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Google Local Search Flaw : State Abbreviations & Misleading Results

When searching within Google for localized terms by state, such as “loren baker maryland” or “ben franklin pennsylvania”, Google will automatically return search results with the abbreviation for the state name.

Sometimes however, these abbreviations can be misleading and have different meanings. For example, if I search for someone located in the state of Maryland within Google, Google will truncate the term Maryland into MD, and return search results with MD in the title or content.

As an example, say I was searching for someone named Shashikant Patel who lives in Maryland. Google sends a page full of results which are relevant to the term “Shashikant Patel MD” … MD or M.D. as in Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of Medicine, not Maryland:

Sure, Shashikant Patel may be a common doctor name, but I found this searching for the name of my friend, who is not a doctor. Google gave me a list of doctors from all around the country instead of the localized Maryland results, which were buried.

If you have found any other Google abbreviation mistakes, please feel free to share them in the comments.

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SEJ STAFF Loren Baker Founder at Foundation Digital

Loren Baker is the Founder of SEJ, an Advisor at Alpha Brand Media and runs Foundation Digital, a digital marketing ...

Google Local Search Flaw : State Abbreviations & Misleading Results

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