Google Instant and how it can help your SEO efforts

Google Instant is a new service rolled out to Australian searchers as of this month. It looks at what you are typing into the Google search box and begins to guess what it is you are looking for. A month a go we were all talking about the Google ‘caffeine’ update – I am guessing Google have a coffee thing going on currently but that is besides the point.

Google instant is fascinating for two distinct reasons.

One - it is highly amusing. Try typing in ‘how to’ and see what you get. Perhaps even go a bit further and egg on the text with some extra words like ‘have’ and ‘do’. The results will astound you and act for a good a laugh when thoroughly bored.

The second reason is much more interesting. It has opened a small peak hole into the Google algorithm and some of its most searched for phrases. It gives you an understanding of how people search, how they speak and in turn what you can do to alter your chances of connecting with these searchers.

These pre-empted search strings can really help when trying to populate a list of keywords to further research. For instance, a web design company may type in ‘web design’ and put a space after design. This will then prompt Google to look for further searches and provide a list of popular phrases to note down for long tail searches.