We’ve all been experiencing forms of the realtime web, mostly through twitter, facebook or other social media channels. However this week Google is unveiling Google Instant Search, which is a combination of realtime and traditional search. Find out below how this will affect page rank or your position in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).It all started with the mysterious Interactive dots Google Doodle unveiled earlier this week. This was the third interactive Doodle, the first two being Pac Man, and Bucky Balls. If you want to play with a version check out Rob Hawkes’ page
Google Instant Search
The third Google Interactive Doodle was an attention grabbing technique as Google unveiled their new Instant search. Essentially when you visit Google’s homepage (or any search results page) and begin typing in a search query you will not only be presented with a drop down of suggested search queries; now you will also see instant results on the page behind you.
No need to press enter.
No need to wait the 1.9 seconds for the results of your query to return.
Instead, as you type the results are displayed instantly.
Welcome to the realtime web!
What does it mean?
Double rainbow all the way, err… sorry. What can it mean?
The truth about your existing SEO efforts and your current page rank is that they will stay the same. The page rank algorithm is still the same. The result set is still the same, you have the same position as you did last week (all other factors being equal).
However, this will change user behavior. We’ll see a shift in how users use long tail and refine their searches. And we should see this change reflected in site analytics.
So, as friends have posted already, stay calm, and stay on the SEO course. We’ll know in a couple of weeks how this affects user behavior.
What about you?
Will you keep Instant search on? Will you switch back?
How will Instant Search results affect your searching behavior? tell us below in the comments section.