The Oppportunities of Google Instant Search?

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If they’re talking about Google changes on the radio, it’s got to be big! The new update, ‘Instant’, is essentially the introduction of on-the-fly search results. Such a major change will have an impact on both SEO and PPC campaigns, not least because it now adds in extra steps to a search query.

What percentage of internet users spell their first search query correctly? I think this is a very important point. The introduction of on-the-fly results means that the first search is massively important. Let’s face it, people can’t spell. We misspell things all the time, yet if the search result is correct we’ll click it anyway (and why not)! So does this open up a massive opportunity (yes the title is deliberate) for misspelled keywords, given that:

1. A user is typically only going to make one search, even if amended several times along the way.
2. We can’t spell.
3. One wrong character can completely transform a query.

I’ll expand on the third point because this is the one I’m interested in. I’m also assuming that suggested search results are ignored, and asking that you open your mind a little to other search examples. This example is flawed because it’s too commonplace already, but think creatively. Say I’m looking for a ‘used Porsche 911′ – the search has three elements that can’t be affected by Instant, or will probably lose out. The first being the word ‘used’. It’s simply far too vague for it to have any impact on my search. The chances of Google suggesting ‘Porsche’ as an extension is far-fetched. The last part, ’911′ is relevant in terms of the series/models I’m interested in, but crippled by the fact that it’s the last word. There’s a whole bunch of other SERP results ahead of it to compete with. Unless suggested search is kind, we can maybe assume that the user will actually never get to the point of typing the full search term without first clicking on a result they see.

‘Porsche’, however, is interesting. It’s the first specific element of the search that will define the results into something I care about. Of course I’d probably have to get to ‘Pors’ before I start becoming interested in what I’m seeing. After all, ‘Used Por’ might bring up porcelain plates or something way off what I’m after. How about if we went with a ‘H’ next, making our query ‘Used Porshe’. Phonetically it sounds correct and, unless you’re aware of the brand, there’s no obvious reasons why you wouldn’t go along with it.

At this point our search is completely transformed from logically delivering results for ‘Porsche’, to another subset of results for ‘Porshe’, whatever those may be. Yet if we were to optimise for this misspelling we’d have more opportunity to capture that user mid-query, reducing the chances of them clicking the suggested corrected spelling if it were a static search. Ultimately this update is designed to speed things up even more. We’re practically going to be making impulsive choices when searching, purely because of the amount of information thrown at us whilst we search. Instead of humbly correcting our search after we hit enter (and see that it’s wrong), we’ll be fixated on this moving, real-time, dancing results section. Anything that is remotely what I’m after as an amateur user will be enough to earn my click.

It’s my feeling that misspellings and, in particular, early character repetition (ammerica, shooes or hollidays) will see increased success and traffic spikes. Linguistically there is a huge gap that Google couldn’t possibly have accounted for. Words change so drastically with just one wrong character that it would take a monumental effort to translate that into an algorithm that predicted the right result. Yet as people we’re able to hone in on words that are susceptible to being misspelled, and we can make assumptions based on our real-world experiences as to what that user might be searching for. SEOs have been targeting misspelt words for years, it’s nothing new. The difference is that we’re now rushed in our decision-making process. Even with the “improved spelling correction” as mentioned by Google, I can see further opportunities particularly in the more niche stuff that is unlikely to be accounted for as intelligently.

Only time will tell, I guess!

Tagged as: Google Instant