Google Search Firefox Results Different From Internet Explorer
Firefox and Internet Explorer have never got on!
Well, its been some time since I wrote anything with a webmaster hat on. That’s not because I haven’t been webmastering – far from it – it’s because I’ve been doing so much of it that the last thing I’ve wanted to do it write about it. However, something has cropped up time and again for which I have never seen a fully satisfying answer. The issue? That Google organic (and probably paid) search engine rankings are significantly different for users on different browsers – particularly, the difference is marked between Firefox and Internet Explorer (8).
Now, this is something I have noticed on and off throughout my career as Lord of the Internet, however, of late, these diefferences have become so obvious, and so significant, that it really does merit a little more digging. So, here it is, my brief exploration of the differences within 24 Hour Trading domains between organic Google search engine rankings on firefox and Internet Explorer.
I am using the latest copy of Internet Explorer, and selecting some of the most popular keywords for testing from some of our domains (purely because I know them to have relatively stable rankings, and what these (usually) are!).
- Lord of the Internet – Firefox Google Ranking: #1 – IE Google Ranking: #1 – Good Start, of course!
- UK Wine Shop – Firefox Google Ranking: #1 – IE Google Ranking: #9 – Significant difference! Still on same page.
- Submit Press Release – Firefox Google Ranking: #2 – IE Google Ranking #50+ – OOPS! This domain has had a lot of blackhat attempts to spam list it (unknown weirdos duplicating it all over the place) so we’re constantly filing reinclusion requests and spam listing the perpetrators, so it could be that IE is on an older copy of Google listings?
- deals sales and discounts – Firefox Google Ranking: #5 – IE Google Ranking #6 – Close, but still FF beats IE
- Free Lay Tips – Firefox Google Ranking #12 – IE Google Ranking: #19
- Remixes - FF #15 – IE #13 – Finally! A site which ranks better on Internet Explorer!
- Women’s fashion & style guide – FF#10 – IE #13 – 1st page on FF turns into 2nd page oblivion on IE
- Premier football blog – FF #3 – IE #4 – Not bad on either
- Global Herald – FF #1&2 – IE #2 & 3
- New Current – FF #1 – IE #1 – Had to finish on a high, but seriously…
Does this, therefore, mean that, generally speaking, we are better optimized for those using Firefox browsers than those using Internet Explorer? Does this have anything to do with page load times? Or is it, plain and simple, just that the different browsers receive a different ‘version’ of Google search.
Option 4 is that Google looks at those who use the differing browsers and assess their needs separately. Maybe IE users are less intellegent? Maybe Firefox users prefer well-written copy? Who knows? Maybe you do – leave a comment related your similar or differing experiences and we can all learn a small, and somewhat useful, piece of knowledge.
You do realise that if you are logged into google (via gmail or whatever) that Google will customise your search results based on previous pages you have visited etc?
And that its possible you can be logged in one browser and not the other?
And you made sure you are using the same google site in each case, eg not google.com in one browser and google.co.uk in the other?
You do realise that if you are logged into google (via gmail or whatever) that Google will customise your search results based on previous pages you have visited etc?
And that its possible you can be logged in one browser and not the other?
And you made sure you are using the same google site in each case, eg not google.com in one browser and google.co.uk in the other?
My guess is that you use Firefox primarily, and often are logged into Google accounts
I tried your second test “UK wine shop” in Firefox, IE and Chrome, and all placed the site at #8, so no, results are not tailored per browser.
Hi kh,
Yes I do realise this – however, these differences still exist. They also exist when accessing the browsers through a proxy, after clearing cookies etc, though there ARE differences. When I am logged in to Google, the results are different again, and generally reflect my preferences. I’m just interested in what all of this demonstrates re the way search is going – i.e. tailored search results based on user and, if these results are replicated across many sites and search results pages, browser user preferences.
Oh, the interesting thing is we have someone in Australia – so we can also see how search is working on the other side of the world too – which is interesting to those of us who derive some of our business through organic search engine rankings. So we are able to produce a table of concurrent search rankings for many locations and browsers: these are often different.
However, I take your point on being logged in – it is valid and sensible, but not at issue as I logged out and cleared the browser cache and private data before doing these searches (it was the first thing I checked actually:))
I experienced the same issue. I got different results with different browsers. Then I realized that I was logged into Google when using FireFox, but not logged into Google when using IE. As soon as logged into IE I got the same result as FireFox. When I logged out of both I got different results from when I was logged in, but the results were the same between the browsers.
After some additional experimentation I determined that when I am logged into Google, it elevates the ranking of the websites I visit frequently.
The sensible conclusion is that Google is personalizing (adjusting) the search results for you when you are logged in. It is also reasonable to conclude that it is tracking your browsing habits when you are logged in or at least tracking what search results you commonly click on.
A couple of additional notes: 1) I have the Google search plug-in for both browsers, and 2) my findings were the same whether I used the plug-in or went to the Google search page.
I believe it’s plain and simple. I’ve always had a good feeling when using the firefox browser. I love the results I get from google.
“Maybe IE users are less intellegent?”
When I use to use IE back in the day, I did feel stupid(er).
That’s why I only use it at the library while I’m in class.
In Firefox you need to click the View Customizations link at right above the Results stats near the top of the page. It explains that it has adjusted them for the search term based on common searches you perform, and allows you to Disable the customizations. It explains Google Accounts may also have an effect if logged in. This very thing fooled me and I got all excited about a number one listing that didn’t truly exist! Egg on face.
I have noticed the same problem while optimizing my site – number one in FF and 8-9 in IE (NOT LOGGED IN). That is why I have asked some people to perform the same search on different computers(this search has never been performed there before). The results were the same. After reading Jim’s comment I disabled search customizations and again Number one in FF. That is why I can’t agree with Jim. I also can’t agree with the thesys that IE users are stupider then FF users. Then how are you going to evaluate Chrome and Safari users , smarter then IE users and stupider the FF – this just does not make sense to me. After all IE has a big market share and if google provides results that are not relevant to search then the users will not be happy and will turn to other search engines. Already IE users have some good feelings towards MS(bing) and google need to fight harder for them. The only logical explantion I have is some how connected with “google dance” and FF beeing more sensitive towards slight result changes. That is why I will wait for my site to stop moving in FF and then compare the results again. Waiting for some more experinced SEO guys to give us some light upon this issue.