Does google instant affect seo?

Google instant won’t affect the SERPs as the basic algorithm hasn’t changed, but how users find your content is going to require further consideration from SEO’s. Search performance will come as a result of changes in the user experience, not the ranking algorithm.

Google recently launched its new instant service which provides searchers with literally provides ‘instant’ results for their specific search phrases…but what does this mean for SEO’s?!

If you didn’t know already SEO is sometimes labelled as the dark art of ‘pushing your website further up the search results pages (SERPs). By targeting multiple key phrases you can drive traffic to your website which ultimately means more chance of generating online revenue. So there’s the benefits in simple mans terms.

Google Instant is derived from two major objectives: Providing search results even quicker to users and smarter predictions even if user doesn’t exactly know what they are searching for.

So is Google becoming a self aware AI? Is this the end of SEO as we know it?

Since the launch of Google instant there has been a lot of online chatter whether it will cause the demise of SEO’s as Google is now in effect in control of the way we search now. Google instant offers search results as soon as the user starts typing and results will vary depending on your location and search history. Google instant uses the same technology that preloads Google maps and lets you slide them around to deliver valuable results instantly.

What about third party analytics tracking?

Not only have SEO’s been running about franticly worrying about the future of search marketing but also third party analytics software companies been concerned. The rumour at the time of launch was that ‘only Google Analytics would be able to report referring keyword information from The Google. It would drive large data collection platforms like Omniture, Coremetrics and Web Trends out of business’.

The major rumoured concern was that: “Google Instant does not load a URL into a browser during query and therefore nothing to third-party analytics platforms. Google doesn’t want anyone to use any tracking software other than Google Analytics. SEO will die because no one can prove traffic came from highly targeted keywords! IT’S ALL COMING TO AN END!”

But, after a few tests it is clear that this is all nonsense and that referral URL’s are getting parsed by the browser which means SEO isn’t dead and third part analytics software won’t go bankrupt. Phew!!!

The evolution of the Googler…

Query strings are still generated with javascript turned on or off which means we can still track and monitor user search behaviours, phrases and analytics. All good news then?! Well sort of…it’s not the SEO and tracking we need to be concerned about, it’s the evolution of user search behaviours and it’s affects on online advertising.

Online advertising

Let’s start with AdWords and the first thing advertisers are likely to see is the increase in impressions as it only takes 3 seconds for an impression to count. If a user starts searching but stops an impression will be recorded but Google will offer further suggestions provoking the users to continue their query string. This means that data read could potentially be miss interpreted as high impression but low click through.

In addition Adwords ads will be displayed in instant search results but could potentially be displayed too early and to the wrong types of users. PPC Ad’s are generally targeted to perhaps those that don’t quite know what they are looking for, if the Ad is displayed for someone that does know what they want it could mean the brand ends up paying to receive that click from what would have normally been free to receive.

Malcolm Coles of Digital Sparkle has an insightful version: “Some people are going to end up paying a lot more for PPC. If you start searching for Premier Inns, then when you get to premier you get lots of natural “premier” results (e.g. premier league) plus one PPC ad for Premier Inns. I guess lots of people will just click that rather than carry on typing. So some brands might want to be careful that they aren’t bidding on terms that get triggered too soon in the process.”

Search behaviour

The second foreseeable issue with Google Instant is its effects on search behaviours. Traditionally users would type a term and we’d all see the same results. Now with GI, everyone is going to start tweaking their searches in real-time. The reason this is a game changer is feedback. When you get feedback, you change your behaviours.

However at ReadWriteWeb they paint a slightly less gloomy picture, “It seems to me that the top three rankings will get even more value,” says Ian Lurie, President of Portent Interactive. “Also, long-tail search is going to be more important, since folks can just keep typing until they see what they want.”

Not all would agree however as the top three results will be different for different people and what you can’t influence, via SEO, is what Google offers via autocomplete. Matt Cutts from Google states “The search results will remain the same for a query, but it’s possible that people will learn to search differently over time.” This is certainly the case for long tail results as Google offers alternative suggestions as the query gets longer. So Long tail could become really important and by doing the searches yourself could provide useful insights into the type of content Google wants to show users.

But don’t forget the short tail, as after all you will need an opening phrase or two to begin the query. In effect Google is aiding the research community by providing suggestions and can, in some cases, lead a searcher to find additional information about a subject they may not have previously found.

Rest assured

Fortunately there is some reassurance for the majority of SEOs as Google Instant only works if you’re signed in to a Google account and if you’re accessing Google through the search box on its home page. Again, Phew! Many searchers probably don’t have Google accounts, though with the increase in mobile Android technology, social media and online videos this could increase in the following years.

So how does Google Instant affect SEO?

Well we have established that analytics, whether you use Google or some other third party will remain the same. We will likely see some increases in key phrase impressions and an increase in AdWords click through rates. This will mean that brands will have to be more careful with their advertising spends, monitoring AdWords and ensuring the right audiences are clicking the right Ad’s at the right time. Ultimately this could save online advertising spend as they are more targeted and better focussed.

Google instant won’t affect the SERPs as the basic algorithm hasn’t changed but how users find your content is going to require further consideration from SEO’s. Avichal Garg, former Product Manager of Search Quality at Google states that “Google Instant will have tremendous impact  on SEO and search performance will come as a result of changes in the user experience, not the ranking algorithm, per se”.

To sum it all up

So as we continue to monitor and record data, making adjustments to our techniques and pushing websites further up the SERPs we must bear in mind the ‘Google Instant effect’ on user behaviour, not the search engines themselves. To summarise “user behaviour will change…good SEO is all about understanding end user behaviour.”

Have you used Google Instant yet? What do you think about it? Has it affected your SEO? We want to hear your stories and feedback, let us know by using the comments section below.