# I just noticed something about google: Regions do matter.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-something-about-google-regions-do-matter/273818>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 9, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-something-about-google-regions-do-matter/273818 "2004-11-09T10:36:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-something-about-google-regions-do-matter/273818/1 "2004-11-09T10:36:46Z")

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I always heard that search results on google aren’t influenced by which portal you use. A quick verification at www.google.ca and [www.google.de](http://www.google.de) for instance shows this to be true… Most of the time! However, I just googled for “ebay” and the german google listed [ebay.de](http://ebay.de) as the first hit, followed by the austrian ebay, whereas the canadian google lists [ebay.com](http://ebay.com), [ebay.co.uk](http://ebay.co.uk) and then [ebay.de](http://ebay.de) as the third option.

Interesting stuff 🙂

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**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-something-about-google-regions-do-matter/273818/2 "2004-11-09T12:03:43Z")

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I noticed a couple of days ago that if you Google a number (such as 88 or 127) or a number + a letter (e.g., 88a), Google will often show sponsored links that really don’t make sense. Usually there’s one from EBay: “Buy **88** on EBay now.” Or you might get “Download **99** now” with a link to [Real.com](http://Real.com).  
Those suckers don’t miss a chance.

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**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-something-about-google-regions-do-matter/273818/3 "2004-11-09T14:34:06Z")

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> [@Optihut](#):
>
> …whereas the canadian google lists [ebay.com](http://ebay.com), [ebay.co.uk](http://ebay.co.uk) and then [ebay.de](http://ebay.de) as the third option.

Where was ebay.ca?