You may have noticed that AlsoAsked prompts you to select a specific location, even a city, when you initiate a search. This has led some of our users to ask how they can perform a broader, "national" search. The short answer is that a truly "national" search isn't possible on Google, and here's why.
The Myth of the National Search
Whenever you perform a search on Google, your approximate location, in the form of longitude and latitude coordinates, is sent to Google along with your query. This means that every search is, to some extent, localized. There is no option to conduct a search without providing any location information to Google.
It All Comes Down to "Local Intent"
So, how does Google determine what results to show you? It largely depends on the nature of your search query and whether Google's algorithm determines that it has "local intent."
For example, a search for "food trucks" is highly likely to have local intent. Someone searching for this is probably looking for food trucks near their current location. Therefore, the search results will be heavily influenced by the location you provide. If your search is set to New York, you will see results and questions relevant to that specific area, such as "Is there food on Governor's Island?"
On the other hand, a query like "best laptops" has very little, if any, local intent. Your location is not a significant factor in determining the best laptop for your needs. In this case, the search results will be broadly similar regardless of where you are searching from.
How AlsoAsked Handles Location
Previously, AlsoAsked did not offer a city-specific search option. However, a location was still being sent to Google. By default, this was the largest city within the region you had selected.
With the introduction of the city-specific search option, we have given our users more granular control over their searches. However, the default behavior remains the same. If you do not specify a city, your search will be conducted from the largest city in your chosen region.
What Should I Do for a Broad Search?
If you are not interested in results from a specific city, simply leave the city option on its default setting. This will allow you to conduct the broadest possible search for your query. For terms with low local intent, this will effectively give you a "national" perspective. For terms with high local intent, it will provide results from a major metropolitan area, which can offer a comprehensive overview of the types of questions people are asking.