Google Search Results get Country Specific by Default to be more local and relevant

Gone are the days when you could get country-specific results just by punching in country code top level domain names (ccTLD) such as [google.ng for Nigeria] or [google.com.br for Brazil] on one of the largest search engines on world wide web. Google has announced in a blogpost that they’ve updated the way country services on the mobile web, the Google app for iOS, and desktop Search and Maps are labeled. Now the choice of country service will no longer be indicated by domain but instead would be served by the country service that corresponds to one’s location.

This means that typing the relevant ccTLD in one’s browser would no longer bring one to the various country services—this preference now needs to be managed directly in settings. In addition, at the bottom of the search results page, the country service currently in use can be clearly seen.

The tech-giant has further stated that since, one in every five searches is related to a location on Google it was inescapable for them to take this step to ensure that the users get the most relevant results based on their location without any hassle. The said policy is also consistent with how Google already manages its services across a number of our other platforms, including YouTube, Blogger, Google Earth and Gmail, among others.

If for some reason one doesn’t see the right country when browsing, they can still go into settings and select the correct country service needed. The update stated that the change was aimed at improving the Search experience of users, automatically providing them with the most useful information based on their search query and other context, including location.

Source: www.blog.google