SEO Not Affected by Partial 'Google Instant' Keywords

[Mike Adams]

Google said Friday that Internet marketers shouldn't change their SEO strategies to account for partially-typed keywords using Google's new Google Instant feature.

Google Instant returns search entries for each and every letter typed, so that "f" produces a page of links beginning with "Facebook," while "fl" leads off the page with "Flickr". Some had begun speculating that SEO marketers would need to concentrate on partially-typed keywords, betting that users typing in "res" would be searching for "restaurant" rather than "resume" or "Restoration Hardware".

But Alden DeSoto, a member of the Google Analytics team, said that SEO marketers shouldn't change their strategies, at least where that particular facet of Instant was concerned.

"Should I change my search advertising strategy to serve ads on to partial keywords (e.g. if I sell flowers, should I advertise on "flow")?" DeSoto wrote. "This is not a productive strategy. Please note that ads are triggered based on the 'predicted query' and not the stem that the users types in. So, in this example, the partial query 'flow' triggers results for the predicted query of 'flowers'. The only way someone can see your ad for 'flow' is if they specifically searched for that word and hit enter or clicked search. And since you sell flowers, it's not likely that your ad for flowers will be served alongside such a generic and irrelevant word."

DeSoto also said that the new Google Instant wouldn't change search rankings, and that search queries using Instant would be tracked as they have always been.

In part, that's because queries are measured using the predicted query ("resume") versus the actual query ("re"), DeSoto added. "If a user was typing "web metrics" but got the search result she wanted at "web met" with the predicted term being "web metrics", then you will see "web metrics" in your Google Analytics reports.

AdWords impressions are also counted in the same manner, with an impression generated by clicking on an ad or link on the page, or hitting "enter" after a query. The only change is that an impression will also be generated after a user pauses for three seconds after a keystroke is entered, as Google executives said at the launch.

Source: SEO Not Affected by Partial 'Google Instant' Keywords | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

[thebitbotdotcom]

Google Instant never changed anything related to the algorithm. So their comments on webmasters not needing to change their SEO is not unexpected.

After having tinkered with it some, I can see that it is simply the equivalent of performing a complete search query whenever the character sets in the search bar match past queries as logged by their server cloud. It is the equivalent of somebody hitting the enter key constantly as you are typing.

Kind of annoying...really...

[GuerrillaIM]

I have already changed my SEO process to accommodate for the "Google Instant" update but it doesn't involve partial words at all. There are several great side effects of the Google Instant feature that I hope to fully exploit before others catch on.

[Andy Kobe]

The key to organic listings over the longterm is to keep doing
what Google wants, which are good websites with your basic
seo stuff - we can't worry about the changes.

[Amod Oke]

The key to organic listings over the longterm is to keep doing
what Google wants, which are good websites with your basic
seo stuff - we can't worry about the changes.

Completely agree. Good websites with great, regularly updated content do not have anything to fear.

Cheers,
Amod

[kschmandt]

Seems to me that targeting partially typed keywords with adwords would raise impressions on a very broad match. This could lower clickthroughs and quality score raising your cost.

Even if Google hadn't come out saying we still need to target the keywords we always have I think it would be risky business trying to target "flow".

[David Bleidt]

I think SEO won't be affected by Google Instant. Just the way we have to look for keywords has changed a bit. But I explained it a bit more in detail in my free eBook in my sig. Just watch out there if you want more infos.

David