SEO confusion?

[visagephoto]

My website has been positioned at (or near) the bottom of page one on Google for certain search phrases, recently it has dropped to the same position on page two.

Yesterday I Googled "wedding photographers in Glasgow" and my site was listed at the top of page one, under the Google map listings.

A friend who lives in a nearby village checked on his computer, and my site came up in fourth position on page one, under the Google map listings.

My daughter who shares the same wireless internet connection as me, checked on her laptop and my site was listed half way down page two.

With these different search results, how is it possible to determine a sites true position and therefore the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

 

[aviemorebusiness]

Hi I have checked your SERP for the phrase that you mentioned and, for me, you're on page two.

There are a number of reasons why the results can be different for what appears to be the same query and a developer would be able to provide an in depth answer in relation to IP's, data centres, propogation and the like. However I am a search engine optimiser and I focus on the different ways that search engines (Google in particular) delivers its many different types of search results.

One of the big shifts in recent months has been the integration of personalised search - simply explained is Google can now deliver tailored search results based on an individuals search history.
See Goolges support section at: www.google.com/support/

I hope that this helps but feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss it further

Regards
Gavin Fenton
SEO specialist

 

[visagephoto]

Thanks Gavin

I had previously been advised of Googles personalised settings and have since switched them off, and as you say, my site is on page two for the search phrase I suggested, however it seems it's still on page one for similar phrases relating to "Legal, Personal Injury, School" and other photography services I provide.

I suppose I'll have to do some more SEO work on my site for wedding searches.

 

[Kevin]

Below are some of the main reasons why results will be different.

1. Location
2. Personalised search (you now don't need to be logged into your Google account to see personalised search results).
3. Which data centre you are accessing at any given time
4. Universal search can have an impact, for example are there news, shopping, local, image and latest results for this search term? If there are then you should also be optimising for these areas.
5. Does the user use search wiki?


Don't focus too much on your actual listings in Google If you don't have Google analytics then install it now this will help turn keyphrases into sales. Feel free to contact me if you would like further information on how to do this.

 

[Employment Law Services]

Kevin - you can download this great free rank tracker tool which will tell you exactly where your site is sitting across all of the keywords you're targeting.

Dead easy to use too which helps make life easier.

Rank Tracker

 

[Boydie]

All you need to do is get a lot more top quality links, not directory listings, the average of the top 10 sites is over 100 and your website only has about 55 links.