Skip to main content

Google, harder to search for results from other countries

For a long time, there was an easy way to conduct a Google search in a country other than the one you’re in. If you wanted to get results specific to Japan, for instance, you would visit www.google.co.jp; to get Australian results you would visit www.google.com.au — but this trick no longer works.

Google has announced that it will now always serve up results that are relevant to the country that you’re in, regardless of the country code top level domain names (ccTLD) you use. The reason given is a little bizarre.

The search giant says that the change has been introduced because of the way people are using the search engine these days. It says: “around one in five searches on Google is related to location, so providing locally relevant search results is an essential part of serving you the most accurate information.” The argument seems counterintuitive, however. Anyone who has changed the ccTLD has done so consciously, and for a reason — for Google to override this decision is strange.

Announcing the change, Google says:

Today, we’ve updated the way we label country services on the mobile web, the Google app for iOS, and desktop Search and Maps. Now the choice of country service will no longer be indicated by domain. Instead, by default, you’ll be served the country service that corresponds to your location. So if you live in Australia, you’ll automatically receive the country service for Australia, but when you travel to New Zealand, your results will switch automatically to the country service for New Zealand. Upon return to Australia, you will seamlessly revert back to the Australian country service.

The change does not mean that it will be impossible to search using “foreign” variants of Google, just that it is a little harder. The company explains:

If for some reason you don’t see the right country when you’re browsing, you can still go into settings and select the correct country service you want to receive. Typing the relevant ccTLD in your browser will no longer bring you to the various country services — this preference should be managed directly in settings. In addition, at the bottom of the search results page, you can clearly see which country service you are currently using.

So, what do you think? A good move by Google, or an unwanted change?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Windows 10 now on 600 million machines.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told shareholders that Windows 10 has now passed 600 million monthly active users, picking up 100 million since May of this year. This number counts all Windows 10 devices used over a 28-day period. While most of these will be PCs, there are other things in the mix there: a few million Xbox Ones, a few million Windows 10 Mobile phones, and special hardware like the HoloLens and Surface Hub. The exact mix between these categories isn't known, because Microsoft doesn't say. The company's original ambition (and sales pitch to developers) was to have one billion systems running Windows 10 within about three years of the operating system's launch. In July last year, the company acknowledged that it won't hit that target—the original plan called for  50 million or more phone sales a year , which the retreat from the phone market has made impossible. But at the current rate it should still be on track for somewhere in excess of 700 million use...

WZoneLite – A Pretty Cool WooCommerce Amazon Affiliate Plugin .

Everyone wants to make a million dollars by being a blogger. The promise of riches and internet fame is a big draw to doing it for a lot of people, and I’m sorry to say that the reality of being a blogger (even a professional blogger!) is not quite…as financially lucrative as all that. But that’s not to say that it  can’t be –one of the best ways to start your empire is with an Amazon affiliate plugin. For me, the Amazon Associates program has been one of the biggest earners for me over the years. Not only are there CPM ads like Google Adsense (you know, the normal banner ads we all love to hate), but any time someone clicks a link from your site, you get a percentage of  anything  they buy while the token from your site lasts in their browser. If they buy a song, you get a few cents. If they buy a new MacBook Pro and iPhone? You get…a lot more cents. With that in mind, WZoneLite is a  pretty cool WooCommerce Amazon affiliate plugin that syncs everything together s...

Game-changing SEO trends that will dominate 2018.

Changing nature of the rules of the game. As search engines strive to improve the quality of search results, some ranking factors shift shapes, others fall into oblivion, and completely new ones arise out of nowhere. To help you stay ahead of the game in 2018, here’s a list of the most prominent trends that are gaining momentum, with tips on how you can prepare for each. 1. The rise of SERP features Are you assuming a #1 organic ranking is  the  way to get as much traffic as possible? Think again. Increasingly, SERP features (local packs, Knowledge panels, featured snippets and so on) are stealing searchers’ attention and clicks from organic listings. And it’s only fair if you consider the evolution the Google SERP has been through. It has gone all the way from “10 blue links”… … to something that makes you feel like you’re part of a Brazilian carnival. What can you do about it? With the evolution of SERP features, it’s critical that you (a) track your rankings within...