Google Instant vs keyword searches

Google's new 'Instant' way of displaying search results means that users no longer need to type in full search strings in order to get results. The search engine predicts and autopopulates from the most searched-for terms and displays results dynamically and immediately.

This is rather nice for users, but what does it mean for marketers? If the keywords and search queries that typically lead to your site are not amongst the most popular, isn't it likely that higher profile results may attract users' attention, meaning you will miss out on traffic and - ultimately - sales? Very possibly. General advice seems to be to keep an eye on your site stats and look out for any unusual trends.

Another question that has been raised is this: what keywords will display in your analytics? Will they no longer be full keywords and phrases, but rather just segments of words? How will we know what the user was looking for if only parts of their search phrase are captured? Apparently, this should not be a concern - shortly after a user stops typing, the URL changes to the "predicted" search phrase and that's what will be sent through to the linked site. Any web analytics package (including Ensight's) can then pick up the full phrase for reporting purposes.

The biggest losers with Google Instant are likely to be those targeting the long tail. Longer search phrases are likely to become less common, as solutions pop up to distract the user before they finish typing. They are unlikely to disappear entirely, particularly with more obscure products and services.

Once again, Google keeps marketers on their toes!