source: Google

If you pay attention to the Search Engine Marketing industry (which I do), it’s hard to miss this week’s news about Google Instant, the new Google feature that shows search results in real time, letter by letter, as you’re typing in the search box.  This is one step beyond Bing’s already-existing type-ahead feature, which guesses what search term you’re typing and offers a list of probable word matches; Google guesses a word match and also displays a page of search results to go with it, then changes those results as you type each new letter to reveal your full intent.  The idea is you can click on a relevant search result before you’ve even got your search term fully formed.  The assumption by Google is that people can think and read faster than they can type — and will appreciate Google keeping up with their mind rather than waiting for their typing finger.  No more having to hit that pesky <Search> button before getting your list of choices.

There’s been lots published in the first 2 days to analyze what this means — for searchers, for website owners, and for the SEO practitioner.  But what does it mean for your small business, if you’re looking to improve your search ranking for a handful of keyword terms?  Here’s a roundup of opinions from across the web, and my overlay of comments from a small biz perspective.

1. It’s great for searchers – provides helpful suggestions, broadens your search experience, and is more efficient.  This undoubtedly describes Google’s intention, as the new feature is positioned to improve the search experience and create the best match between the searcher’s intent and the list of search results.  If you’re a small business and your site is well optimized for keywords that do a good job of describing your business, this is good news for you.  It may even direct users to your site by moving you up from page 2 to page 1, because the result page will be changing dynamically and refreshing instantly as the user continues to type  and narrow their search.  In the course of typing a 2-word search term, for example, a user will see a different list of search results for each letter they type, rather than just a single static list after they click <Search>.  This makes it even more imperative that your website is super-well optimized for the keyword terms most important to your potential customers.

2.  Popular keywords will become even more popular. Lots of initial reaction to this new feature suggests that search volume will increase for the most popular keywords, because Google will “suggest” the most common ways to complete the searcher’s query.  In the short term, this may give more search prominence (and hence more traffic) to the most established brands, as they are more likely to be “suggested” by Google.  However, if the suggested results don’t deliver what the user is looking for, this result may subside over time.  Implications for small business?  Don’t be too quick to judge whether this gives unfair advantage to the big players.  Ultimately, it’s more likely to send more qualified leads your way.

3. Google Instant means no one will see the same web anymore, making it virtually impossible to optimize your site for your intended audience. Real-time feedback will personalize every search so there’s no predictability to people’s search behaviors.  This is certainly true, but it doesn’t mean site optimization is no longer valuable.  It does mean, however, that you can’t “game” the system to trick the search engines.  Instead, Google will reward (as it’s always tried to do) the websites that most clearly explain what they’re about, by sending them searchers who are looking for them.  If a searcher knows what they want, and you’ve optimized your pages for what they want, your chances of being found will be better.

4.  There will be less traffic for long tail keywords. This is SEO-speak meaning that search terms with multiple words (a “long tail”) will become less common because searchers will find a relevant result before they type the 3d or 4th word.  Makes sense.  This could be bad for small businesses, as conventional wisdom in search marketing circles has been that longer, and more specific, search terms are less competitive and therefore offer a niche for small businesses to compete with more established brands.  If you’re in a well-defined niche business, you may continue to draw long-tail keyword searchers; if not, you may indeed see a dip in your search traffic.

5. This new feature is not that new, and is annoying besides…it won’t change much of anything. Like any new feature, this one has critics as well as fans.  Recognizing this, Google has made it easy to turn off the feature, though a good percentage of people, even if they find it annoying, won’t do this.  If you’re a small business, this means things may not change at all for you.   (…and here’s my favorite comment from a not-too-impressed user:  ”Great. Like we’re not lazy enough. Thanks Google. Those few extra nanoseconds come in real handy.”)