There are so many changes lately, and the SEO community has to stay on top of new search engine developments to streamline clients’ online marketing strategies to suit these innovations.

For instance, Microsoft and Google are now separately analyzing the possibility of using a user’s past search behavior to offer customized search results. This practice is currently referred to as Behavioral Targeting and has been utilized by independent and niche search engines.

The two search giants are looking into utilizing previous search queries and browsing activity to identify the motivation behind a user’s current search. This is to provide each person with relevant search results that are more attune to their own specific search objectives. Search results will still come to include organic and paid ads but ideally, only those that cater to a user’s particular intent will come up on his search results page.

Other companies such as Revenue Science and Tacoda may be utilizing web surfing behavioral to find out what makes users tick but Microsoft and Google are more interested in using previous search queries as a way of improving their services.

Once adjustments are in place for behavioral targeting, users can expect that the search results that they will get will differ from one another, even for the same queries. Using the same keyword sets doesn’t necessarily translate to the same search placements because the whole process is going to be customized according to the individual user’s needs.

While there have been manifestations of this happening, it’s not that prevalent as yet.

Google has already moved a step forward as far as behavioral targeting is concerned. Last July, it has used immediate search queries to pull up targeted paid search results.

Nick Fox, a director of product management who looks after ads on Google’s search site, said that “the company was now testing the use of more search queries in its ad targeting. Google… believes that search engine advertising is most effective if it relates to what the user has most recently searched for.”

But Microsoft is also trying to be the first at this development by using behavioral targeting on organic search results.

“Specifically, the company believes examining a full sequence of user queries can lead to more useful results. Today, the company only keeps track of the immediately prior search but often users use search engines to explore subject areas broadly,” said Satya Nadell, senior vice president of Microsoft’s search, portal and advertising platform group.”