Google Instant – How will this effect SEO?
Google’s latest project goes live. For most users out there, the concept is extremely useful. No one will ever need to use that blasted mouse again to hit Search or even have to press Return.
I’ve done a fair amount of research into this new toy today, and I can only lead to pure speculation as to what this new trend will mean for Search Engine Optimisation and companies alike.
Read Google’s explanation here, if you are not sure what this article is about. But basically Google Instant produces real-time results as you type. Google highlight 3 benefits from this:
- Faster Search – Google anticipates what you are searching for, saving 2-5 seconds per search
- Smarter Predictions – Predictions are made based on popular subjects
- Instant Results – Results appear before you without having to hit ‘search’
Fair enough, Google have streamlined Internet searching. But what does that mean for SEO?
Lost in the system
This first thing that concerns me, is that Google predicts what you want to find. And I look at that in a negative light for the following reason; If Google predicts what you want to find based on popularity of the search (at a guess), then what if it pushes users to search for a phrase with millions of results per month? Your website is going to get lost in the system if customers are lead towards a result. Good practice in the past is to use keywords that kick back less results to stop you from getting lost in the system. Making the user search without provocation would usually force them to use their imagination a little more and type in things like “puppy collars”. Now if I type in something similar, Google nudges me more towards “puppy collars and leads”. But what if your business doesn’t sell leads? Your listing will have been reduced because you don’t fully fulfil the requirements.
Pages 2, 3, 4… Are they obsolete now?
Because Google now provides live results as you type, I can only imagine they will make pages 2, 3, 4 and so on obsolete. Who will bother scrolling down to search for more results, when they can just retype the phrase. As a result, companies are going to be investing even more money, trying to get on that pivotal first page. So does this mean business/organisations lagging on page 2 will never get a look in from now on?
Search Impressions
I’m wondering whether each result as you are typing, as classed as a search impression. I have read that this will not be the case. If not, then how will they monitor search impression from this point forward?
New ways to research keywords?
So if I want to promote a clients website using specific keywords, does my research start with Google Instant? If my client sells digital watches, shall I type “digital”, then “watches”, then watch where Google wants to lead me, in this case “digital watches for men”. Because if users are quite happy for Google to suggest search criteria, it would make sense to use the phrase that Google is leading everyone to search for.
Controversy
Anyway, Google.com leads to all of this controversy, but at the end of the day, like me, I still used the Firefox search box. And this doesn’t have Google Instant. Point being, this will effect a lot of users, but perhaps not as many as we anticipate.
What’s the catch?
What does Google get out of this? It’s a new toy, but where will they make their money? Am I going to have to cough up cash to Google, so that they can manipulate the suggestions to lead users more towards my business or clients? Wouldn’t it be nice to type in “Web Design”, and have Google suggest users towards “Web Design at competitive prices in Wolverhampton”, where you will find me hovering in the top 3. Time will tell on that matter.
Are SEO companies guarantees redundant?
Personally, I cannot see any SEO company ever being able to guarantee a number 1 listing result on Google. If Google’s leading suggestions change regularly then I am high sceptical of anyone who claims this. However if the suggestions don’t change, then I would give them the benefit of the doubt, but I simply doubt Google will keep the suggestions static.
Conclusion
As I made clear in the second paragraph of this article, this is all speculation. At the end of the day, SEO companies and web-masters in general are going to have to see how this effects them over a long period of time. I can’t imagine anyone will be confident in their tactics for at least 6 months. We will simply have to play the trial and error game all over again. This is all open to interpretation at the moment and I would like to hear your thoughts.
- Craig (Web Designer/Consultant) MMNetwork.co.uk
