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Welcome to this weeks SEO video blog, we are going to take a look at Google custom search applications and find out how it gathers information about your search patterns and interests:

Search History - This can be done in two separate ways, either when your logged into your Google account or using cookies via your web browser.

If you are signed into your Google account, it automatically customises your search results based on your past search activity. This could be recent search queries in Google or websites you have visited previously. This service is called ‘Web History’ and is enabled by default, you can of course turn this functionality off or personalise this service.

You can turn the service off by simply logging in and by going to the top right hand corner of the screen, click ‘web history’. You can see it has stored information based on my previous search queries. You can can stop it tracking your history by clicking ‘pause’ or personalise the service from the options on the left hand side.

If you are not signed into your Google Account, your browser stores information using Cookies, this remembers previous search activity on the particular machine you are using. You can again turn this functionality by doing the following.

Log out, click ‘web history’ again and click the ‘Disable customisations based on search activity.’ link.

Google also use a tracking cookies to monitor your interest in a particular product or service and then serve adverts via adwords on sites that run Google Adsense.

So if  I was reading a review of a newly released video game and this site used adsense, it would store a cookie and my IP address. Then if I continued to read up on the video game and another review site had Google adsense; it would recommend related adverts such as ‘buy video game title’ or ‘video game price comparison’.

The second personalised search application is based on location. Google use your physical location to help customise your search results. This is done one of two ways, either your profile or account address details  when logged into your Google account provide Google with a location.

or an approximation of your location is made based on the location of your IP address, The location application also helps enhance Google maps or local business center listings to suit your location.

Thanks for watching if you have any questions or comments please leave them on the you tube channel or supporting blog post.