Do you search for something on Google and find it ranked #1 but your friend does the same search and that website is #15? Many people pull their hair out when trying to determine what number a certain keyword ranks. This is due to the personalization features implemented by Google.

Google has gone on record saying that they want all search results to be personalized to some degree. Their tone has been very strongly indicating that the more personalization signals they can find, the more personalized the results you’ll get in your searches.

Some of these personalized search signals can include:

• Which websites you’ve visited before and how often
• Geographic location based on IP address
• Geographic location based on your settings on your Google account
• Country specific domains and extensions
• Whether or not you’re searching from your mobile device or computer
• Inclusion of localization phrases in your searches (city name, state, country)

So how do you get rid of personalized results all together? That is a tricky answer. Luckily there are a few sure fire way, then some others that work for awhile but seem to end up getting turned off again.

One sure fire way to do a search and mask all personalization signals is to use a web browser that does all that for you behind the scenes. The SRWare Iron web browser is the solution. You can search Google for any phrase, any number of times, and you’ll see the true rankings for that keyword.

Read More