Simultaneously searching Google data centers and why

Searching Multiple Google Data Centers Directly

Since Google handles, by far, the largest volume of searches each day, a couple of really great tools exist to see how your website ranks across the multiple data centers that Google operates. Each data center is capable of showing results for searches from any user regardless of their location, and Google uses this approach to balance the loads on their systems. The downside is  they don’t have 100% exactly the same data available for searchers at the same time. In laymen’s terms this means you might search a phrase and find yourself ranked at #2 this evening, then perform the same search in the morning and notice you seem to have dropped to #9. This is normal and more than likely you have not dropped in rankings. Most likely the search system simply pulled the results when you asked for them from two separate locations. Always remember that any data Google is showing you is an average of sorts. So, whether you are actually #2 or #9 is academic. The fact that you are on the first page of results is the solid result you’re after.

Two great search engine tools I use to track results: http://www.tonyhill.net/bigdaddywatch/ and  http://www.mcdar.net/dance/index.php.

They display basically the same data in slightly different ways. Both will allow you to see where you fall across multiple centers. The first one tracks results form the Google BigDaddy data centers currently in use by Google. The second tool tracks individual IP addresses Google has assigned to data centers. It is updated regularly to add the newest IP address into the mix.

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