There are many reasons why business professionals should not be ‘googling’ themselves. We receive phone calls and emails from clients all the time who constently search for themselves in Google’s live search engine. Little do they know, they’re actually hurting their companies overall performance. Below are three (3) reasons why  we suggest using the Google Ad Preview Tool instead.

1. Results vary every time you search

Regardless of controllable circumstances, Google will rarely show you the same combination of ads and organic lists. Instead, the machine-learning algorithm actually identifies and customizes your search results according to your previous search history. As a result, we find that most people see different results as Google had applied some sort of customization to tailor the search engine results page (SERP) to each user.

2. You’re actually hurting performance

Google is in the business of making money. They make money when users click on ads. If you Google yourself but do not click on your ad, you’re giving Google more reason to not show your ad in the future. Again, Google wants to show ads the generate click (since that’s how they make 94% of their revenue). If you’re not clicking on your ad – which we highly discourage you from doing – you’ll notice your ad impressions start to decline.

3. Google is shifting towards targeting users based on intent & behavior, not just keywords

Search engines have been moving towards search intent for an extended periord of time – which shouldn’t be a surprise to most people. However, with the launch of remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) a while back, Google has been making improvements which allow advertisers to target users based on previous website interaction. For example, if a set of users visit a specific product page, advertisers can now target only those users the next time they search. Google is making changes that allow advertisers to target users based on how and when people visit websites. If you accidentally click on one of your own ads, not only do you cost yourself money but you also become tagged and may be remarketed to over the next 30-90 days.

We suggest using the tool designed by Google instead since it doesn’t hurt your account’s performance but still gives insight as to whether or not your ads are active. You can avoid any impact in performance by not clicking on your own ad. In addition, the machine-learning search engine will not be tracking your interaction with Google, potentially avoiding any sort of confusion later on.

Here at LionKlick we try to establish trust with our clients by setting expectations early. We educate our clients on the pros & cons of such actions and behaviors; however, regardless of how proactive or persistent we may be with our clients – most of them will continue to Google themselves simply out of habit 🙂