A couple weeks ago, Google announced its newest feature – Google Instant. The new search enhancement allows logged in Google users to view search results before they have even pressed “Google Search.” The idea behind the update, according to the Google blog, was that “people type slowly, but read quickly. This means you can scan a results page while you type.” The benefits include faster searching (can save 2-5 seconds per search), smart predictions and instant results.
While this seems like an exciting development in the world of search engines, as a web marketer I can’t help but question what affect this will have on Pay Per Click advertisements and Search Engine Optimization.
My first question was, when will ads appear, and how will impressions be affected?
As users search, pay per click ads will appear in their normal locations – at the top and on the right side of the page, highlighted by a light yellow box. However, an impression will only be calculated if the advertisement is displayed for three or more seconds. Although this updated definition will help to regulate the impressions, it is still possible that click-through-rate will be negatively affected. This won’t initially put a dent in advertiser’s budgets, but if quality scores drop advertisers may find themselves with higher bid prices than pre-Instant searching.
Next I wondered how searchers habits would change as a result of the highly suggestive interface.
Many advertisers’ campaigns may be set up to include general phrases or words that have an overarching connection to the advertised site. However, with constantly changing suggestive search options and real time search results, users may opt to continue altering their query until they have landed on a specific phrase. It may be important for advertisers to examine their keywords in coming months to include more detailed words and phrases that are more likely to be searched with Instant than in the past. In the past, singular words had higher search volumes, and therefore were more desirable keywords. However, now advertisers may want to consider adding additional plural terms – for example, pets instead of pet – as the plural is often the first suggested term in Google Instant.
Now, what about Search Engine Optimization?
As users search, Google places paid and universal listings as high as possible on the page, below the suggestive search area. This means that highly optimized search results are still being pushed below the fold of the web browser. Once the user hits “Search” and sticks with a query, all of the listings resume their natural positions, but since that step is no longer necessary it is extremely important for sites to obtain a top ranking of one or two. Most likely, users won’t scroll as they search, making anything below those rankings virtually invisible. In addition, as users scan the listings more quickly, “calls to action” that are commonly placed in the meta description of listings will move to the meta title.
At this stage in the game, it is hard to say exactly how much of an impact Google Instant will have on rankings, especially since it only applies to logged-in Google users, and there is still an option to turn the feature off. It would be wise to keep an eye out for any strange changes after the September 7th launch of Google Instant. These changes, as long as advertisers and optimizers alike are award of them, don’t have to be scary or painful. They simply require attention and tweaks along the way to AdWords campaigns and SEO efforts.
