Logging out of Google vs. &PWS=0 ?
-
I typically append &pws=0 to my Google queries when I'm gathering results to share with a client.
I recently sat in on another digital marketing firms presentation to the client, and they made a big deal about how their search engineers had conducted all the searched by "painstaking logging out of google, using a fresh browser, etc..." In my mind I was thinking that it was either a search engineer wasting time, or some hyperbole to impress the client.
But I didn't really know for sure. Is &pws=0 actually equivellent to using a completely annonymous browser. For fun, I ran some queries under incognito on chrome running off a thumbdrive, and compared them to &PWS=0 results from my everday browswer while logged into google.
I couldn't see any difference, but in my quick informal test, I also didn't find any difference between a personal SERP and a &PWS=0 SERP, so maybe I just didn't try the right query.
Any thoughts?
-
Yep, I agree with you there - never have trusted using &pws=0 logged in or out
-
To be honest adding &pws=0 is not as strong as it once was a few years ago, in todays market if you want one of the best ways to view non personalized results you need to use the Google Ad Preview Tool -
https://adwords.google.com/d/AdPreview/?__u=1000000000&__c=1000000000
Their is no way logging out will totally wipe all the data.
-
Pretty sure that &pws=0 doesn't work for google instant, but does when instant is disabled. So logged out/clearing cookies etc seems like the most accurate when Instant is on.
I usually to run a seperate firefox browser (everything else in Chrome/Safari) with 'never remember history' assigned, instant assigned off, not logged in and running a cool little plug-in that automatically adds the &pws=0 to google searches (find it here fire IE and FF). I find this to be pretty suitable for 'un-personalised' results and not much hassle.
Cyrus wrote an article about this a little while ago that you might find useful. But i agree, the logging out every time and clearing all your history seems like overkill.
-
I've no direct research either way, but when I met Eric Enge (of Stone Temple Consulting) he told me to be logged in and use &pws=0. I'd very much trust his opinion
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
SERPs for English search terms in Google.es show NY and USA companies?
Hey Mozzers, I'm working for a client offering legal services in Spain for people from the UK. When I search 'legal services' in Google.es all the SERPs show sites from the US - mainly NY: https://www.google.es/search?source=hp&ei=tRbXWqzRDoSZsgGY6rmgCA&q=legal+services&oq=legal+services&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.2835.4435.0.4512.15.10.0.0.0.0.297.1445.0j4j3.7.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..8.7.1444.0..0i131k1j0i10k1.0.clK-EZ4vVWk There are lots of Spanish sites translated into English and showing sites in Google.es such as http://www.lsosm.org/ offer no value - it's a very weird SERP - any ideas why? Thanks Bush
Keyword Research | | Bush_JSM0 -
Hi guys! Is there a tool (other than SEMRush) that can show you which keywords are ranking for Google Knowledge Graph? Thanks :)
I've also seen that you can get some data about this in Search Metrics but can't see where? Thanks for your help!
Keyword Research | | lakestar0 -
How does Google treat special characters in titles?
Seems like a stupid question, but one that I never really gave much thought about before. How exactly does Google treat special characters in titles? Do they all get seen as spaces? e.g. Does Awesome Product - OptionA/OptionB/OptionC available get seen the same way as **Awesome Product - OptionA, OptionB, **OptionC available ? Or even **Awesome Product - OptionA OptionB **OptionC available ? Or will Google see the first title as **OptionA/OptionB/OptionC **being a whole "keyword" due to there being no space between them? Like I've always just assumed that with apostrophised words will be seen as keyword s. And when using commas, there's always a space after the comma anyway. Are all "special characters" treated the same?
Keyword Research | | Ria_0 -
Google Keyword Planner - Just PPC?
Morning Mozzers, Please help a layman learn. This is probably a silly question but when I look at keyword search data in Google's Keyword Planner Tool and I see "COMPETITIVE" or "LOW" am I looking at all searches inclusive of organic and PPC? I have been a bit confused by logging in through an Adwords account? At the moment to get my keyword research I am using a combination of Moz, Webmaster Tools, Keyword Planner. I have had a look at the free version of SEMrush which looks really cool. Is my approach right using these tools? Am I covering all bases / missing key opportunities? Regards Ben
Keyword Research | | Bendall0 -
Carrier v Operator - Does Google see a difference?
Hi, If you are in the US then it's Mobile Carrier. The rest of the world it's Mobile Operator. Now I know that Google already knows that optimize and optimise are the same - just different spelling. You can rank for the keyword regardless of the spelling. My question is does the same apply to completely different words? thanks Spencer
Keyword Research | | Zoostr0 -
PPC and new Google updates
Hi guys, as we know there's been some Google updates today. Has anyone noticed a change in ppc? is there any connection? Any info much appreciated.
Keyword Research | | pauledwards0 -
Furnace Filter & Furnace Filters
I need to optimize Furnace Filter & Furnace Filters. Do I create one page for each keyword or just one page for furnace filter for example? Where can I read about keyword variation? Thank you, Jean Nichols http://www.furnacefilterscanada.com/
Keyword Research | | BigBlaze2050 -
Google SERPS for similar Keywords?
I have website which is being listed for a keyword which is not in the site. It seems that google is using a Thesaurus to find words with similar meaning. Is this right? How could this be used for SEO purposes?
Keyword Research | | Tinderbox0