End of longtails? Is google instant going to kill all small players?

65 replies
  • SEO
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As some of you noticed, Google came out with a new search enhancement that shows results as you type called Google Instant.

From what I see it might really kill the businesses of the small/mid range online marketing players.

For example, if a site targeting " supplements for woman" keyphrase and he gets his result after writing only 4-5 lettters of typing "supple" why would he keep searching for the long term?

Means what?

IMO, what will happen is that only the strong authority sites that can target the main keywords will succeed in getting to the targeted searchers.

People in nature are lazy and will prefer getting to their target as fast as possible.

in the other hand, it can open some new opportunities on targeting parts of searches and key phrases.

What do you think?
#end #google #instant #kill #longtails #players #small
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
    You're very right here! We can only hope they are not signed in to Google. I think I might need to re evaluate my niche marketing model
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

      You're very right here! We can only hope they are not signed in to Google. I think I might need to re evaluate my niche marketing model
      You don't have to be signed in to Google for this to work...

      I just tested it, and it works even though I am not logged in...

      It may not be the killer you expect...

      Google Toolbar has been using this technology for more than a year...

      When using the toolbar, sometimes I take the suggested keywords, sometimes I don't... And interestingly, it will identify other keyword combos I would never had thought to use...

      p.s. For those deliberately using long-tail keywords to search, will not usually find the suggestions they want in the list... Google Instant only provides suggestions for up to 4 search words....
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        More to do about nothing.

        Just worry about ranking for the keywords YOU are targeting.


        The rest will take care of itself.
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      • Profile picture of the author My4HWW
        Originally Posted by tpw View Post


        Google Toolbar has been using this technology for more than a year...

        When using the toolbar, sometimes I take the suggested keywords, sometimes I don't... And interestingly, it will identify other keyword combos I would never had thought to use...

        p.s. For those deliberately using long-tail keywords to search, will not usually find the suggestions they want in the list... Google Instant only provides suggestions for up to 4 search words....
        You're missing the point of Google Instant. Yes, Google's keyword suggestions have been around for a long time. Google Instant allows people to see the results while they are typing.

        I'm not concerned with suggested keywords. I'm concerned with the possibility that many users will see a relevant search result before they finish typing the long-tail keyword they were planning on typing.

        The long-tail keyword concern is explained here:

        Will Google Instant Kill Long-Tail Keywords for SEO? | My 4 Hour Workweek

        The good thing is, everyone will adapt, and hopefully this impact won't be as negative as it may seem initially. I just think we'll need to monitor keyword search data over the next couple of months and see if there are any material changes.
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        • Profile picture of the author tpw
          Originally Posted by My4HWW View Post

          You're missing the point of Google Instant. Yes, Google's keyword suggestions have been around for a long time. Google Instant allows people to see the results while they are typing.

          I'm not concerned with suggested keywords. I'm concerned with the possibility that many users will see a relevant search result before they finish typing the long-tail keyword they were planning on typing.

          The long-tail keyword concern is explained here:

          Will Google Instant Kill Long-Tail Keywords for SEO? | My 4 Hour Workweek

          The good thing is, everyone will adapt, and hopefully this impact won't be as negative as it may seem initially. I just think we'll need to monitor keyword search data over the next couple of months and see if there are any material changes.

          I guess I did miss that...

          Google certainly made a big splash in the news today with its implementation of “Google Instant,” a new Google search feature that instantly displays search results as you type your search query.

          I suppose the tool should be renamed to: Google Instant Panic for Marketers... LOL

          I still think it is much ado about nothing...
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      • Profile picture of the author cbpayne
        Originally Posted by tpw View Post

        You don't have to be signed in to Google for this to work...

        I just tested it, and it works even though I am not logged in...

        It may not be the killer you expect...

        Google Toolbar has been using this technology for more than a year...

        When using the toolbar, sometimes I take the suggested keywords, sometimes I don't... And interestingly, it will identify other keyword combos I would never had thought to use...

        p.s. For those deliberately using long-tail keywords to search, will not usually find the suggestions they want in the list... Google Instant only provides suggestions for up to 4 search words....
        Originally Posted by tpw View Post

        That is unclear...

        I have played with the search tool from a programming standpoint, and the search suggestions do not follow a clear search volume as a deciding factor in the order of suggestions given...
        You totally confused and need to go back to the drawing board! What you are describing is NOT Google Instant that was just released, but the search suggestion function that has been going for a long time.
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  • Profile picture of the author ButterflyGarden
    Interesting, I think there is a lot to be said for long tail, it allows people to drill down and find exactly what they are looking for, as the web becomes more cluttered its even more important.
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  • Profile picture of the author mystline
    This is really both a disadvantage and an advantage in the same package.

    Google creates these based on the most searched terms, getting your term to the top of these automatically generated questions will obviously need alot of different people searching specifically for your term.

    There are also several exceptions to this rule, I for one Google things directly in my browsers URL bar (Both in firefox and chrome) so this auto complete tool doesn't apply to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    I think you are right too.

    Just did some testing ...

    If you are optimised for "How To Lose Weight Quick" you will lose out as Google instant brings up "How To Lose Weight Fast"

    Whilst I appreciate that Google is trying to improve its service to site visitors surely it is killing a lot of its Adwords clients for example.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author AshleyBolivar
    I agree to a point. But you have to remember that you will still have some that will type out their whole keyword phrase.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nail Yener
    Are you talking about search suggestions?
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    • Originally Posted by ademmeda View Post

      Are you talking about search suggestions?
      Check out the link in the original post
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      • Profile picture of the author Nail Yener
        Originally Posted by Shlomi Khutoretsky View Post

        Check out the link in the original post
        I checked the link but I cannot see anything new. There is a try now button but it directs to google homepage. And the search is like what it was before. Am I missing something?
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        • Originally Posted by ademmeda View Post

          I checked the link but I cannot see anything new. There is a try now button but it directs to google homepage. And the search is like what it was before. Am I missing something?
          Check it on Google.com USA, my local search does not have it as well. you can use the Google global addon for Firefox to do it
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        • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
          Originally Posted by ademmeda View Post

          I checked the link but I cannot see anything new. There is a try now button but it directs to google homepage. And the search is like what it was before. Am I missing something?
          Basically, it changes the search results as you type. So if you typed in Warrior Forum for a search you would get, as you typed, results for war, then warrior, then warrior for, and then warrior forum.

          If you're a fast typist, what you mostly get is an annoying flicker.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ldimilo
    I can't remember where I read it but there was a study that showed that over half of google searches are searches using unique phrases. Personally, I don't think it will matter much as it still doesn't stop people who are refining their search as they move through the research funnel.

    For example- My wife's grandmother is about to have surgery on her bladder. She wanted to research the surgery...

    It started with bladder surgery...
    It moved to "tacking a bladder"...
    which moved to complications from tacking a bladder
    which moved to risks associated with tacking a bladder....

    Do you see where I am going here?

    Google may be able to predict general phrases that are common but most of the time, people are going to hone their search from general to more specific.
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    • Originally Posted by Ldimilo View Post

      I can't remember where I read it but there was a study that showed that over half of google searches are searches using unique phrases. Personally, I don't think it will matter much as it still doesn't stop people who are refining their search as they move through the research funnel.

      For example- My wife's grandmother is about to have surgery on her bladder. She wanted to research the surgery...

      It started with bladder surgery...
      It moved to "tacking a bladder"...
      which moved to complications from tacking a bladder
      which moved to risks associated with tacking a bladder....

      Do you see where I am going here?

      Google may be able to predict general phrases that are common but most of the time, people are going to hone their search from general to more specific.
      That is true, people will still keep refining their searches while going through the sales funnel, but many will just find their answers with the main keyword searches, or at least they'll think they found it.

      It might really change he game or not, i am not totally sure about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Apolinaria
    i guess you just have to be clever here and understand the way google operates as its still a machine....whilst we are humans....it doesnt judge it scans
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  • Profile picture of the author iamchrisgreen
    Hmmmm

    In the case of "How To Lose Weight Quick" V "How To Lose Weight Fast", how does google know which one to highlight?

    Is it in the search volume of that particular term?
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    • Profile picture of the author Ldimilo
      Originally Posted by freelance4money View Post

      Hmmmm

      In the case of "How To Lose Weight Quick" V "How To Lose Weight Fast", how does google know which one to highlight?

      Is it in the search volume of that particular term?
      Yeah, typically the more popular the search, the higher it will be....but you have to remember that google will give them a few options to choose, not just one and even then they may continue typing their search result.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by freelance4money View Post

      Hmmmm

      In the case of "How To Lose Weight Quick" V "How To Lose Weight Fast", how does google know which one to highlight?

      Is it in the search volume of that particular term?
      That is unclear...

      I have played with the search tool from a programming standpoint, and the search suggestions do not follow a clear search volume as a deciding factor in the order of suggestions given...
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      I think Google may have outsmarted themselves with this one. I see it having a negative impact on their earnings and search result quality and diversity unless they make significant adjustments. For example, I was searching for some medical info this morning and it was getting in the way more than helping.

      It may not be their "Bob" but they're certainly due for one. That's just the kind of thing that happens when you get a bunch of really smart but consumer clueless people together on a project.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        Originally Posted by bgmacaw View Post

        I think Google may have outsmarted themselves with this one. I see it having a negative impact on their earnings and search result quality and diversity unless they make significant adjustments. For example, I was searching for some medical info this morning and it was getting in the way more than helping.

        It may not be their "Bob" but they're certainly due for one. That's just the kind of thing that happens when you get a bunch of really smart but consumer clueless people together on a project.
        LOL! How many times has MS jumped the shark? Google has been smart enough
        to ditch things quick and move on.

        It does get in the way for "experienced" searchers. What is the percentage of
        experienced to novice?

        Google instant is very related to search suggestions. You instantly see results
        of the top search suggestion. Search results with every letter! You can't separate them
        unless you turn it off.

        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    How annoying would this concept be offline?

    Think about it for a moment.

    Imagine walking into a hardware (looking for a square drainage downpipe attachment) and at every point the salesperson interrupts you like so...

    ME "Hi Im looking for a ..square"

    Salesperson "Square Bracket, Square Lever, Square Attachment????"

    ME "No Im looking for a Square drainage.."

    Salesperson "Square drainage ratchet, square drainage screws, square drainage filtering kit?????"

    ME "No, wait, I want a ..."

    The continual interruption would drive you to the point of walking out. I see this as a distraction for searchers. Let them type in their request, THEN filter as necessary.

    Trying to guide someone along as they go is just annoying.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      How annoying would this concept be offline?

      Think about it for a moment.

      Imagine walking into a hardware (looking for a square drainage downpipe attachment) and at every point the salesperson interrupts you like so...

      ME "Hi Im looking for a ..square"

      Salesperson "Square Bracket, Square Lever, Square Attachment????"

      ME "No Im looking for a Square drainage.."

      Salesperson "Square drainage ratchet, square drainage screws, square drainage filtering kit?????"

      ME "No, wait, I want a ..."

      The continual interruption would drive you to the point of walking out. I see this as a distraction for searchers. Let them type in their request, THEN filter as necessary.

      Trying to guide someone along as they go is just annoying.

      That reminds me of that Bing commercial on TV...

      LOL

      p.s. The Google Instant is also being discussed here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...different.html
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      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Ayres
      I think that is really funny



      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      How annoying would this concept be offline?

      Think about it for a moment.

      Imagine walking into a hardware (looking for a square drainage downpipe attachment) and at every point the salesperson interrupts you like so...

      ME "Hi Im looking for a ..square"

      Salesperson "Square Bracket, Square Lever, Square Attachment????"

      ME "No Im looking for a Square drainage.."

      Salesperson "Square drainage ratchet, square drainage screws, square drainage filtering kit?????"

      ME "No, wait, I want a ..."

      The continual interruption would drive you to the point of walking out. I see this as a distraction for searchers. Let them type in their request, THEN filter as necessary.

      Trying to guide someone along as they go is just annoying.
      Signature

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      • Profile picture of the author Amber Jalink
        You can also simply turn it off....

        When you look beside the "search" button, it says in small letters,

        "Instant is on"

        Simply select the drop down and change it to "Off".

        One of the Google execs who was showing this off at a show yesterday admitted that they could see a lot of people WERE turning it off.

        So while it's a new feature, if people don't use it, they'll phase it back out like they have other things.

        It's simple ajax loading the results in the page vs. hitting the search button... but yeah, it was a little irritating yesterday when totally irrelevant things kept coming up.

        Ramone_johnny - loved the analogy LOL

        Amber
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    • Profile picture of the author Marhelper
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      How annoying would this concept be offline?

      Think about it for a moment.

      Imagine walking into a hardware (looking for a square drainage downpipe attachment) and at every point the salesperson interrupts you like so...

      ME "Hi Im looking for a ..square"

      Salesperson "Square Bracket, Square Lever, Square Attachment????"

      ME "No Im looking for a Square drainage.."

      Salesperson "Square drainage ratchet, square drainage screws, square drainage filtering kit?????"

      ME "No, wait, I want a ..."

      The continual interruption would drive you to the point of walking out. I see this as a distraction for searchers. Let them type in their request, THEN filter as necessary.

      Trying to guide someone along as they go is just annoying.


      I agree. I think it is overkill. Google has a habit of pushing things too far at times. There is no need for this IMO and I would not worry about going after long tails but hey if many do then it leaves more open for me ...
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    If you are targeting very generic terms, this might indeed hurt you if you can't compete with the heavyweights.

    On the other hand, it could help people reach you more quickly as they refine their search on the fly. By quickly scanning the results for the partial query, they could land on your long tail KW quicker than they did before.

    Only time will tell for sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author christopher jon
    much ado about nothing

    if all else fails, use it to figure out what keywords and phrases you should be targeting.
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    • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
      My initial feeling is that the effect will be minimal. People are probably not going to spend a whole lot of time looking at the search results before they're finished typing, I suspect. I know for me it's just a vaguely annoying thing going on while I type.

      It's probably going to have less effect than the search suggestions.
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  • Profile picture of the author kenomen
    Oh, no! This is the end of Internet Marketing, once again.....
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ellis
    I really don't think this will have much an impact, if any. SEO will still play the same role as to what is presented for the given keywords. Sure, shortening the keyword will result in different pages in the SERPs, but that doesn't mean they are relevant to what the user wants.

    However, this should be a motivator to start to look for alternative ways to drive traffic to your site. Putting all your eggs in the Google/SEO basket will surely bite you in the rump sooner or later.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Actually, come to think of it, wont this have a potentially negative affect on PPC advertisers, as their impressions will go through the roof, and inturn their CTR will fall?????
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  • Profile picture of the author nossie
    Look, with this change MUCH MORE longtail keywords are being used by searchers.

    Why? People that planned to use a broad keyword are now encouraged to use a longtail more specific search.

    1) searchers are searching more targeted
    2) adword ads targeted to longtail keywords will get more traffic
    3) they make more money
    4) google makes more money

    PROFITSSSSSSSSSS

    Only for the small marketer, yes we have to change and adapt. But i think it wont have such a high impact. People that had something in mind will type that anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Conveniently enough, when you type in "google instant sucks" Google suddenly has absolutely no idea what you are asking for!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Also, you watch the search volume figures in the keyword tool become seriously over inflated!
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  • I wonder why the thread been moved from the main forum?
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  • Profile picture of the author TristanPerry
    I think it's too early to tell. It could even be the opposite.

    This new system makes it very easy for users to 'dig deeper' when querying. This is because whatever you type, longer keyword suggestions will come up. And not everyone will, although I imagine that - over time - people will start digging deeper with their searches (which might *benefit* long tails)

    Matt Cutts given an example on his blog of how he was searching for information via a 2-3 word keyword, but ended up following the suggestions to a long-tail search.

    If anything, I think that this will harm the CTRs for more popular terms.

    Heck, if you type in "adobe photoshop cs5", Google instantly suggests the following:

    adobe photoshop cs5 serial
    adobe photoshop cs5 keygen
    adobe photoshop cs5 torrent
    adobe photoshop cs5 serial number

    I wonder whether this new system will make it easier for people to press the down arrow once and see thousands of illegal ways to get CS5 instead...

    In-short, I wouldn't worry just yet. Who knows how it will play out? I personally think it'll harm companies who rank high for shorter keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author noobjackson
    Well this may just be me...but even with google instant on, before I even get to google I already know exactly what im gonna type in the search, so even when crap is popping up i still finish what i planned to type. Same results. Not to threatened by this, but we will see.
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  • Profile picture of the author FatKidLovesCake
    I like many others will type our main search terms still.

    Yes some people will lose traffic, others will gain traffic. That is just how it goes.

    I don't think this is worth stressing too much over.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Jackson
    This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen, it’s just absolutely absurd, who is going to spend time looking at all the results for what they are typing as they are actually doing it, which are changing not just word by word but letter by letter, most of which probably aren’t going to be relevant and worth analysing until you have finished typing what it is you are actually looking for. It’s as if it’s assuming that the last couple of words aren’t necessary to complete the search which in some cases may be true, but in the majority of cases probably isn’t, most the things that I search for all the words are necessary to find the most relevant results.

    It’s just silly, it will take much longer to analyze all these results it is showing than just to search for and analyze the results of what it is you are really looking for. It’s as if it’s assuming that we don’t know what it is we are looking for, well we do and only want to spend time looking at those results not every broad match or related term that we type before we finish, it looks like an idea to save time that will achieve just the opposite, the kind of thing a load of over qualified nerds have come up with thinking they are been super smart, when really they are over thinking and over complicating it. It’s a horrible distraction and it worked just fine the way it was, it’s complete over engineering. I for one are going to turn it off and hope others do the same, only then will Google realise what a rubbish idea it was.

    Just like the example of how ludicrous this would be in conversation and how much longer and more difficult it would make getting what you want if you were to engage with it, the same applies to internet search. My guess is that most these instant results often aren’t going to provide that much of value and people are going to just switch off to it and carry on searching how they normally do, in which case the only thing it will be providing is some horribly distracting white noise, like a strobe flickering in your eyes, that’s how it feels to me anyway, it just sends my eyes funny.

    They probably think they are reinventing the wheel, well to me they have just turned it into an octagon, it worked smoothly and efficiently as it was. Just because you have the technology to do something doesn’t mean you should. I really hope people stand up to them on this and they realise how crap it is.

    What’s more along with the may day slap, I see this as a further attempt of the big boys trying to drive the little boys out of business. They won’t be happy until we are all Borg. We are Google prepare to be assimilated. I don’t think this monopoly kind of situation is good for anybody, it’s too much power in the hands of too few, that can create or destroy far too easily. Bring back the days of alta vista, hot bot, lycos, ect and spread the power out a bit.

    My apologies for that little vent there, there aren’t many things like this that I feel that strongly about, but nothing has struck me as such a bad “improvement” in quite some time.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      It will separate the wannabes from the rest.

      People here have been preached at to build authority sites. To stop
      with the voodoo SEO and parlor tricks. To concentrate on doing things
      the way the big boys do and the way the big boys think.

      If it gets rid of that junk faster, more power to them.

      Anyone who relies even 50% for their traffic from google has had
      fair warning for a long, long time.

      Why do people equate small players with getting the shaft?
      Small players do not have to create junk sites. They don't have
      to rely on small player junk SEO.

      Has nothing to do with small players. Has to do with junk and spam.

      Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author divinity001
      Originally Posted by Steve Jackson View Post

      This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen, it's just absolutely absurd, who is going to spend the time looking at all the results for what they are typing which are changing not just word by word but letter by letter, most of which probably aren't going to be relevant and worth analysing until you have finished typing what it is you are actually looking for. It's as if it's assuming that the last couple of words aren't necessary to complete the search which in some cases may be true, but in the majority of cases probably isn't, most the things that I search for all the words are necessary to find the most relevant results.

      It's just silly, it will take much longer to analyze all these results it is showing than just to search for and analyze the results of what it is you are really looking for. It's as if it's assuming that we don't know what it is we are looking for, well we do and only want to spend time looking at those results not every broad match or related term that we type before we finish, it looks like an idea to save time that will achieve just the opposite, the kind of thing a load of over qualified nerds have come up with thinking they are been super smart, when really they are over thinking and over complicating it. It's a horrible distraction and it worked just fine the way it was, it's complete over engineering. I for one are going to turn it off and hope others do the same, only then will Google realise what a rubbish idea it was.

      Just like the example of how ludicrous this would be in conversation and how much longer and more difficult it would make getting what you want if you were to engage with it, the same applies to internet search. My guess is that most these instant results often aren't going to provide that much of value and people are going to just switch off to it and carry on searching how they normally do, in which case the only thing it will be providing is some horribly distracting white noise, like a strobe flickering in your eyes, that's how it feels to me anyway, it just sends my eyes funny.

      They probably think they are reinventing the wheel, well to me they have just turned it into an octagon, it worked smoothly and efficiently as it was. Just because you have the technology to do something doesn't mean you should. I really hope people stand up to them on this and they realise how crap it is.

      What's more along with the may day slap, I see this as a further attempt of the big boys trying to drive the little boys out of business. They won't be happy until we are all Borg. We are Google prepare to be assimilated. I don't think this monopoly kind of situation is good for anybody, it's too much power in the hands of too few, that can create or destroy far too easily. Bring back the days of alta vista, hot bot, lycos, ect and spread the power out a bit.

      My apologies for that little vent there, there aren't many things like this that I feel that strongly about, but nothing has struck me as such a bad "improvement" in quite some time.
      I absolutely agree. This was a stupid "improvement" by the big G.
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  • Profile picture of the author thetruth23
    Is this going to be a permanant change or do you think google is just testing it out? Ultimately, I suppose they will judge public reaction and act accordingly.

    Do you think it would help them decide quicker if we all just turned it off?

    Lets all do that shall we...
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    • Profile picture of the author fortony
      I agree with those who say this is a lot about nothing. I have been using a similar feature in google toolbar for a while. Sometimes I take the suggestions but others I do not.

      You really have to use longtail nowadays to filter to what you want. In the end, it will probably help some while hurting others but I doubt the overall effects will be great.
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  • Profile picture of the author moralde
    What it brings to their bottom line is the deciding point here. If their earnings takes even a slight dive due to this modification, I think they'll move like lightning to bring back the codes that worked right before.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad Callen
    Seems like it was almost done just because they could. But it's no surprise that people type in a broad term, see the results, and then make the term more specific. These AJAX driven results makes sense in that case, but it froze up for me once and it makes me feel like Google has taken too many liberties. I know what I want to see results for and I don't want to see anything broader than what I am searching for. Take them away! Opt O-U-T!
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  • Profile picture of the author miranon
    I think you are right, this is bad news for all longtail websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stormchaser
    First of all, excuse my faulty English.
    Now, it is clear enough G is trying to clear up non-profitable users (affiliates). I find Instant to be pretty retarded and probably annoying for most users. Sooner or later though, we'll have Instant2, Instant3 or whatever, and it'll be the end of 'affiliate' SEO as we know it. I think we should finally move to Bing.
    So...go big, or go home.

    User: 'Dude, where are my keys?"
    Google: 'They are on your table, you f***ing idiot'.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
    While I don't think it has to be a death knell those who are saying that its much ado about nothing don't understand the OP. He's talking long tail. By characteristic these get less searches per month. If even 20 percent of searchers for a term decide to go with a suggestion it does affect the strategy of targeting that particular phrase and if you have already invested in targeting it it certainly is not nothing.

    Got to agree with the post about building a real web presence though. In all these discussions about web traffic too often we forget about return traffic. You don't get that if you have some crappy PLR.autoblogging setup. Word of mouth and retrun traffic dampens the effects of any Google change.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Artful Surfer
      personally I think it's awful and I have turned it off.

      I think, however, if I was doing a research project on something for school it might help me. But most of the time I WANT to make up my own search phrases.

      What I don't like about this is how Google is starting to steer our minds! Not trying to be all conspiracy theory, but seriously, I don't like the direction this is taking. It's ripe for abuse. Like one poster said above, a lot of negative stuff pops up for certain search phrases. Torrent, keygen, crack, scam, blah blah. What if someone didn't know what a crack was? I'm sure Adobe and other software companies are really happy about that.

      Either way, not so sure this is going to fly very well.
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  • I don't think that long-term, this is going to be an issue. I think people will play around with this for a while since it's new to see what is being suggested. I did it when Google first started showing suggestions in a dropdown without showing instant results. But after a week or two, I rarely looked at the dropdown.

    I go to Google to find stuff or to find answers. I know what I'm after. I know how I think I can find it. So I type in a search phrase that I already have in mind. I'm not going to type 'e' and see what pops up.. then type 'm' to have 'em' and see what pops up... etc.

    I see this more as help for people who don't know how to spell something or don't know exactly how to find what they are looking for. But I'd be willing to bet that 95+% of the searches on the web are from people who know ahead of time how to find what they are looking for in which case, this product will not affect their search phrase or results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vcize
    There are clearly some people in this thread confusing Google Instant with Google Search Suggestions.

    I agree, google instant is really, really bad for longtail keywords. Even as someone that is in the business I am tempted to just start looking at the results after typing a couple words.
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  • Profile picture of the author backspace9
    I don't link this feature, I am going to be disabling it in the near future. Google Instant = ANNOYING..

    Anyone with me?
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    Hey Everyone

    I am a little guy compared to some of the big cheeses on this thread.

    But guess what I already figured out how to get a number one position on Google in hours using GI ... cant deny it might impact some of my existing sites but the future is looking bright as far as i am concerned

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author TheMarketingGuy
    I bet more than 75% of the people using Google don't really look at the screen while they're typing...
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  • Profile picture of the author Amod Oke
    Speed is actually what matters while searching on G (which is why G created this thing anyway), but dont you get it. Instant will kill itself. Yes, google wont remove it now, but its not going to be liked too much by people.

    Why?
    1) It's irritating that Google assumes what users want.
    2) "Suggestions" were fine, but "presuming what i want", takes my control away.
    3) Its not perfect. It will never be. There are gazillion words beginning with m-a-----

    Still i think this wont affect us affiliates or marketers. Why? Coz there are 2 types of people on G, one who know 'what' they want to see in the search, (for e.g. I wish to visit the Yamaha site, I just type y-a-m-a in Instant and yamaha's at the top and thats it)
    And the other half are searching for answers/reviews/info/detailed info (long-tail words)/etc. type of searches, and these people ARE going to type the entire phrase no matter what G brings up.

    How do i know that? Check it yourself. Go to G and pretend you are searching for something 'detailed' maybe say a manual for some particular widget, or some "particular site's" review of a product. You ARE going to type more than a-b-c-d.

    Peace,
    Amod
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  • Profile picture of the author kschmandt
    I have not messed with Google Instant much as my satellite connection is to slow for it. I wonder though...will it bring up "longtail" results sooner? Isn't the idea behind instant that it produces results based on what it thinks you want? So if it figures out that you want info on "risks associated with tacking a bladder" when you have only typed "bladder ris" I would assume that there is a chance that the little guy with the long tail keyword placement might get found.

    I am no expert on SEO but I would guess that someone will figure out a way to exploit Google Instant and we will be seeing another info product within a few months
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    I am expecting to see a negative impact on some keywords however my tests have already shown me there are opportunites as well ... I discovered a keyword using it and got an immediate number on position on a phrase with 5400 global search per month.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    My testing has shown me that there are some new opportunities as well ... I have already seen a great result!
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  • Profile picture of the author David Bleidt
    Nice to see that you guys test this new feature too.
    I also figured out new ways to handle Google Instant and I see some benefits due to it. We have to be patient and see what will happen.

    Reptor
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  • Profile picture of the author seoforu
    I agree long tails keywords are gone.
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  • Profile picture of the author JackPowers
    Google Instant sucks! The screen constantly updating and flickering, makes you want to get away from the Google search page as fast as possible. Why the heck does Google think I want to see suggestions for 10 different things before I type out my query? Very annoying and I really hope they will rework it or remove it.

    From an SEO view, this is bad news for lots of smaller sites, but not unexpected. Google has been showing their intent for some time now with the Mayday and Caffeine updates that they will focus more on domain authority and trust for long tail phrase.

    This update is going to make it more difficult. A lot more people are going to go after the big keywords to capture that 'suggestion' traffic.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Bleidt
      Originally Posted by JackPowers View Post

      Google Instant sucks! The screen constantly updating and flickering, makes you want to get away from the Google search page as fast as possible. Why the heck does Google think I want to see suggestions for 10 different things before I type out my query? Very annoying and I really hope they will rework it or remove it.
      I don't think they will remove it because I already many people like this new feature. Of course it will change something to IM but I don't think it will be much. I took the time and wrote an eBook and I am giving it away for free. Maybe you will read some interesting infos there.

      Last but not least I think we all have to live with this new feature and try to do the best out of the situation. Let's see what the future will be.

      Reptor
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