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The advent of Google’s instant search facility has sent shudders through to the core of the online marketing industry. Proponents of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – a key tool in the quest to push websites into the higher echelons of the keyword search results pages – are facing up to the most serious challenge to their livelihood in years. Will SEO disappear from the marketers toolbox? Well, opinions are divided…

The economists claim that when America sneezes the world catches cold, the same can be said for the influence Google harnesses on the online world. Such is the power of the world’s leading search engine, that even a minor change in the way plies its trade can make or break an online business.

And this is no minor change. The advent of instant search enables users to dramatically reduce the time spent on each search. Indeed Google claims that the system will save between two to five seconds per search, factor in Google’s global usage figures and hey presto, 11 hours saved every second.

Whereas the traditional search engine responds to a list of keywords typed into a search box, the new system responds to each letter as it is typed, providing a list of results determined by what the system predicts the user is searching. It is designed to tell users what they are looking for before they have even finished typing.

Impressive? Without doubt. But what right has Google to control our thoughts? The user is a savvy being, if a search is being made for a specific keyword or phrase, is the list of unrelated results displayed en route to the end result really going to have an impact? If this is the case, the impact upon the SEO titling of a specific term should be minimal. Add to this that a large proportion of Google users search via the Google navigation bar and not the homepage so bypassing the instant search feature, and what emerges is a lessening of impact.

Marketing guys, take a breath!

Indeed, the new system may move the SEO bar but fall short of completely dislodging it. With users now being given the luxury of refining searches on the go, the searches could become longer and more specific, a SEO marketers dream. More onus is also going to be placed on breaking into the top three or four rankings as users are less inclined to scroll down the page while typing.

• Global Web Edit offers a full range of online marketing solutions, from search engine optimization right through to pay-per-click campaigns. For more information please contact us.

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