Google rolled out the instant search a few days back. Do you know what that means for your business? Let’s start with what the instant search really is and what it changes.
Instant search is as it sounds, Google will “instantly” search as you type. It is predictive in nature, since Google know what 2/3 of the world is searching for and how often. The instant search will search for the most relevant results mid word automatically for you. This is different from the search suggestion drop down box we have accustomed to. Google has claimed this feature will save the searcher 2 to 5 seconds per search. The only way I see that as true is if the average searcher types with one finger on one hand. For most it saves only the pressing of the enter button. On a good note, Google did allow for this new feature to be disabled. There is a button right next to the search button to turn it off if you just can’t stand it.
The big question I keep hearing is, how will this affect my site and my business. Short answer is, it won’t. The majority of business sites will not be affected from this change. Google is trying to improve the relevancy of it’s search results. This change fit’s right in with the quality changes made from mayday and caffeine updates. It seems death to the long tail search is Google’s mission. Now don’t get worried, lawn care in Toledo isn’t really a long tail search, it is considered a local search. Results for lawn care are returned with locality in mind. A long tail would be “lawn care tips for summer months” or similar.
Let’s look at a sample to see just what is really going on. Football season started, so let’s search for “college football”. I have outlined what Google thinks I am searching for for each character input:
c = craigslist
co = costco (local one at that)
col = columbia gas of ohio (local natural gas supplier)
coll = college (getting warmer)
It stayed with the college result until I typed the f
college f = college football (pretty painless, and functional in this scenario)
For most searches I have tried, it is very intuitive. Take special attention to the heavy influence of local results. This will work to local businesses advantage. The battle with the large national players became a little easier. It is key to note that searches on Google may vary whether you are logged in or not, so you may see different results depending if you are logged in and where you are located.
