How to Change Your Location on Google: With & Without Extra Tools

‍Do you run a company that targets customers across different locations? Even if you aren’t there yet, fiddling with your Google country change settings now and then isn’t unusual. It’s no longer something that people do when they want to pirate movies or music.

‍These days, it’s a critical skill that can help you understand how fast your business is growing in those places or if the needle isn’t moving at all. It can also let you know how your competitors are doing in different locations.

‍But here’s the thing: Google isn’t exactly jumping up to show you what your target clients or customers in those places are up to. You have to be a little more creative than just typing words and location into the search bar. How creative? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this guide.

‍Not only are we explaining how to change Google location, but we’ll also show you some of the best tools you can use. Sounds good? Let’s get started right away.

‍P.S.: Stick till the end, as there is a free tool from an SEO giant you might not have heard about.

‍People do a SERP location change at different times for all kinds of reasons — both big and not-so-big ones. Here are just some of the most common explanations:

Reason 1: Get Access to Localized or Restricted Content

‍People often switch their location settings so they can see content from elsewhere. For example, it could be watching a movie that’s not streaming in their country or something similar.

‍Sometimes, it’s to download a region-locked app (looking at you, Apple).

‍Source: Apple

Reason 2: Do Location-Sensitive Market Research

‍All the “watch something that’s not available in your region” talk is cool. But when you are a marketer targeting multiple locations, it’s different.

‍You probably just want to analyze relevant region-specific content or understand what’s trending there. After all, it can help you create better campaigns for that specific location.

‍Maybe you need to understand how well your keywords are ranking in each area. Well, you definitely need to set Google location to that place for that one. If you’re a chain, you can also see how your Google Business Profile (GBP) is performing in different regions.

‍You can even check out your competitors in that region while at it — killing two birds with one stone. The same thing applies if your plan is to build more links yourself or just buy backlinks from service providers. You can find potential sites for guest posting, for example.

Reason 3: Have More Privacy

‍People are naturally worried about their data being stolen and don’t want to be tracked by every site out there. Changing location is just one way to control what information other websites have about you.

‍This can help add a little extra layer of anonymity. The kind that makes it a bit harder for advertisers to build a profile on you.

Reason 4: Testing and Troubleshooting Issues

‍This one is common for web devs, SEO pros, and marketers. Changing location can allow you to see what users from other regions see when they land on your site. The same applies to your ads. You can simply check whether they’re displayed correctly in different locations.

‍Plus, sometimes, you also get to catch early issues with your site. For example, your web page might not even appear in SERPs in a location you want to target. If that’s the case, it is a big problem that needs to be fixed ASAP.

‍Google depends on your current location to know what to display when you perform local searches. Still, there are quite a few proven ways to change your location in search engines to see different results, whatever the reason for this is.

‍But it can be confusing to know where to start. So, these are some of the methods you can try:

#1 The Manual Way

‍🤖 Do you need a tool for this? No.

‍Wondering how to set Google location manually? The manual method is probably the most common one of them all simply because you don’t need any extra tools. Besides, you can see results for any location with pretty much no limitations.

‍1. First, let’s find the location you want to see results for. You can go directly to Google Maps for this one. What we need here are the coordinates. To get them, right-click on the exact location you need. It can also be an entire city or country; just zoom out.

‍Source: Google Maps

‍2. Save the coordinates for later on. You can write them down somewhere. If you have multiple locations you want to check often, you can create a spreadsheet for convenience.

‍3. Next, google a search query you want to test. When the results show, right-click on the page and choose the Inspect option (the last one on the menu). Clicking on it brings up the Developer Tools.

‍Note: You can also use cmd + option + I for Mac or Ctrl + Shift+ I for Windows to go straight to the Developer Tools.

‍Source: Google

‍4. Now, click the three vertical dots (⋮) menu in the top-right corner > More tools > Sensors. This might look slightly different for you depending on the browser and OS, but overall, it’s quite similar.

‍5. Now, click on the Location dropdown menu and select Other. Then, enter the coordinates you’ve saved before into the Latitude and Longitude boxes.

‍6. Next, go back to your Google search (in our case, it was “pizza near me”), scroll down, click Update location, and voilà. Now, you can test out localized SERPs, try out different locations, and tweak the settings as much as you like.

‍Note: If you see the “Can’t update your location” pop-up, there is something blocking the update. Typically, you can solve it by clearing the cache, restarting your browser, or checking your privacy restrictions.

‍Source: Google

‍Keep in mind that any changes you make using this method will only work on that particular browser tab. You will need to manually repeat the same process for the other tabs, too, if you want to change their location. Sounds a bit too much, right? Let’s see other methods.

#2 The VPN Option

‍🤖 Do you need a tool for this? Yes.

‍A VPN is a very versatile thing. Some use it because of privacy concerns. Others simply want to access something unavailable in their location. Either way, a Virtual Private Network (VPN for short) is designed to mask your IP address.

‍As a result, Google and other nosy websites start to think you are browsing from a totally different place. Cool, right?

‍If you are wondering how it does this, it’s simple, really. It just basically routes your internet traffic through servers in the region you choose instead of your actual location. This way, it can become a handy SERP location changer. So, how do you use one?

‍First, you have to download one or install a VPN browser extension. A simple Google search will give you more options than you need.

‍Source: Google

‍You can then use any number of the free VPNs, but mind you, the free ones could have a time limit. Others might only let you access a few locations. So, if your target location is not included or it’s too broad, you will have to get a paid version.

‍The good news is that there are so many available. This means you don’t have to look too long before you find something that matches your budget easily.

‍Still, be sure to check reviews and maybe even peek in on online communities. This will help you understand what kind of experiences and use cases people have for the VPN you want to get.

‍So, imagine you finally choose one. Now, how to change Google location country with one of these? It will depend on the tool itself. Still, typically, if you install a browser extension, it will just take a few clicks to start.

‍You will likely see a similar interface where you can choose a preferred location:

‍And, oh, this one works for all the tabs in your browser as long as it’s the same account.

‍Note: There is something else you should know. If you install VPN software to your PC as opposed to using a browser extension, it can affect the location of your other apps.

#3 Third-Party Google SERP Location Changer

‍🤖 Do you need a tool for this? Yes.

‍When you run a multiple-location business, the truth is your SEO strategy won’t look exactly the same for each region. Even your keyword research checklist will look different for different locations, down to the content, images, and campaigns.

‍As you understand by now, the same applies to your search results.

‍The easier it is for you to see what’s going on with each region, the easier it will be to adjust your strategies to get the results you want. So, here comes arguably one of the easiest options on the list. Yet, it is also a paid one if you want to access all the results.

‍Besides fiddling with your browser settings and using a VPN, you can also use a SERPs Google location changer built into your SEO tools. In one way or another, all optimization software allows you to change location to check the search results from other countries.

‍With one of these, doing SEO research is pretty much a breeze. You can check how each of your locations is holding up against their local competitors in the SERPs. The best part is that most SERP tools are designed to be user-friendly.

‍You can try using Ahrefs SERP Checker. They have a free version, which is a great place to start. You can type in any query and choose any location.

‍Source: Ahrefs

‍But the results, unfortunately, are limited. There are also other tools that limit the number of times you are allowed to use them for free.

‍Source: Ahrefs

‍Then, you have another option of simply getting a paid plan. This way, you’ll have tons of functionality, including the possibility to check any query in any location on both desktop and mobile.

‍Source: Ahrefs

‍But the best free option to change a country on Google with Ahrefs is to install the Ahrefs SEO Toolbar. It’s their free extension that gives you lots of insights into pages online.

‍Source: Ahrefs

‍One of their features is the option to check search results in any country without any VPN or any other extra tool. So, probably, this is one of the best free options out there.

‍Note: If you have some issues with changing the location, consult this guide.

‍Source: Ahrefs

#4 The Mobile Device Version

‍🤖 Do you need a tool for this? Yes.

‍We know what you are thinking. Who needs to know how to search Google from a different location on mobile, too? The only answer is everyone. Why?

‍Same reason most marketers need to know how to get featured in Google’s People Also Ask section of SERPs — more organic traffic.

‍Sure, you can click on the mobile option on your favorite SERP checker tool, but it wouldn’t hurt to know other options as well. Just in case you need to do a quick check.

‍First of all, the most popular tool for this one used to be just a browser app. You already have a lot of options for this, including Chrome, Opera Browser, etc., but most people tend to mainly stick to Chrome.

‍It’s already preinstalled on some Android devices and is one of the most common ones for both iOS and Android phones.

‍In the past, all you needed to do to change Google search country was to download your Chrome app. Then, go to Settings, find Site settings, turn off Location, and use Set location to update the location Google search to your preference.

‍Now, with recent updates, you can’t find these options in the Settings anymore. So you have two choices from here, really:

• VPN app. You can install any VPN app on your phone and use it as you’d do on a desktop.
• Google mobile app. Otherwise, there is an option to do this through a Google mobile app.

‍Now, let’s see how it’s done in detail because it’s a bit more complicated:

‍1. First, you will have to download the Google app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

‍Source: App Store

‍2. Then click on your profile picture, which will open up the menu. Scroll down to Settings. Click on this and then click Other settings.

‍3. From there, you just have to click Language and region > Results region. You can enter your preferred region or select from the list.

‍So, if you have ever wondered about how to change the country in your Google account on mobile, that’s it.

‍Phew! At last.

‍But just in case you are wondering, it’s basically the same step for both Android and iPhones, even though the menus look slightly different.

‍So, we have covered how to change location on Google search. As you see, there is no need to buy flight tickets just to check out what the search results in other places look like.

‍This is one skill every SEO expert and marketer needs to have, even if you don’t plan to change your search location all the time. It gives you access to the data you need to be effective in your marketing campaigns.

‍Try all these options and simply choose which one works best for you. Feel free to change things up, too, and switch up the methods if you like. Good luck!