The service is designed to learn the searching habits of individual users with improved results!
Google Inc. has finished the test phase of its Personalized Search service, which tailors a user’s query results based on the user’s previous searches, attempting to improve results by guessing at ambiguities, the Mountain View, California Company announced of late.
For example, if someone searches for "diamond" and clicks on Neil Diamond’s fan site, a future search query will be answered with pages related to the singer at the top.
It is a big deal in the sense that it potentially delivers better, more relevant-to-me results, said Greg Sterling, an analyst with the Kelsey Group. It is a more satisfying user experience, which in turn rewards Google.
The function also stores an individual’s search history, available via a link at the top of the Google search screen. Those who do not want their Google use tracked can either sign out for a search session or go the "My Account" page and turn it off.
Google added to the release the ability to create bookmarks and add searchable labels and notes to items in their search histories. They can flag single pages or entire Web sites so that they will never again appear in search results.
The upgrades are typical of ceaseless tit-for-tat features one-upmanship among Google, Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s MSN and other search leaders.
The beta version of the free service, which requires users to sign on to it with their Google account log in information, is now "ready for prime time," a Google spokeswoman said. Previously, it was open only to those who visited the Google labs page, where the company showcases projects that are moving closer to launching.
Personalization isn’t a new concept. Most online entities offer some sort of personalization to entice users. It allows them to create a more customized experience by drawing on information they voluntarily share with the site. That, in turn, drives up the quality of the experience, and keeps users coming back.
Rival Yahoo has offered a customized home page for years, and also has a personalized search offering in beta called My Web.
But some versions of personalized search raise some privacy concerns because such services must keep a record of someone’s search history in order to best operate.
Privacy Concerns
Personalized search is hard to do very well, points out Mr. Sterling. But that would not be the company’s biggest challenge, he says. A potential hurdle will be the public perception that the company has too much information on its users.
Google was probably expecting such concerns. It has preemptively given users tools to remove a page, site, or any search results from a search history. It also highlights the fact that it is adding stronger password protection.
However, users of Google, Yahoo and others can opt out of the service, or erase their history any time.
Google, which controls more than one-third of the search market, according to comScore Media Metrix, will offer personalized search in 12 languages, the same number of languages available to users who want to personalize their Google home page.
Another new feature is the ability to block individual Web pages or entire sites from showing up as search results.
Personalized Search is live in 39 domains and in 12 languages, Google said.
The Personalized Search features and stringent security measures not only can help Google retain consumers but it also gives it bonus points with advertisers. By delivering ads based on a person’s search history, Google will be in a position to serve up more relevant ads.
With the launch of the service and resulting changes in Google’s front page, the search giant took the opportunity of inserting a small text ad for Google Mini, its enterprise search appliance.
More information about Personalized Search, which was first launched in June of this year, is available at http://www.google.com/psearch.