• by Ryan DeShazer , February 10, 2012

A recent survey conducted by market research technology firm Ask Your Target Market (AYTM) concluded that a majority of search engine users disapprove of personalizing search results based on previous search activity and/or share activity among social connections. In that survey, the question was posed to respondents, “Do you like the idea of personalizing search results based on past searches and info from your social networking sites?” 15.5% of respondents said yes, they like the idea of personalized search results. The other 84.5% though, said they do not like personalized results or that they have some privacy concerns about them.

So does this mean that recent personalized search announcements, like Google’s controversial Search Plus Your World (SPYW), are missing the mark with users?

Following the release of this survey’s findings, Danny Sullivan of Third Door Media added that the questions posed in the study may have had something to do with the responses. Sullivan notes that:

 “if the question had been: ‘When searching for football, do you think Americans and Europeans should see the exact same results?,’ that probably would have given respondents reason to think further about the advantages to personalization.”

Sullivan’s observations are valid. To be honest, if I were presented with his version of the question, I would have answered that it would be both appropriate and better for the user experience to return results based on the user’s geography. In order to be most relevant to its users (the aim of any search engine), some degree of personalization is warranted.

So what’s a search engine to do?

Search engines have to focus energies on ongoing innovation. Despite the fact that some “innovations” may be unpopular (and as recently as last week, I voiced my frustration over recent Google changes), standing still is not an option -- not in the digital space.

It’s also important to note the many studies that\have demonstrated that what a person says often differs from his actions. Anecdotally, we commonly hear from clients that paid search is a waste of time and resources because they themselves “never click on those little ads.”

Clearly, user feedback shouldn’t be treated as the final word on how the marketplace will ultimately respond. I happen to believe that many people are out there clicking on those “little ads.”

So the fundamental question then becomes, does search personalization yield better results for users?

The upstart search engine DuckDuckGo doesn’t believe so, and even launched a campaign to put an end to the “filter bubble” caused by personalized search. A “filter bubble” is the coined phrase describing the possibility that users are only exposed to content, products, opinions, etc. that they already identify with. Despite the fact that anything and everything is available online, a filter bubble would steer us to what we’re already aware of. It has the potential of limiting our worldview and fostering closed mindedness.

But for all the concern surrounding “filter bubbles” and user privacy, I think search personalization is a good thing. Google, Bing et al have the task of classifying the world’s information, in near real time, and then presenting the most relevant information to a given user’s specific query. 

Personalizing those results with data at hand, in theory, serves to shorten the user’s path from query to answer.

After all, don’t our (prior) actions speak louder than our words?