Cutts

While predictions so far don't have Google's focus on personalized search having much impact on users, Google's Matt Cutts says the feature will grow as Google gets more comfortable with it, writes Search Engine Land.

In an interview with the site, Cutts lays out the benefits that users will get from being served personalized results and what that means for the SEO community.

Because so much of the search results by a user will be driven by past behavior and less on other factors, many have said personalized results are a blow to the SEO consulting industry. Much of the SEO work that's been done has been a result of discerning how well the optimization works after the fact, but that assumes a common result for all users. When results differ by user, SEO success will harder to discern since there will be no universal solution.

The biggest impact is likely to be felt by so-called "black hat" SEO operators. Their job, Cutts says, is going to be more difficult since the old way of doing things will no longer work. Above-board consultants, though, will be able to adapt to the new world since their end goal is the same as Google's - a better user experience.