Google updating the way it labels country services on the mobile web, the Google app for iOS, desktop search and maps, has ended up using domains to indicate the choice of country.
Now, by default users will be served the country service that corresponds to their location.
To make it understand, “If you live in Australia, you’ll automatically receive the country service for Australia, but when you travel to New Zealand, your results will switch automatically to the country service for New Zealand. Upon return to Australia, you will seamlessly revert back to the Australian country service.”
In case, you are not seeing the right country when browsing, you can go into settings and select the correct country service.
Typing the relevant ccTLD in your browser will no longer bring you to the various country services—this preference should be managed directly in settings. In addition, at the bottom of the search results page, you can clearly see which country service you are currently using.
This update will definitely change the way Google Search and Maps services are labeled and will help ensure you get the most relevant results based on location. It is consistent with how Google already manages services across a number of other platforms, including YouTube, Blogger, Google Earth and Gmail, among others.
