Google's Instant Site Previews, love it or hate it?

27 replies
I've just noticed Google's instant site previews. It must be new or else I browse blind because I haven't noticed this feature until a few minutes ago.

Instant Previews provides a graphic overview of a search result and highlights the most relevant sections, making finding the right page as quick and easy as flipping through a magazine
Does anybody else worry about how this will affect the amount of click-throughs a site gets from Google?

I'm guessing it might make the standard of visual design far higher as people are not likely to click through to sites that look unprofessional or don't seem to show a lot relevant information.

It will also mean people spend more time on Google and less time actually visiting sites.

Personally, I like this feature a lot. Any thoughts?
#google #instant #previews #site
  • Profile picture of the author Tyrus Antas
    They're still testing. I haven't got the feature yet. It's
    similar to what some firefox and greasemonkey extensions
    were doing.

    Tyrus
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    • Profile picture of the author Orkhan Ibad
      I have seen 10% descrease in the traffic from Google for some of my websites. But it may work for our benefits in the future, especiall for the sites getting ranked for all main keywords in the same niche.

      Orkhan
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    I haven't seen it yet but it does appear that google is playing with their ranking algo again.
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    I'm all about that bass.

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  • Profile picture of the author Muhammad Hassan
    Originally Posted by Tracey_Meagher View Post

    I've just noticed Google's instant site previews. It must be new or else I browse blind because I haven't noticed this feature until a few minutes ago.



    Does anybody else worry about how this will affect the amount of click-throughs a site gets from Google?

    I'm guessing it might make the standard of visual design far higher as people are not likely to click through to sites that look unprofessional or don't seem to show a lot relevant information.

    It will also mean people spend more time on Google and less time actually visiting sites.

    Personally, I like this feature a lot. Any thoughts?
    You might also have to change the actual design.

    A heading in bright red with big letters an centered
    is going to scream sales letter. Will reduce clicks.
    Possibly not so much outside IM world.

    For same reason is it also the end of minisite designs?
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    • Profile picture of the author Tracey_Meagher
      Originally Posted by Muhammad Hassan View Post

      You might also have to change the actual design.

      A heading in bright red with big letters an centered
      is going to scream sales letter. Will reduce clicks.
      Possibly not so much outside IM world.

      For same reason is it also the end of minisite designs?
      I agree totally. I'm hoping it hearlds the end of traditional mini-site designs because personally I hate them. For some time now, I've been advocating in my design a move away from the familiar old school sales page to more fresh and contemporary designs.

      I gave the previews another tryout this morning and while I do love the eye candy value, they can be distracting. I'm not sure people will give enough attention to the text in the search results which is likely to be far more on target to their needs than the full page preview.

      It seems that Google places an orange box highlight around text that includes the relevant keywords and shows a small readable paragraph. I searched "Internet Marketing Tools" and saw a lot of sites don't have any text highlighted at all, just one on the first page. I think when people understand this feature, it will have a huge impact on click-throughs. Scary stuff.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulie888
        Originally Posted by Tracey_Meagher View Post

        I agree totally. I'm hoping it hearlds the end of traditional mini-site designs because personally I hate them. For some time now, I've been advocating in my design a move away from the familiar old school sales page to more fresh and contemporary designs.

        I gave the previews another tryout this morning and while I do love the eye candy value, they can be distracting. I'm not sure people will give enough attention to the text in the search results which is likely to be far more on target to their needs than the full page preview.

        It seems that Google places an orange box highlight around text that includes the relevant keywords and shows a small readable paragraph. I searched "Internet Marketing Tools" and saw a lot of sites don't have any text highlighted at all, just one on the first page. I think when people understand this feature, it will have a huge impact on click-throughs. Scary stuff.
        I think if this change becomes permanent it'll really change how sites are designed, and there could be a mass exodus from salesletter type pages as there really isn't anything attractive that pops out at you on a preview with these types of pages.

        Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author Muhammad Hassan
        Originally Posted by Tracey_Meagher View Post

        It seems that Google places an orange box highlight around text that includes the relevant keywords and shows a small readable paragraph. I searched "Internet Marketing Tools" and saw a lot of sites don't have any text highlighted at all, just one on the first page. I think when people understand this feature, it will have a huge impact on click-throughs. Scary stuff.
        Had a quick look yesterday and noticed the text
        and tried to work out where Google got the text
        from. Looked to see if it was a meta tag, but
        didn't find it on the site I checked.

        Will have a little more look again. Of course, I
        will share with others what I discover - if anything.
        Or maybe somebody already knows and can share it
        with us.

        Like you said Tracey getting Google to put the text
        that you want displayed (if possible) will be a big
        thing. If possible, I see a product launch or people
        offering a service. This will be the new SEO.

        A number of warriors have said that people will spend
        more time on the results page and also it's easier to
        preview. Because of this I think that sites in the
        lower positions on the first page will get more clicks.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tracey_Meagher
          Originally Posted by Muhammad Hassan View Post

          Had a quick look yesterday and noticed the text
          and tried to work out where Google got the text
          from. Looked to see if it was a meta tag, but
          didn't find it on the site I checked.

          Will have a little more look again. Of course, I
          will share with others what I discover - if anything.
          Or maybe somebody already knows and can share it
          with us.

          Like you said Tracey getting Google to put the text
          that you want displayed (if possible) will be a big
          thing. If possible, I see a product launch or people
          offering a service. This will be the new SEO.

          A number of warriors have said that people will spend
          more time on the results page and also it's easier to
          preview. Because of this I think that sites in the
          lower positions on the first page will get more clicks.
          I'm also really interested to know where the highlighted text comes from. Perhaps Google just scans the page content for the relevant keyword specific search query?

          It does level the playing field a little more on the coveted page one of Google, which is great news and it will be interesting to watch whole new niche opening up in SEO! Hmmmm ... better get my thinking cap on then
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  • Profile picture of the author silverwaterfall
    That's a really good point about changing the website design. It's going to give IMers something else to keep in mind. Because we don't have enough already!
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  • Profile picture of the author OpticalOut
    I think all that I will use this for on a personal level is to see if the site looks like a made for adsense crap site.

    On a marketing side, I'm not sure how it will impact search and CTR.

    I'm guessing that most people will still just go by titles and click whatever is the best option.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    TBH, I don't see people using it all that much. If a user has to click the magnifying glass to preview a page anyway, why wouldn't the user simply click the result itself to begin with?

    Think about it. Say you are searching for widget reviews. You get your results and then proceed to click the magnifying glass to preview the first site. You like it so now you have to click AGAIN to actually visit the site.

    Don't discount how much people despise the one extra click.

    Now, if Google starts presenting the preview similar to how the BetterSearch FF plugin does it, that could be a game-changer.

    EDIT: Looks like you only have to click the magnifying glass once. After that, all sites are previewed. Certainly looks like a potential game changer.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      TBH, I don't see people using it all that much. If a user has to click the magnifying glass to preview a page anyway, why wouldn't the user simply click the result itself to begin with?

      Think about it. Say you are searching for widget reviews. You get your results and then proceed to click the magnifying glass to preview the first site. You like it so now you have to click AGAIN to actually visit the site.

      Don't discount how much people despise the one extra click.

      Now, if Google starts presenting the preview similar to how the BetterSearch FF plugin does it, that could be a game-changer.

      EDIT: Looks like you only have to click the magnifying glass once. After that, all sites are previewed. Certainly looks like a potential game changer.
      I like it a lot, and if you design your site properly so that it looks good at a glance it'll definitely help enhance your click-throughs, in my opinion.

      I was going to correct you on the clicking part, but I see that you have edited your opinion at the end. You just need to click once, and then you can hover over each listing to see a preview. It certainly is a game-changer as it allows people to browse and preview sites much faster than before - no need to open up new tabs and/or windows to view every single listing on the first page of Google, or any other page for that matter.

      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author brendawyles
    There will always be the pros and cons for everything that comes. Since it was just starting off, we can't easily tell of its effect right away. But I'm sure it was created with a purpose, and that is what we'll have to find out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    I actually love that new innovation from Google. I have not seen any changes yet. I still do visit the site if I need the information in them. I even think that the instant site preview is neat and cool, gives extra eye candy for web searchers.

    Andrea
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  • Profile picture of the author Enviouz
    They will go live on Tuesday, apparently.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tracey_Meagher
    Originally Posted by Murali View Post

    I haven't seen the feature either. Is it just for Google US?
    I don't think so. I'm in Ireland and first noticed it yesterday.
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  • Profile picture of the author spennyc
    I like it because most of my sites are well designed. I guess this might get people to step up their designs.
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  • Profile picture of the author Janice Sperry
    I might be missing something but the "preview" is too small for me to see. I can't even really see the graphics very well. I don't see myself searching this way at all so I don't know why others would.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tracey_Meagher
      Originally Posted by Janice Sperry View Post

      I might be missing something but the "preview" is too small for me to see. I can't even really see the graphics very well. I don't see myself searching this way at all so I don't know why others would.
      Everybody's habits are different I guess.

      I'm already making great use of it and never thought I would adapt to it so quickly.
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      • Profile picture of the author SalahStudios
        Looks like a game changer to me. I just noticed it by accident checking my SERPS, won't take users long to get into it. As stated above I think users will now spend more time on the SERPS page and become much more selective with their click-throughs.

        Good or bad? For the majority of IMers and AdSense micro niche sites I think it may be a problem. Personally I LOVE it only because I'm a graphic designer much more than a marketer or AdSense guru.

        For years I've been told my sites look amazing but pretty doesn't make money...looks like pretty sites are making a come back! I was shocked for an instant, now I'm completely stoaked. I began building micro niche sites earlier this year and had to force my self not to put too much into the design, guess I have a reason to now.

        I'm still processing it...this is truly big. Now I have another, much more compelling argument when telling prospective clients of the benefits of gorgeous site design...yes!

        If you feel the need to make your sites pretty holla at me... SalahStudios.com , I'll give you the Warrior discount
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    It's going to be interesting to see if this is going to lead to more graphics-intensive pages in order to make them stand out more in the page previews. If that's the case, then it's going to be a balancing act between using keyword-rich content for SEO and having attractive graphics to make the page stand out.

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author SuiteJ
    I like how it adds the highlighted text showing in what context your keyword is being used. I also have wondered if users will click more on "pretty sites"? I personally click on the graphic-intensive ones first, but I'm a biased fan of "pretty design". lol
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  • Profile picture of the author dawnbreaker
    Whatever upgrades they are performing, I think its for our best...

    But we have different points of views...

    You can made critics to what I have posted above.
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  • Profile picture of the author thinkahead
    I hadn't noticed it before but have now checked it out and have to concur with previous postings on here that it will mean that site design will become more important. The more attention-grabbing the page, the more likelihood of a click. I would add, though, that a benefit could be that someone who views my site with Instant Preview and subsequently clicks onto it could be viewed as being more likely to make a purchase as they have made more of a conscious decision to view my page. This may sort the browsers from the purchasers.
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