How to disable Yandex personal search. Yandex Company - Technologies - Personal Search. Disable personalization in Google
A little over a month ago Yandex introduced new search platform called “Kaliningrad”. Its essence is to generate personal results for each user based on his search history and preferences. The SEO community had a mixed reaction to this innovation: some began to panic, while others, on the contrary, greeted the news calmly.
Be that as it may, I propose to take a look at the new search platform, figure out what parts it consists of, what parameters influence the formation of personalized results. As Yandex representatives assured in their press release, By default, “Kaliningrad” is enabled for all users, both authorized and not. That is, the new search platform is created for all users with a search history, and should influence the ranking of all types of queries. As part of this master class, I will try to find out how much “Kaliningrad” influences the formation of personal search results, as well as the principles of website promotion in general.
What is “Kaliningrad”?
“Kaliningrad” is a new Yandex search platform, consisting of the following parts:Both parts search platform are enabled by default in the settings, but you have the option to disable them at any time.
According to Yandex experts, input personal results improves the quality of search results, since it allows you to take into account not only the user’s preferences, his history search queries. Now, instead of thousands of search results by region, we will have several million SERP options (according to the number of search engine users).
So, for example, if a user has previously searched for information about profiles plastic windows, then with a high degree of probability he will see not the “canned” TOP 10, but 10 sites on this topic, which he has previously visited in search of useful information.
In order to better understand and understand the principles of operation of the new search platform, I conducted a small experiment.
Experiment
Purpose of the experiment: find out how much “Kaliningrad” influences the formation of personal search results, and whether it is worth changing the principles of website promotion in order to retain .
Experimental conditions: was created new account on Yandex with a clean search history.
Progress of the experiment:
Search sessions lasting from 30 to 60 minutes were created daily for 10 days. The main query for which it was planned to change the search results to a personalized one was the query “plastic windows”, the search region was Moscow.
This is what the search results for “plastic windows” in the Moscow region looked like for an unauthorized user on the start date of the experiment:
This is what the results for the same request looked like, but for an authorized user:
As you can see, the output in both the first and second cases is still identical.
To emulate search sessions, a list of 28 information and commercial tails was compiled for the request “plastic windows”, which were used to conduct search sessions:
1. plastic windows prices
2. installation of plastic windows
3. plastic windows calculator
4. plastic windows reviews
5. advantages of three-chamber double-glazed windows
6. which profile for plastic windows to choose
7. rehau windows
8. plastic window profiles
9. veka plastic windows
10. what good plastic windows are
11. plastic windows kbe
12. plastic windows sizes
13. how to install plastic windows
14. how much do plastic windows cost?
15. PVC windows
16. rehau windows
17. windows Moscow
18. PVC windows prices
19. installation of plastic windows prices
20. where to buy plastic windows
21. plastic windows how to choose
22. plastic window companies
23. DIY installation of plastic windows
24. reviews about plastic windows
25. companies installing plastic windows
26. German plastic windows
27. plastic windows Moscow installation
28. cheap plastic windows prices
A list of seven sites was compiled (ramokna.ru, plastika-okon.ru, oknalux.ru, zavodskieokna.ru, windmaster.ru, divnie.ru, ecookna.ru) that were not included in the TOP 10 for the query “plastic windows” , but were in the TOP for the queries presented above. Transitions to these sites were made from search results. Every day before the start of a new search session, the TOP 10 were checked for the query “plastic windows” for changes in the results.
The main idea of the experiment was to personalize the search results for the query “plastic windows” when making transitions to these sites so that they would be in the TOP.
Experiment results:
I would like to note right away that the results ultimately confirmed all the words of Yandex specialists. Why “eventually”? At first, I hoped that the time between the launch of the experiment and the first changes in the TOP would be insignificant, but the results were personalized only 3 days after the end of the experiment with search sessions, that is, it takes several days to recalculate the results taking into account personal preferences.
The experiment confirmed information about the factors that Yandex takes into account when ranking information personally:
- clickability of positions from 1 to n (clicks in search results);
- the share of search engine responses that were not clicked on (missing sites in the results);
- share of clicks in TOP 3 - TOP 10;
- time elapsed since last visit site.
In most cases, only the first five positions of search results are subject to personalization, but in rare cases, all ten can be changed.
As a result of the experiment, only five selected sites out of seven made it into the TOP 10 for the query “plastic windows”.
You can see this in the following screenshot of the search results.
Why did only five out of seven sites make it to the TOP? I have an assumption about this, which is related to the rate of returns back to SERP. The fact is that on the websites oknalux.ru and zavodskieokna.ru total less time was spent, and these sites had a fairly high bounce rate within my search sessions. It is quite possible that it is the bad ones coupled with constant returns to search results
had a negative impact on their place in the TOP. A little trick: to see results without taking into account user preferences (even on an account with sufficient search history) you need to add to address bar parameter&filter=person1
It is worth noting that, in addition to the changed search results, search suggestions for the account created as part of the experiment were also personalized. So, when I type the letter “p”, the first three suggestions are suggested based on my search history.
Conclusion on the influence of “Kaliningrad” on commercial requests
We can say with a high degree of confidence that the emergence of a new search platform will not greatly affect the ranking of commercial queries, which, in turn, should not negatively affect organic traffic from Yandex. This is due to the following factors:
1. The search platform “Kaliningrad” does not work in real time— time must pass before personalized search results appear, and, as the experiment showed, a considerable amount of time;
2. Search user specifics. Agree that a very small number of users will search for information about companies involved in the sale and installation of plastic windows for ten days in a row.
If the new search platform has an impact on SEO, it won't be as much as it could. Naturally, we cannot discount the fact that nothing prevents Yandex from rolling out an update after some time, which will further increase the personal component of search results and reduce the time before the first personalized results appear.
Conclusion
At the moment, based on the information received, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- Are position promotion and link ranking relevant in the new search platform? Yes, since getting into the TOP 10 without personalization gives the site a chance to get visitors and gain trust, i.e. this is a kind of “ticket” to the personal search results of these users.
- Should we be afraid of “Kaliningrad” now? No, the search platform is still quite crude and does not work in real time.
- Do we need to learn to live with search personalization?!
Head of Technology at Ingate:
“We also analyzed the changes that occurred after the launch of the Kaliningrad search platform. About a hundred people took part in our experiment, which made it possible to obtain a fairly accurate assessment of the degree of personalization and quality of search results. We can confirm Dmitry’s conclusions: according to commercial inquiries discrepancy between issues different users very weak. The situation is different for information and entertainment queries: for them, personalization is much more noticeable, and the quality of search results has increased significantly by taking into account the interests of each user.
We can safely say that promotion by position in the new search platform for commercial sites is still relevant. Considering latest trends development of search engines, we devote Special attention improving the quality and usefulness of our clients’ websites - this allows us to achieve high positions in search results and not be afraid that users will give preference to other resources.”
Here are some tips that can help you maintain your results in new conditions:
1. Analyze users and their behavior on the site, as well as the requests for which they come to you. This will help you better understand your needs target audience. Knowing your audience, you can adapt the site to it, make it useful and interesting.
2. Develop websites, filling them with content useful to users. Make sure that visitors come to your resource not only for commercial, but also for information requests related to the subject of the site being promoted.
3. Improve the behavioral metrics of your resources, try to make sure that after visiting your site, the user does not want to return back to the search results page.
I look forward to your questions and comments - I will be happy to answer them!
On December 12, 2012, Yandex rolled out the “Kaliningrad” algorithm, which can take into account the individual interests of users. Based on data about the visitor's search behavior, Yandex recognizes his interests and substitutes exactly those sites that he needs in the results. For example, in search results for the query “Babylon,” a movie lover will see links to the film, a writer will see the publisher’s website, and a shopaholic will see the addresses of a shopping center:
3. Keep the user on the site.
If immediately after visiting your site the user returns to the search results, your site will no longer be shown in the personal search of this user at all, and a clickable snippet will not help here.
4. When promoting new sites, focus on queries of 3 or more words.
It is difficult for a young, unknown site to get into personalized search results, where the user is shown sites that have already won his trust. To win a share of attention, a new site must first get into the basic search results, and this is easier to do for verbose queries that are less susceptible to personalization.
5. Use comprehensive metrics.
You need to monitor positions, traffic, failures, conversion, etc. For example, if the site has normal positions, but there is no traffic, check the snippets. If the traffic is normal, but low level conversions – check the quality of landing pages.
Happy promotion!
___________________________________________________________________________
Mail: [email protected]
Blog:
We released new book"Content marketing in in social networks: How to get into your subscribers’ heads and make them fall in love with your brand.”
Personalized search is a Yandex algorithm that generates search results taking into account the individual data of each user: browsing history, behavior on sites, interests, geographic location, etc. In total, there are more than 200 factors that the search engine takes into account when personalizing
More videos on our channel - learn internet marketing with SEMANTICA
Why personalization is needed
The main goal of the algorithm is to provide users with the opportunity to receive higher quality and interesting content By keywords. If a person has just started using Yandex to search for information, personalized results will begin only after the system has collected enough data. The search engine analyzes not only behavioral factors and browsing history, but also bookmarks in the browser.
Personalization shapes search results in such a way that when entering a query, the user receives information that is within his area of interest or thematically close to his query. For example, when searching for a product, the algorithm will offer a person various promotions, discounts, additional accessories and other services that may interest him.
Personalization occurs regardless of how the user phrases the request. The algorithm takes into account:
- Typos and slang.
- Words used by people from different social groups: youth communication style, professional language etc.
Not only the users themselves, but also site owners benefit from personalization. Great prospects have appeared for them in the field search advertising, traffic has become more targeted, and overall competition for search phrases has noticeably decreased.
The results of Yandex search results personalization cannot be stable and constantly change in accordance with user behavior. If a person came to a page from an organic search and immediately closed it, then the page’s position will decrease. And on the contrary, if the user liked the resource, he stayed on it for a long time, added the link to bookmarks, then in the future it will be shown to this user for related queries, and its rating in the search results will increase.
Disabling personalization in Yandex
If you do not want your search to be personalized, you can disable this feature in your system settings. To do this, go to the settings section, you will find a link to it under the search results in Yandex.
Uncheck the boxes for “Take my search history into account in results” and “Show my favorite sites in suggestions.”
Remember that your previous activity will remain in the search engine's database, and your computer's IP address will continue to influence search results. Therefore you can use .
Why should an optimizer get rid of personal search results?
Sometimes personalization interferes with the work of optimizers and site owners.
For example, he wants to find out what position the promoted site occupies in the search results, but sees personalized, biased results. If he often visits this site or resources with similar topics, then the position will be higher than in the search results of other users for the same request. To see results without individual data and previous browsing history, you must turn off personalization.
The benefits of search suggestions for SEO specialists and ordinary users
For Yandex users, personalization can facilitate the process of searching for information even at the stage of generating hints.
- The previously entered query will appear in the tooltips above.
- If a person has previously visited a site, he will then be able to open it in the browser in one click. Users can customize searches based on individual preferences and specify which sites should come first in the list of suggestions.
- When a person enters a query, suggestions are automatically adjusted to the appropriate topic.
How to check search results without personalization
There are several ways to find out what positions a site occupies:
- IN manual mode, having previously disabled personalization in your account settings. Next in search engine the query of interest is entered and the position of the site is tracked. In this case, you need to use .
- By using special programs, which are installed on a PC. Among the most famous are CS Yazzle and SiteAuditor.
- Using online services to monitor, collect and analyze performance data search engine promotion: Topvisor, AllPositions, etc.
This way you can get objective data about your site’s position in search results and, in accordance with this information, build the right promotion strategy.
We all know that cars limited abilities- for example, they will not be able to compose a symphony or write a story. Or rather, they are capable of this, but only if a person teaches them: provides the initial data and develops an algorithm by which they will be processed. More recently, this has been done by the Yandex search engine, which gives various information for the same requests in accordance with the interests of a particular user.
Personal search algorithms: how the machine came to be
In January 2012, Yandex developed new algorithm. In many ways, its features were similar to the previous ones:
- “We please the user” policy;
- It received the name of the city
- Caused talk about the disappearance of SEO.
In other respects, it differed significantly from previous algorithms.
“Kaliningrad” is a user’s servant who knows all his interests and ranks pages in accordance with individual requests. After some time, the machine understands what information you want to find by typing the queries [Napoleon], [metal], [cinema], and produces the information that you like.
“Kaliningrad” was not the first algorithm aimed at personalizing search in Yandex. In the summer of 2011, the Reykjavik algorithm was introduced to determine visitors' language preferences and provide them with resources in the language they most often chose.
For example, if the user primarily visited sites on English language, then there were more of them in the search results.
In 2013, Yandex expanded its personalization capabilities and began using “Dublin,” which is an algorithm that provides instant personalization. The ranking of sites is formed in accordance with the requests made by the user in the last few minutes and takes into account the current needs of the person.
The user is known to search engines as a true film buff, but at a certain point he became interested in information about the work of Viktor Tsoi. When requesting [cinema], Yandex will offer him movie reviews, posters, and sites for watching movies. Let’s imagine that a person continues to search for information specifically about the Kino group and enters other queries:
[cinema tsoi] - [cinema blood type] ...
If after some time he types the initial request [movie], then the search results will contain sites with information about the musical group.
How Yandex personal search works
After the appearance of the “Dublin” algorithm in Yandex, search history is taken into account. Ranking is now determined by previous requests and behavior - whether the user opens sites from the search results or not, the gender and age characteristics of the person are also taken into account. In addition, personalization works even if you are not logged into your account - but then it is not so noticeable.
With the help of an algorithm, data analysis is done very quickly. When queries differ, those made later are considered the most relevant, regardless of queries entered earlier. Now a young fan of the thrash metal music genre, who began studying at a technical school, will receive information for course work about metalworking.
In order for personalization in Yandex to start functioning, you need to make at least ten requests. After this number, Kaliningrad is launched. But the queries entered must correspond to a specific thematic area.
A series of queries [do-it-yourself house] [build a house] [how to build a house yourself] indicate that the user would like to build a house himself, and the ranking is carried out taking this information into account. If the requests look like this [build a house] [how to catch a hedgehog] [Russian bathhouse in Bangladesh], then personalization will not start.
Personal search goals
The main task of these algorithms is to ensure that the results are most consistent with human interests. By determining the direction of users' thematic and language preferences, Yandex provides them with the information they would like to see. As a result, the level increases user experience, and the number of users is growing. It also helps to increase the number of users various services search engine.
Personalization in Yandex is carried out even when using the same computer and the same account by several people. He analyzes words in user queries, stylistics and typos, creating an individual image for everyone.
Algorithms influence the functioning of advertisers' advertising campaigns by showing users ads based on their interests.
"Dublin" provides a logical progression of the personalization story and enhances the capabilities contextual advertising. Focusing on sparks of interest from visitors and advertising goods and services that they would not have seen during the operation of Kaliningrad, it allows you to more accurately customize the display of ads and increases the number of advertisers in Yandex Direct.
How to turn off Yandex personal search
Because these features help improve ranking quality, they are enabled automatically. The disabling process is quite simple, but it is difficult to completely eliminate the impact of “Kaliningrad” on search results.
To disable this feature, you must complete 4 steps:
1. Log out of your account
2. Select “Settings” and click “Portal Settings”.
3. Go to the "Search Results" section.
4. Find the “Personal Search” item. Remove all checkboxes and save changes.
However, this will not give you complete independence from personalization, because... The person's IP address and cookies in the browser will remain the same. If you want to make the results completely independent of Yandex algorithms, you will need to delete all data in the browser and connect a proxy server. Ideally, log out of your accounts in all services.
In addition to performing the above steps, you can set the anonymity mode or use a fully protected browser - for example, Tor.
The Impact of Personal Search on SEO
“Kaliningrad” has the greatest influence on ranking for information queries. If a person primarily visits RBC to read the latest news, and Wikipedia to search for a particular term, then these resources will be present in the top search results.
Websites of companies selling any goods and services carry out promotion based on commercial requests. They set themselves the task of attracting users who were not previously interested in purchasing this product. Thus, they have no history for certain queries, and personalization will not greatly affect the search results. When ranked, sites will have a similar layout for most potential buyers.
But if a website with goods and services was previously promoted according to general key phrases and did not take first place in the search results, it can be included in the top ten search results. This is possible with enough high level site optimization. This is the advantage of topical traffic.
Personalization - good or bad?
Yandex has launched excellent personalization algorithms: “Reykjavik” and “Kaliningrad” analyze user interests and form search results based on them, and “Dublin” works with unexpected spikes in requests, bringing sites to the top in accordance with immediate preferences.
The situation did not significantly affect SEO promotion - the search results remain the same, and the quality of traffic is getting better.
We've released a new book, Social Media Content Marketing: How to Get Inside Your Followers' Heads and Make Them Fall in Love with Your Brand.
Cars are stupid. They are not able to think, they cannot compose a symphony, they cannot write a detective story. More precisely, they can, but only after a person teaches: provides representative data for training and creates an algorithm for processing it. This has recently been done (by the standards of the existence of mechanisms) by Yandex, a company that decided to take into account the interests of each user in its search engine and provide different information for the same requests.
What is Yandex: the formation of a machine
- developed a “everything for the user” policy;
- was named after the city;
- sparked a wave of controversy about the death of SEO.
And he was different in everything else.
“Kaliningrad” is a helpful secretary to the user, knowing his interests and individually ranking sites. As time passes, the algorithm begins to understand what you mean when you query [ movie], [metal], [napoleon], and give you what you are looking for - what you like.
“Kaliningrad did not become the first algorithm in the Yandex search personalization system. In August 2011, Reykjavik was released, which took into account language preferences and provided information in the language that is most popular with the user. If a person clicks on links to English-language resources, then over time they began to prevail in the search results. And so for each language.
In addition to Kaliningrad, Dublin was launched in the spring of 2013. This algorithm is a kind of addition that introduces a superweapon - instant personalization. At the same time, the issuance is generated based on requests in the last few minutes and adapts to the current needs of the citizen.
Example
The user is a true film buff, but suddenly became interested in the work of Viktor Tsoi. Upon request [ movie] Yandex will issue film reviews, new releases, posters and online cinemas. Let's say that the user is very interested and continues to search:
[Kino Tsoi] – [cinema discography] – [movie blood type] – …
If it goes back to the original request [ movie], then the output will magically change - pages with information about the Leningrad group will appear in it.
How Yandex personal search works
After the innovation, Yandex takes into account search history. Now the results depend on the history of requests and behavior - whether the user visits the provided sites or not, the age and gender of the user has begun to be taken into account. Let's add that personalization works even if you haven't logged into your account - it just won't be as obvious.
With the arrival of Dublin, data began to be analyzed almost in real time. Now, when there is a sharp discrepancy, the algorithm considers the last entered queries to be more relevant than the entire previous story. Now a young thrash metal lover who has enrolled in a local technical school, upon request [ metal] will find information for an essay on metalworking.
For personalization of search results to work, one condition must be met - make ten or more requests. This is the minimum threshold that needs to be crossed to launch Kaliningrad. At the same time, they must be connected by a common theme.
Request chain [ build a house] – [DIY house] – [how to lay a brick house] shows that the user is interested in building a house himself - the search results will be based on this information. And the chain of requests [ build a house] – [Russian bath in Bangladesh] – [how to catch a hedgehog] does not launch search personalization.
The practical aspect of personal search: why is it needed?
The main goal of these algorithms is obvious - to improve the relevance of search results to a person. It determines the user's language preferences and interests and gives him what he wants to see. As a result, the level increases User Experience and the number of users in general is growing. This also contributes to the growth in the number of users of other search engine services, of which there are many.
Yandex personalizes search results even when it is used by several people from the same device or even account. It analyzes the words used, their connotations, and even typos, creating a virtual image for each user.
Algorithms also influence the interests of advertisers who run contextual advertising campaigns - the user is shown contextual advertising that corresponds to topics of interest to him. Dublin is developing logical chain personalization and increases the potential of using contextual advertising. By adapting to surges of interest in certain topics and offering to buy this or that product that would not appear in advertising block when using one "Kaliningrad", it makes advertising campaigns more accurate and increases the number of advertisers using Direct.
How to disable Yandex personal search
Since all these features significantly improve the quality of search results, they are enabled by default. It’s easy to turn them off, but there’s a catch: it’s very difficult to completely get rid of the wind blowing from Kaliningrad.
Disabling Yandex personal search is done in 4 steps:
- We log out of the account.
- Click on “Settings” and select “Other Settings”.
- Now select “Search Results”.
- The second column of settings is interesting here, namely “Personal Search”. Uncheck all the boxes, save and exit.
This will not help you get results that are completely independent of personalization. It is still influenced by the user's IP address and stored cookies. Therefore, you should use a proxy server and clear the data from the browser itself. Ideally, you should not be logged in to any service at all (for example, Mail.ru mail uses search engine Yandex).
In addition to these measures, it is better to use anonymity mode or use a browser that does not transmit any information about the user at all - the same Tor.
What Personal Search Means for SEO
“Kaliningrad” has the strongest influence on the results of information requests. If, when studying the latest news, the user most often chooses RBC, and when searching for a definition, Wikipedia, then they will be located on the first lines, the rest will drop below. 29 studio employees from computers not involved in daily work did the following step by step:
- We went into the Yandex search engine and logged out.
- We entered commercial requests [bank guarantee service], [order digital signature], [receive digital signature in Voronezh]. Without clicking on the links from the search results, we recorded the positions of the site under study for each of them.
- Entered three information requests[sign digital signature document], [extend digital signature], [validity period of digital signature], recorded the site’s positions on them. Followed the links from the search results and spent 15–20 seconds there.
- After this, the commercial queries from step 2 were entered again and new site positions were recorded.
As a result: positions for commercial queries increased almost to the top 1 (there were, of course, the top 5, but not much). From this they concluded that personalization works, and information traffic is closely related to commercial traffic.
The head of our SEO department shared the results on F1 conference “Studios Seminar” #10.
Good or Evil: Conclusion
Yandex held great job: “Reykjavik” and “Kaliningrad” keep track of topics that are interesting to the user and adjust the results, and “Dublin” copes with sudden surges of interest, quickly reshaping the top to suit immediate desires.
At the same time, the situation for SEO has not changed - on average, search results remained the same, but the quality of traffic improved.
