If you live in Los Angeles but you wanted to search for something specifically in Australia, all you had to do was go to google.com.au and then search. But apparently, Google thinks that it’s more important now to get results based on where you actually are. They have now updated how they label country services for both apps, mobile web, and desktop searches. By default, your results will be based not on the URL but on where you are located.
Google has made this change in search results because they say that one in five searches made are actually location-based and so they are making it their priority to actually bring relevant results based on accurate information. Previously, you could access this information through ccTLD or country code top-level domain names. But now, you don’t even have to do that as whatever you search for will be based on where your location is, regardless of the domain you’re searching from.
But if you still want to get results based on another location other than where you are now, you can still do it but it will take a few manual tweaks. Go to the search settings menu at the bottom right, and then choose a new location in the Region for Search Results section. Just don’t forget to bring it back to your actual country settings later on when you need your actual location.
Google also emphasized that while it will change how Google Search and Google Maps services are labeled, it will not affect how the products actually work “nor will it change how we handle obligations under national law.” Has your search experience actually gotten better since the change has been implemented?
SOURCE: Google
