Well it seems that Google Instant Search is finally upon us. Google is now reaching into its results faster than you can decide what you are actually looking for and there is certainly already a lot of buzz on forums, blogs and social sites alike. Unfortunately for Google it appears there’s a lot of angry buzzing going on as people get to grips with the new setup. But, whether you’re a regular Joe browser, an SEO in limbo or an AdWords guru at a loss you’ll find out what the deal is here.
Regular Users
Ok so you’re just browsing the net, minding your own business when all of a sudden Google starts going haywire pumping out results without even the common courtesy to ask if you’ve finished typing. Well that’s the new instant search for you. Google seem to think that this new more efficient way of getting results will allow users to save valuable seconds and tailor their searches more effectively in real time. That’s all well and good but some people just aren’t interested so thankfully there’s an easy way to turn off instant search.
Simply select ‘search settings’ in the top right hand corner of the Google homepage and in the settings select the ‘Do not use Google Instant’ radio button before saving your settings. Et voila.
SEO
What does this change to search mean for search engine optimisation? Well it’s not the cataclysmic event that some people might have thought it was. The fact is that this new search feature hasn’t changed the results. Your third place position for a keyword isn’t going to be dropped over night due to the evils of instant search. The only potential game changer here for SEO’s is that this could very well affect the way that many people search.
The fine tuning style of search that this seems to promote is something that people will have to adapt to, and that means people will be more likely to bypass your site as they tweak their search for something more accurate. Good SEO’s will still maintain the same techniques that got them the high positions for keywords but perhaps over time will adapt how their pages titles in order to make them more eye catching for the modern searcher to stop them in their search tracks. Also, theoretically this change could result in a greater prominence for long tail keyphrases as people pinpoint their search to a more concise level.
AdWords
This is the area where many online advertisers are starting to worry. What is this instant search going to do to my click through rates and impressions? Well the good news is it’s not going to directly affect your CTR, the bad news is that it could quite easily indirectly affect it. The new search method could easily have an impact on how often users come across your ads meaning that your impressions could drastically increase. Google AdWords have identified the situations in which an ad impression may be counted:
- The user begins to type a query on Google and clicks anywhere on the page (a search result, an ad, a spell correction, a related search).
- The user chooses a particular query by clicking the Search button, pressing Enter, or selecting one of the predicted queries.
- The user stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds.
The fact that Google also advise you to keep a close eye on the performance of your ads campaigns suggests that their not entirely sure what’s going to happen which must be a little unnerving for advertisers.
The short answer to whether Instant Search will affect AdWords. Probably, but even Google doesn’t know how much.
With Instant Search it may just be a case that these are just teething issues and it will eventually be accepted as the new evolved way to search. Either that or Google could be in trouble.
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