I have just read a post on a forum asking why different search results, when searching for the exact same phrase, would be seen in Firefox and Internet Explorer. The presumed assumption is that the ‘problem’ is caused by the browsers.
Here are three reasons why you might see different search results for the same phrase in different browsers.
1) You are logged into your Google account on one browser but not the other. Google’s personalized search is more than likely coming into play if you see favorable listings in the browser which is logged into Google. Try logging out and perform the search again.
2) Each time you perform the search you connect to a different data center, and Google is undergoing the infamous ‘Google Dance’. Google uses a network of computers based at different locations around the world to deliver its search results, and once a month all of these computers have to be updated, during the few days it takes to update the network, search results tend to be all over the place with sites ranking in a range of positions for the same phrase.
At least that is how the Google Dance used to work. I don’t think the regime is quite as strict as that these days, I think Google updates it database much more often than once a month, but, I think the “connecting to a different data center” is worth considering if you see different search results from two different browsers and you are not logged into your Google account.
3) Has the exact same search engine been used? That is, Google.com or any other country specific Google search engine? If you have a toolbar installed on the browser, and the search was performed using that, check that the search location being used is the same as the other browser you are testing.
On my Firefox browser for example, the default search engine (when using the toolbar) is Google.co.uk, but this is only noticeable if I look at the address bar when the search results are returned.
You will almost always get different search results on a country specific Google search engine as opposed to Google.com.
If you have any further suggestions, please feel free to comment below.
