No Country Restriction
No doubt you are aware that Google.com redirects you to your country specific site for example google.ie , google.co.nz, or google.co.uk for region specific results.
If you have a need to check rankings or non region specific search results - bookmark http://www.google.com/ncr , the alternative address for Google that will not redirect you.
This comes in handy for those who care about their site traffic or if you are one of those 'SEO consultants /nerds' You can do this via settings too of course.
While on the subject of search...
Wanna escape tailored results?Wanna get results without being tracked or bubbled?
Then get yourself over to DuckDuckGo friend for their internet search goodness.The search comparisons are interesting to say the least , amazing to see how much we are tracked.
"Duck Duck Go is a search engine based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania that uses information from crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia) with the aim of augmenting traditional results and improving relevance."
Searching based on what friends do and say.
Try your searches in Google Plus / Google Plus Local , lets say your an academic and have lots of socialistic mates in your circles ...bang in your search terms in g+ and see what those people are saying on that topic . Handy if you cant form an opinion yourself , are interested in specific trends or you just need to find a decent cup of coffee.