Google Is Saying Good-bye To Google Instant

Are you mourning the loss of Google Instant or rejoicing in its departure?

Google recently announced its goodbye to the feature that’s been suggesting search phrases since 2010, and the response has been a mixed bag. For consumers, its disappearance hasn’t been particularly missed. However, marketers realized long ago that any Google change means new things to learn.

Here’s what you need to know about Google Instant’s elimination and what it means for digital marketing’s future:

Why Google Killed Google Instant

Google Instant was introduced to save time by displaying relevant results as you typed your search. This was back when the desktop was still king of devices.

Fast forward to today, where more searches are being performed on mobile devices rather than their desktop counterparts. On the technical side, mobile search requires a different structure to satisfy screen constraints and input methods. These two factors ultimately decided Google Instant’s fate.

Truthfully, the change went largely unnoticed by casual searchers. But its disappearance has created a slight hubbub among marketers regarding the future of search.

What does this change mean for future SEO?

How will marketers up their keyword research game?

Google has spoken, and there’s no going back. Which means marketers will either need to adapt or get left behind. Take a look at what other changes could stem from the death of Google Instant:

Keyword Research Will Become More Creative

• If you’ve relied on Google Instant to keep your website at the top of the search results, you aren’t alone. Digital marketers discovered they could discover new keywords and key phrases via the suggestions Google delivered as they typed their search.

• Before the departure of Google Instant, Google would display up to 10 suggestions as users would type their search. On the consumer side, this helped save time by allowing the user to click the suggestion that best related to their request.

These suggestions helped shape keyword usage because searchers weren’t always using their own word choices to complete their request.

However, these suggestions haven’t completely gone the way of the buffalo. Google still displays three suggestions (as opposed to 10), but these new limitations will have many marketers seeking other ways to obtain quality keywords.

Mobile Search Gets a Boost

Google Instant was never introduced to mobile search. Instead, people using Google on mobile devices had to rely on their own verbiage to get results.

In addition, the rise of voice search has shown an increase in natural language searches. This adds a new layer of complexity to search compatibility for marketers that won’t be shrinking anytime soon.

Google launched a mobile-friendly update a couple years ago, and is continuing its efforts to bring a better mobile experience to its users.

Because of the rise of the mobile device, Google has decided to focus their efforts on harmonizing search capabilities. As a result, users can expect a more fluid search experience between devices to get faster, more relevant results.