Off-web factors

Off-web factors are factors used in the ranking of web pages by search engines. Off-web factors consist of elements not found directly on the website being ranked, or on the web directly. Rather these are factors that relate mainly to the person performing a search.

Off-web factors can range from the time of day or time of year that a search is being conducted. It can also describe real-world events that may have an impact on the data being sought by a person performing a search. On a more individual level, off-page factors can refer to specific demographic details of the person conducting the search. These details can be the age, sex, education level, search history, and socioeconomic status of the person conducing the search. [ cite web|url=http://www.zachgraeve.com/2006/08/28/google-trends-for-seo-the-future-of-search-technology/ |title=The Future of Search & "Off-web Factors" ]

Privacy watchdog groups such as Privacy International have long been vocal opponents to the use of such personal data in search engine ranking strategies [ cite web|url=http://www.privacyinternational.org |title=Privacy International ] , but in today's world of search engine data mining, off-web factors are here to stay and in many cases do improve the relevancy of search engine results.

References