Google Launches Instant Search

A few weeks ago we blogged about Google’s penchant for speed reaching new levels; well now they have followed it through.

Google Instant went live this week in the US and it will be rolled out in the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Russia over the next few days. Google have labeled it a “quantum leap in search” by giving people instant results as they type.

A Major Impact on Search Habits

It reinforces Google’s desire to place all of their emphasis on speed as they believe people want to have search results – and a greater variety of results – instantly. This new product is likely to have a major impact on search, vindicating their statement that it is a “quantum leap”.

Users will now be privy to a whole host of sites with each letter they type, giving them greater options to find the result and information they want. There is also scope for Google Instant to provide people with alternative results as they type, potentially opening up a greater variety of results.

However, for search marketers, it is likely to have a major impact as more long tail searches and even incomplete keywords will have to be considered. With results appearing with each letter added, there is a real opportunity to rank at these different levels.

“We may wonder how search ever worked in any other way”

After initial testing a few weeks ago, the subdued and mixed responses it got suggested that the product might not be ready for the market but Google are convinced that speed is the future of search. A Google statement read:

“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.

“The most obvious change is that you get to the right content much faster than before because you don’t have to finish typing your full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as you type helps you formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. In time, we may wonder how search ever worked in any other way.”