Google Adwords Preview Tool - Natural Results are not Geo-Targeted

[searchengineman]

Perhaps someone could verify this.

https://adwords.google.com/select/AdTargetingPreviewTool

You would assume the natural results would also be based on the GEO-TARGET of the location chosen to test (The ADS are).

I am suspecting that the natural results are not based on the location of the test but are showing normal local preview results from you IP or machine.

We were doing tests with TORONTO and VANCOUVER with Geo-targeted
words including city. The tool showed the exact same natural results (This should not be possible). If anyone may have some insight or may have run by this?

Before I rule out the preview tool as being unreliable tool for seeing results for organic search, I'm hoping for some suggestions.

Searchengineman

[rodhull]

Probably the only way to test out local search results for an area other than the one you are in would be to go through a proxy based in the location you wish to search in.

If you want to see organic results in a different country there is a trick however. Here's an example...

I'm based in London, UK. If I search for "cinema" on Google I see local organic results with the following address:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cinema

If I want to see organic results in the USA I can go into the address bar and change this to the following:

http://www.google.com/search?q=cinema&gl=us

the &gl= parameter refers to the country, but you should also change the domain to the Google domain for the country in which you wish to search (eg. google.fr for france and &gl=fr).

This will also show PPC ads for that country.

[searchengineman]

Thanks Rod,

Yeah, I know Proxy is the way to go. Unfortunately what do you do if you have 50 or so City Targets. Is there a proxy service or tool set that could accommodate local search. Or do you guys set a server up in each respective city :).

Also how would you get around personalized search pollution, on the proxy server?

PS: by the way If you strip the code form the ADWORDS PREVIEW tool and remove the tag adtest=on to adtest=off
you would get the right geo-targeting, problem is without a proxy server all I'm doing is simulation a search from my home location pretending to be another location.

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&q=cheap+radio+sets&adtest=off&gl=US&gr=US-CA&gcs=SacramentoSearchengineman