On one IP address a sites ranks down to page 2. On another IP address, that same site is number 3 on page 1. Is it normal that ranking vary so much due to IP address? Same browser on the same machine cleared of data before each search.
dennisjensen
12:42 pm on Jan 23, 2019 (gmt 0)
Hi. Rankings fluctuate. And google does customize the SERPs according to what they believe, the user would be most interested in. Interesting question would, are the IP's geografically differentiated?
tangor
2:38 am on Jan 24, 2019 (gmt 0)
Most times this kind of thing comes down to "personalization". Try either again with a script blocker or js turned off and get even different results!
Shai
7:39 am on Jan 24, 2019 (gmt 0)
Completely normal these days. I’m going to guess that one of the ip addresses is your mobile phone network?
We see this all the time and it’s due to where google thinks you are located and effects some localised terms (according to Google’s interpretation) more then others. With mobile network Ip’s its more difficult for google to pinpoint you exactly so the search happens from a different location.
On each ip, type in “where am I” In to a google search and if you get different results, that’s the cause.
aristotle
5:50 pm on Jan 24, 2019 (gmt 0)
On my desktop Chrome, google search shows the location it uses at the bottom of the search results page. But haven't checked this on mobile.
engine
6:19 pm on Jan 24, 2019 (gmt 0)
Yes fretfull, it's like this all the time.
Even if you use the same IP, I can get differing results between a tablet, smartphone, and desktop.
Don't rely on the actual SERPs positions, just focus on traffic and conversions.
JS_Harris
12:36 pm on Feb 3, 2019 (gmt 0)
You can take a look at your Google search console to see where pages rank based on device and keyword, check it out.
Robert Charlton
11:49 am on Feb 5, 2019 (gmt 0)
Shai, yes, I'm seeing reports of similar variations elsewhere... same diagnosis.
Some reps from Google, btw (and I'm not sure where I read this but it was fairly recently... either an engineer or Gary or John, or perhaps Danny) is claiming that, beyond geo-location, it doesn't do as much personalization as many of us might think.
The other big source I'm seeing for personalization seems to be the questions presented by auto-complete. (Conceivably, these are different on different devices too. Variants appear to be most closely related within a given search session. Some browsers may remember them across sessions).
If you simpy switch to anonymous mode, I believe that the browser retains geo-personalization, at least as identified by that device. (If anyone observers differently, please let us know.) So, that carry-over in itself would suggest what you're seeing is geo-personalized... ie, unless you also use a VPN and anonymous browsing.
