Google Suggest has evolved. As you type in a search phrase, Google tries to predict what you’re searching and refreshes the results as you type. Results continue to change as you continue typing.

According to Google’s announcement about Instant Search:

Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.

For example, take a look at the screenshot below. I typed in “F” which appears in a black font, then Google added “acebook” which appears in light gray. A SERP appeared with results based on a “Facebook” search. As I continued typing, Google continued making suggestions and the SERP updated immediately based on the new “predictions.” In addition to all that, the ever-familiar drop down menu of suggested search phrases appears too.

Example of Google’s Predictive Search

Does This Mean Your SEO is in the Toilet?

With every search change comes the question, “Is SEO dead?” If there came a day when only 10 websites existed and there was no need for a page two and beyond, or when making money online was no longer desirable, or when webmasters/companies didn’t care where they ranked, then sure, maybe that day SEO would be dead.

Until then, the answer is no, this does not mean that your site and existing optimization will go down the toilet. It does; however, mean you have some homework ahead of you. Part of Google’s intent with Instant Search is that users will be able to identify better search phrases “on the fly” or that Instant will help guide them to better results. This mean you definitely want to play around with the new Google Instant to see what terms searchers are presented with.

Type in words someone might use to find a site in your niche. Pay attention to what terms are suggested early on, near the top of the list and in longer phrases. Are these terms you should be optimizing for? Are these terms you’re already ranking well for? If so, you might need to tighten your optimization and gear up for more competition.

Google Instant Infomercial

According to the official Google Instant site, Google claims that the average searcher spends more than 9 seconds simply entering a search term. There were also instances of users taking a half of a minute to a minute and a half to refine their search phrases. With Instant, Google feels they can shave off 2-5 seconds per search.

How to Turn off Live Streaming?

Annoying? Distracting? How do you turn this thing off? To the right of the Search button is a link that allows you to turn Instant on or off.

Sources:

“About Google Instant.” Google. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. .

Mayer, Marissa. “Search: Now Faster than the Speed of Type.” Official Google Blog. 08 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. .

SEO Revolution Blog

You can now download upgrades (beta) for the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome, plus a “preview” of Internet Explorer 9. Following is a brief description of the new features for each.

Firebox 4 With Multi-Touch

On August 11, Mozilla released the third beta version of Firebox 4. The most exciting difference in Firefox 4 the utilization of Windows 7 multi-touch features which lets you flip through files or pictures; open, resize, move and close images and videos, and other touch screen capabilities.

Other improvements include faster JavaScript, more HTML5 and CSS support, and interface improvements such as the addition of tabs at the top of the page.

Chrome 6

Chrome 6 is now available in beta. Aside from better JavaScript handling and speed, Chrome 6 has an autofill feature, additional synchronization capabilities, and a condensed toolbar making Chrome easier to use.

Internet Explorer 9

Download a preview of Internet Explorer 9 which is due for public beta in September. Developers can run test drive samples to see the HTML5 and modern SVG in action. Like Firefox and Chrome it handles JavaScript better and is faster.

SEO Revolution Blog

Your local business needs Search Engine Optimization, bottom line. SEO can be the key to a whole new world of increased traffic. The biggest reason you need it: your competitors are doing it. You can’t keep up with someone if you’re not doing as much or more than they are to market. And we’re not [...]
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By now you should be at least familiar with Google Instant, a new search feature on Google. As users type in search terms, Instant predicts what the user is searching and instantly refreshes the SERPs.

Google Instant and Webmaster Tools

You’ve probably noticed an increase in page impressions lately. It makes sense that Google Instant is going to impact your page impressions. During the course of one search, SERPs update multiple times. If your pages appear for multiple “predictions” there will be an increase in impressions.

How Google Instant Measures Page Impressions

Before Instant Search was offered, page impressions occurred when the user typed in a word/phrase and clicked the Search button. With Google Instant, SERPs are updated as a person types. When someone pauses on a new results page for three seconds, that counts as an impression.

According to Google Engineer, Ben Gnomes, the average search query is 20 letters long and since Instant is basically search by character, not by word, this could result in a very noticeable increase in page impressions. It all depends on how fast someone types and if they pause for three seconds.

SEO Revolution Blog

On May 1st, Google implemented a change that stopped indexing long tail keywords. Is this a big deal? Some think it is. We don’t, however. Good SEO will beat such a small change any and every day of the week. So why did they do it? Well, only Google knows for sure. It’s a small [...]
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