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The Launch of Google Instant

Picture of Honcho Honcho : Sep 9, 2010 11:58:57 AM

Google have today launched the long awaited new search enhancement Google Instant, which displays search results as you type. Google Instant pushes the Google Suggest concept one step further by changing search results as you type in a search query allowing the user to scan the results page as you type. Google explains that their “key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly taking 300 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another page”.

The speed of which you get to the right content is much faster than the previous functionality, as you don’t have to finish typing your search query, or even press the “search” button. You can adapt your search results as you see the search results change to match exactly what you want. Google are rolling out the Google Instant enhancement on domains in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia. Currently Google Instant is only available on the following browsers: Chrome v5/6, Firefox v3, Safari v5, and Internet Explorer v8 and can only be used on Google.com unless you are signed into your Google Account. Google continue to add “new domains and languages over the next several months”. If you, after using Google Instant prefer to disable the new search enhancement, Google has made this possible by clicking the link next to the search box on any search results page, or by visiting your preferences page.

Benefits

Faster Searches:Google Instant saves between 2 – 5 seconds per search, by predicting your query and displaying results before you finish typing. Smarter Predictions: Google’s search prediction allows you to find what you are looking for even if you are not exactly sure. Google displays the top prediction in grey text directly within the search box, allowing you to stop typing as soon as you see what you require. Instant Results: As you begin typing, search results will begin to appear. Previously you had to finish typing your query and hitting return before you saw your results, but now you can see different results during every phase of your search. Google suggests that this is a huge improvement to the search functionality and “In time, we may wonder how search ever worked in any other way”. What are your thoughts of the new search enhancement? Will there be any effect on the search marketing industry as we currently know it? Is this what SEO’s have been dreading, ‘Is SEO is DEAD!?’ Let us know your thoughts?? Watch Product Manager John Effrat discuss the launch of Google Instant