26 instant hot spots on Google

Google released its new instant search functionality today and while debate will rage about its usability and impact on the search industry, there is little doubt Google isn’t stupid enough to roll out a change to its core product (note core – not like wave which was a new product) without thinking through all the implications.

Fact: For website owners; top positions on Google matter. Organic, Paid, Places and / or any combination of Universal spots that get you above the fold into the primary spots make all the difference.

As Google (and other search properties) have evolved, the top spots in each iteration have had an impact, and influenced usage, as well as optimisation techniques. Instant will be the same.

It is feasible that we will see fewer ‘obscure phrases’ showing up in your site statistics given users will be promoted to select from pre-determined results, and that those phrases are potentially going to concentrate onto  core phrases, as they become self fuelling, especially if they are, as touted, derived from search volumes. Logic dictates that phrases users use more often will get more ‘instant visibility’ and thus more traffic over time and obscure ones won’t get the same ‘instant real visibility’.  Said phrases will get put in front of more users more often… thus self fuelling.

Also it is highly probable results will move away from misspellings having the same value.

Auto fixing the mis-spellings

Try typing in Cheap Flights but start with typical poor Darryl typing:

Cehap returns an immediate fix to Cheap (they have a Darryl corrector), and before you even get to type flights it is already part of the suggested queries. The results on page come from the first item in the list not the misspelling.  Naturally, users will automatically select the correct version and be shown matches for the correct spelling without having to land on a result page that could be targeted for the spelling errors. This in itself will impact on campaigns and how they are run.

One thing is for sure – top spots in Instant search will have their own value.

Look at the result for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet to see how powerful online brand spots can be in such a search query.

Very US focused of course – let’s see if they get very local.

Yes I know users rarely search for single letters, but the value in those spots doesn’t go away. And it wouldn’t be the first time we see user behaviour influenced by the technology itself.

Can you see value in being number one for that letter or particular letter combinations? Ok, but what about powerful word combinations? How much do these results favour brands more than simple search phrases, but also how much more powerful does your optimisation become if you can put your brand into a key result for an instant search result?

Could / would those spots become a tradable commodity for Google in the future? What price would your brand pay for them? What type of traffic would they drive?

How will your optimisation work on receiving the best results from instant search?

I don’t know what all the end results will be but I can see some interesting data is going to start filtering through as this starts reaching more people.

Well that’s what ireckon anyway!