COMMENTS
Scott, I believe that article you reference is discussing PPC, not SEO?
Yes Scott. That article was talking about PPC. Instant Search makes the organic search long-tail and online conversations more important than ever.
Very interesting article. Google definitely keeps us SEOs on our toes at all times. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, you are both absolutely correct. That article specifically discusses PPC. However, I don't see how many of the same issues don't appear for organic results.
I think people will start to refine their search terms, making them more specific and targeted.
It's pretty amazing. I've only played around with it a bit, but you can see it's going to change the way people search, editing their original queries within the search box itself.
Wow, this is a big change, but a very useful one for finding what you really want. No wonder Google is the search engine leader.
Interesteing and yet challenging for us SEO guys.. I think blog is going to play even bigger role now..
This is a brilliant way to mitigate all the noise created by content solely intended to skew search results. Moreover, Instant seems to favor a more semantic search -- obviating the value of offshoring blogging to just pack in keywords.
Good article...I totally buy your analysis of how this will impact SEO, Kipp.
The instant results page is heavily weighted towards the paid ads. As I am typing a phrase into the search box, I can only see 3-4 of the organic search results on the page. But I can see all the ads.
Many Google users may select an instant result without ever hitting the "search" button. Those people will never see the organic results that rank 5 through 10 on page 1.
Further, the instant results that are seen as you type are dominated by the ads.
So to benefit from the new instant search, you have to be in the top 4 organic results, or have a paid ad. That is a huge change.
On INSTANT,we have seen that one client who has consistently held the top ranked #1 organic position, has not been shown in INSTANT results. Yet a lower ranking firm that has the specific query in their company name now is suggested.
Amazon has been using this approach for a long time. I worked for a bookstore and I would go to Amazon to look up a book instead of using the program my employer provided. It was so much faster. I'm surprised Google hasn't implemented this sooner.
@Scott - I think this will actually make the long tail more important, because with autocompletion happening, Google will suggest phrases that are effectively long tail. I think we'll see many more multiple word search queries, as Kipp notes. Also, Instant will make it easier for a searcher to think through what they are looking for, and hone in more deeply more quickly and with less effort as their brain will be helped along by Google's.
@Gordon - not necessarily true. Caffeine and now instant are simply making it less predictable as to how organic results will be rendered. I've got a screen cap and a little explanation of that <a href=http://www.pullnotpush.com/Pull-Marketing/bid/42591/SEO-s-Changing-Face-Google-Instant-s-Impact>in this post. I think the fundamentals of striving to be #1 on your important keywords will remain the same, but as search gets more persoanlized and more instantaneous, things like have a strong social media presence to underscore your SEO efforts will grow in importance.
And again, this time with the link (hopefully) correctly formatted
@Scott - I think this will actually make the long tail more important, because with autocompletion happening, Google will suggest phrases that are effectively long tail. I think we'll see many more multiple word search queries, as Kipp notes. Also, Instant will make it easier for a searcher to think through what they are looking for, and hone in more deeply more quickly and with less effort as their brain will be helped along by Google's.
@Gordon - not necessarily true. Caffeine and now instant are simply making it less predictable as to how organic results will be rendered. I've got a screen cap and a little explanation of that <a href=http://www.pullnotpush.com/Pull-Marketing/bid/42591/SEO-s-Changing-Face-Google-Instant-s-Impact>in this post. I think the fundamentals of striving to be #1 on your important keywords will remain the same, but as search gets more persoanlized and more instantaneous, things like have a strong social media presence to underscore your SEO efforts will grow in importance.
I noticed the change the other day, it is def. going to change how everyone is doing SEO. Put up a link to your post on my blog:)
It helps in making keyword search faster and I like using it actually, just like what yahoo does for its search bar.
Recognized the change the other day, do not see this making a big difference in how SEO is being done. You have to constantly adjust to stay on top of it anyway.