Google is good at what it does. They have a LOT of resources used to anticipate your needs and steer you to what you want, even if you're not sure what that is.

A perfect illustration of this is how Google auto-completes searches as you type them in real time.

Of course, Google really does have TWO goals: 1) The main customer is you, the user, who wants the most relevant search results quickly; and 2) Turning a profit or getting some commissions while sending you off to a site. Those can be competing goals. They need to make their commission money or send you to Google-owned sites (like YouTube) when they can, but they can't do it so often that they lose user trust.

That said, let's try a little experiment and see what they push you towards if you just type one letter.


Parameters Of Experiment

While doing this, I logged out of Google, using a browser I don’t normally use (hello, Microsoft Edge), so the Google results don’t use cookies or stored registry values to try to tailor results.


Can You Really Shut Off Geo-Located Results?

No.

Google is very invested in geo-located results, so there's no true "off switch." However, you can significantly limit to what degree the location influences what you see.

Even in my clean browser scenario here, Google will still use the geo-located IP address of my internet connection. If you don't explicitly share your exact location (accurate to within a few yards) with a browser or site, they can still see the IP address of the location, which can be off by about 100 miles. But explains why I got a couple of Los Angeles-based results even in my "clean" setup.


The Results

A - Amazon
B - Best Buy
C - ChatGPT
D - LA Dodgers (definitely from geocatching)
E - eBay
F - Facebook
G - Gmail
H - Home Depot
I - Instagram
J - John Cena
K - Knott’s Berry Farm
L - LA Lakers, LinkedIn
M - Macy’s
N - NFL
O - Old Navy
P - Powerball
Q - Quest Diagnostics
R - Reddit
S - Spotify
T - Target
U - US Postal Service
V - Victoria’s Secret
W - Weather
X - XRP Stock Price
Y - YouTube
Z - Zillow

I won't interpret these for you, we can all draw our own conclusions. I just thought it was a relatively interesting experiment.


Does Google Always Drive Towards Sales?

Google's core business isn't search; it's advertising. Search exists to place users in front of situations where ads can be shown or clicks can be monetized. Even when no ad is visible, the structure of results often favors commercial intent.

Over time, Google has gotten very good at identifying when a query might lead to spending money-and shaping the results accordingly.