Google Instant is a new predictive search feature that’s designed to give users a faster, more efficient search experience. Whenever Google rolls out a big update the SEO and SEM communities must make adjustments. Here’s a quick rundown of what Google Instant is and how it will change the way people search.
New Features
Google Suggest allows users to type in specific words or phrases and choose from a drop down menu of relevant search queries. That’s nothing new. What is new is the grayed-out, auto-complete feature that actually attempts to finish your query as you are typing. With Google Instant, you can type in just one letter and Google will attempt to predict what word or phrase you are trying to search for. This will certainly skew people’s search habits, searchers who allow Google to choose their query for them may actually end up conducting more searches in order to find more relevant results.
Before Google Instant, a user would need to type a word or phrase and press enter (or click search) in order to reach the search result pages for that particular query. Now, users can scan through multiple result pages on the fly. Results will appear instantly as you are typing. By showing results before you finish typing, users are able to scan through more options in a shorter timeframe in order to find the exact results they’re looking for. As more result suggestions pop up, users can cycle through different queries and see different search result pages in real time.
What Does It All Mean?
That’s the short update on the new search features, but what does the roll out of Google Instant mean to SEO and SEM types? While the search algorithm, the actual result pages and ad serving process remains unchanged, these new developments are going to have an impact on SEO and SEM efforts.
For one thing, the new update changes how Google counts impressions. Users who select a result, press enter on a query or press search to get to a result page and pause for three seconds will count as an impression. This is an important distinction. Advertisers can anticipate an increase in ad impressions and a slight downturn on click-through rates from users who pause too long while navigating through different sets of results.
Long tail search queries will likely take a hit as well. As users are presented with more and more options as they type, it’s unlikely that a user would ignore all auto-complete and drop down suggestions in order to enter in a long, multi-phrase search query. That’s not to say that optimizing for the long tail is no longer important, but head terms and mid-tail terms will likely attract even more searches than they have in the past. Users who conduct search queries on head terms may find more relevant results in the drop downs and auto-complete options, so just as longer tail queries may occur less frequently, head term searches will also be expanded to longer options. Google Instant will likely create a rush to the mid-tail.
Conclusion
The rollout of Google Instant likely means more traffic for big brands and an increase in the importance of achieving top rankings. With so many users now cycling through different search results, websites and advertisers only have a few seconds to influence user behavior and prompt users to take action. Effective ad copy and keyword-focused, action oriented title tags and meta descriptions are going to be essential for attracting click-throughs for users skimming through multiple result pages. Google Instant will bring about some adjustments in approach for search marketers, but core best practices will not change drastically. It’s still the same Google, but it’s a different user experience.
