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The number one result I get when searching for this and its duplicate do not give a complete answer to this question. And they're actually not duplicates; one question refers to the interface and one refers to the results. The current answers are either outdated or don't fully and consistently accomplish the desired outcome.

The first and more relevant question listed above for search results was already closed as a duplicate, so I can't post the answer there.

The original question refers only to the interface. Probably assuming that setting the interface will give you results in that language as well but it doesn't; it just sets the interface language.

This question is for people that are overseas but still want to see a Google search interface in their preferred language and get results from their preferred location and in their preferred language.

Giacomo1968
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lxmmxl56
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2 Answers2

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Unfortunately, setting your Google user and/or search preferences will not solve the issue. Even if you set your default languages and location, Google may still offer you an interface and search results based solely on your location regardless of any settings you've made.

The only way I've found to solve this problem is to utilize URL query parameters to force the interface and search to perform more to your expectations.

I'd recommend trying the following combinations to see how it affects your search results; if you're already in your preferred location with your preferred language you likely won't see any differences; you'll need to try this from overseas but testing with a VPN set to an overseas location or modifying the en and us settings would probably work as well.

  • Your default search:
    https://www.google.com/search?q=test
  • hl just sets the interface; may not give you anything different than your previous search results if you already have a default language and/or location set in your account/search preferences
    https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=test
  • lr can set a language preference for results but you might still see a foreign language because many sites auto set your interface based on your actual location
    https://www.google.com/search?lr=lang_en&q=test
  • gl sets a preference for the location of search results and this setting alone will likely be enough for most use cases
    https://www.google.com/search?gl=us&q=test
  • Using all three together will ensure you get interface you want, with results from the location you want, and in the language you want
    https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&lr=lang_en&q=test

Of course, Google will always try to deliver lots of relavant results. If you search for something that doesn't have many relavant results in your chosen location and/or language, you will likely still see results from different locations and perhaps in a different language as well, especially if your query is in a foreign language.

TLDR: You can make a shortcut with the following URL to get a search page for your preferred results:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en&gl=us

Use a locale code reference to get your preferred location and language abbreviations and replace us and en as appropriate.

To set this up as your default search in Chrome, go to:

  • Settings

  • Search Engine

  • Manage search engines and site search

  • Site search -> [Add]

  • Name: Google

  • Shortcut: https://google.com (or your preferred location)

  • URL with %s in place of query:
    {google:baseURL}search?hl=en&lr=lang_en&gl=us&q=%s

(Again, replacing us and en with your preferences)

Finally, after clicking Add, click the three dots and then Make default.

Now you can search from the search bar and get what you expect regardless of where you're located.

You can always still just go to google.com or google.co.jp, etc. to get those local results if you need them.

lxmmxl56
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Updating the search settings here worked for me when overseas: https://www.google.com/preferences?hl=en. Previously the setting was set to "Current Location" and i.e. traveling to Italy would show search results with a lot of Italian language sites. Switching this to English/United States reverted things to be exactly as they are back at home.

JonathanReez
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