The Power of Google Instant: How Does it Effect SEO?

November 4, 2010  |   Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Search Marketing News   |   0 Comments   Tags: google, Google Instant, Search Engine Optimization, seo

Google Instant was launched on September 8, 2010 with a concept that search should be taken one step further so users get instantaneous results. With Google Instant, users can search as they type. If you are searching on the word chocolate, Google starts giving you options in the suggestions drop down the moment you hit the letter ‘c’. However, the launch of Google Instant has got search engine optimization experts wondering about the future of SEO and how this will affect search engine rankings.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Marissa Meyer, VP Search Products and User Experience at Google, reported that Google Instant will have a minimal effect on search engine optimization but it could change user behavior, which in turn could impact the current SEO strategies being used by various businesses. Now, Google Instant has not changed the way pages are indexed or crawled so the chances of any change to existing page rankings is minimal.
Let’s consider how Google Instant will change the way users search. Say you are looking for a chocolate ice cream recipe and have typed out the word chocolate when you see search results displaying links to chocolate chip cookie recipes. Looking at these links made you realise that you want to try a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies as well and you click on one of these links. According to search engine optimisation experts, this could be detrimental to a business because Google Instant has taken the user away from their original search.
Matt Cutts has said time and again that Google Instant will not affect SEO but it will definitely affect the way people search. Over a period of time, minor changes may be required however, incorporating all possible keyword variations for SEO would be impossible. Meyer and Cutts both work for Google so their take on the subject is obviously tied in with the company’s larger interest but it is impossible to deny the take of SEO experts on the subject.
SEOMoz reported on September 21, 2010 that the keyword demand has not changed with the launch of Instant. They do recommend looking at the traffic volume and comparing it to pre launch. Most popular websites have experienced positive traffic growth which they can hardly complain about!
Quite a few people have been concerned about Steve Rubel’s comment about how Google Instant will make SEO completely irrelevant. This is not true and Rubel has received a lot of advice from SEO gurus about how search really works.
Eric Enge of Search Engine Watch suggested that advertisers can hope to get better pay per click conversion rates if Google Instant impacts the long tail. Someone new to search engines may want to type a long query, such as ‘which Canon camera is priced between $250 and $500’ and could receive results by typing Canon. Such a user will have the same readiness to buy as someone who was initially searching on a long tail keyword.

AdWords users may see an increase in the number of impressions though as reported by Google. When a user types a query and pauses for three seconds, it counts as an impression. Now, when the query is completed and the results get refreshed, it will count as another impression if your ad gets displayed. This could mean a reduction in the clickthrough rates.
The job of SEO experts was made difficult since the time search started getting more and more personalized. Two people could be searching on the same term, yet see different results based on their geographical locations, especially if they are signed into their Google Account.

In such a case, there is only a certain amount of search engine optimization that you can depend on because the results are not within your control. However, to say that the search engine optimization is becoming less relevant would be incorrect. The days of keyword stuffing and AdSense ads are definitely over – SEO techniques are getting more sophisticated and businesses actually want to provide their users with information that will make them keep coming back.