to-C world. Take a look at Overture's Keyword Tool results to the right showing the related keywords to springs. The numbers pretty much tell the story of why Google needs to accommodate B-to-C because that's who is using them most.

What you need to do...
For B-to-B companies there is no need to panic and change your strategy because targeting your market is what we have always done and your ThomasNet listing does exactly that and will be more important than ever.

The internet marketing strategies that we have discussed in the past still apply and are probably even more significant.

Content is still king! It is critical that you offer good detailed searchable content on your site linked to robust relevant sites that will return relevant results.

Search Engine Watch Posted by Eric Posted by Eric Enge The Future of Link Building on Mar. 7, 2007 - "… webmasters everywhere need to think about who they should target for link marketing campaigns and web marketing campaigns. This type of marketing is still going to be a critical component of a web marketing strategy, and it's important to focus your efforts in the best manner possible... The key point to keep in mind is that sites that bring you relevant traffic are going to be the best sites to get links from. Relevance will mean more than ever."

1. Relevance of your site to what they are looking for
2. How easy it is for them to determine that your site is relevant
3. How quickly they can get comfortable that you are legitimate
4. How easy it is for them to find what they want

Master these 4 things and the coming moves toward personalization will most likely not be a threat to you. Getting authoritative links has long been a critical component of a link building strategy."

Danny Sullivan from Search Engineland Google Ramps Up Personalized Search - "The change is good news for searchers. It's also good news for site owners with good content, who should get rewarded by visits" he goes on to mention that "Titles & Descriptions are crucial: You need the click throughs more than ever. Click throughs get your site seen as possibly important to a particular person's profile."

The bottom line doesn't change much...a good website with deep rich content with quality links to authoritative relevant sites that will return relevant results will still be the course of action for the future. Google is just looking to provide the best results for each individual search and that means those companies without good deep content will fall even further down the ranking. Take the time now to review your site to make sure it provides searchable details, good specific landing pages with focused content so when your targeted visitor does come to your site you will convert them to a customer.

B-to-B has known for a long time that its all about relevancy, it's not about hits... it's about new sales and good customers.

Would you like a free website evaluation? Just give me a call or send an email. I always appreciate your feed back. If you have any questions about this article or your ThomasNet program, feel free to contact me at mary@trconn.com or (860) 601-0150. This article was written by Mary Dykas MVP representing ThomasNet