Google Instant released today which I believe will be making some major changes in the way consumers search online. What this allows is for people using the search engine giant to begin the search process while you type in the term you are searching for. No longer to you have to type in the entire phrase and then wait for it to bring you back results. Because of this, I think there will be some major changes coming in the way keywords are determined for your website.
First, the Longtail Shift
Longtail Keywords have been a major player in the success of so many websites over the past few years. People have been able to generate large sums of business by skipping the major terms and focusing on all the other things applicable to their business. By doing this, you were able to rank well on specific keywords and get those people first and foremost. The quality of these leads are great and more likely to turn into a transaction. But, with the implementation of Google Instant, I think this will begin to shift. People will no longer take the time to type in longer terms like before. From playing with Google Instant most of the morning I found that after the first 3-4 words of a search term I was normally able to find something that fit what I was looking for. So the number of people doing 6-10 word searches will begin to drop dramatically. This means 2 things:
1. We will need to start learning more condensed keywords to do instead. So if my keyword before was “how to tie a full windsor knot video,” I need to now focus on the term “How to Tie a.” because when you type those first four words, Google has already displayed multiple videos that will show you exactly what you wanted to learn.
2. The quality of those still doing the extra long search will be even stronger.
Bye Bye Plural Words
One of the terms that our business has been able to always rank well because of it being part of the name of our company is Social Media Advisors. We’ve dominated page one of the search engines since almost the inception of our website. But, now when someone goes to Google and starts to type that term, they will get all the results they would want by simply typing “social media advisor” and will get all the results they need. They don’t need to add the plural S anymore to find what they want. In fact, you could simply type social media advis and find the same results. For our company, we will now need to change some of our keywords to rank on better terms.
This means for sites, your keywords will need to be updated. If you are in the real estate industry for example, you no longer need to fight to rank on terms like Myrtle Beach Homes, or Myrtle Beach Houses you can now focus on just Myrtle Beach Home and other singular terms. If you are some of the early adopters to these new sets of keywords you will be able to get established on the singular terms before others realize the change.
The Art of Typos
This SEO tip has been around for a while, but with the implementation of Google Instant, it becomes even more important. How many times have you made a typo when entering a search term in Google? If you are anything like me, it happens probably multiple times each day. Since the new search engine will auto-fill results without needing to correct the typos. So, while it may seem a little crazy to do, but focusing once in a while on typo keywords could bring you massive amounts of traffic with Google Instant.
Your competitors won’t be able to understand how your business is doing so well while they are struggling. All because you did a few simple typo error terms that are showing up ahead of them in the search engines. It’s a great source of traffic and can be an even great source of revenue!
So now that Google Instant has been released, it is time to revisit your keyword research for your site’s search engine optimization and figure out what the newest things we should focus on. As always, if you need our services to assist you with the search engine optimization of your site, you can contact us if you need help with your social media needs.
Photo Credit: Change Coming
Jeremy,
I could not agree with you more. I have played with the GI now for several hours running long tail and short keywords to see how things stack. And I think that this will represent a fundamental change in the usage of long-tail keywords.
I also think that this is going to flex much harder on the use of key terms and content. But, thats another blog post….
Awesome post, dude!
Thanks Clint! I think if they can get consumers using it, the way things are done are on a path for major changes!
ARG! Just when you think you know the rules, they go and change the game on ya! I’m just beginning in real estate and working hard on trying to understand all of the SEO stuff. It really seems like a tough nut to crack and understand. My gramma was right – you never stop learning!
Great post, Jeremy. Thanks for the info!
For me, your first point about long-tail keywords is absolutely correct. I will keep an eye on my long tail results and will be amazed if they are not negatively impacted.
Looks like the SEO game has just changed again 🙂
Thanks for an extremely useful post, Jeremy.
Emmy- SEO is an ever changing game. As long as there is new technology & spammers in the world, there will be changes that happen to the way we do SEO.
No problem Jim! I think if consumers can adjust to the new search engine and don’t instantly turn it off, we could see some major changes in SEO VERY soon.
Awesome post Jeremy. This will definitely change the playing field. in the infamous words of GI JOE, “Knowing is half the battle”.
So very true Ted, so very true…
Hi Jeremy – good topic and I agree for the most part on some more of the popular searches but the instant search is still not up to par for many localized type searches. For example I tested this intending to search for “2 bedroom condos in Pismo Beach” and the instant search tried giving me results in myrtle beach, destin fl, etc. I had to keep typing until I typed “2 bedroom condos in Pismo” in order for me to get the results I wanted. So until instant search can predict what location I am wanting, I think a lot of the Real Estate long tail will still apply.
Another example “size 9 womens black boots” didn’t come close to pulling up what I wanted as I was typing until I starting typing the word boots. Interesting enough though, the second and third time I performed the search, Google displayed more relevant results when typing just “size 9 womens” so it seems as though the instant search also takes into account previous searches. That didn’t happen with the Pismo Beach condo search through. No matter how many times I type that search, I am still presented with myrtle beach and destin fl. I guess Google really wants me to move to SC or FL :). I am sure Google will improve this overtime though.
One of the things I like about instant search though is all of the other possibilities it gives you around a search. I think paying attention to the other options it gives you in that dropdown and optimizing for those can have a positive impact on your SEO and traffic you can obtain from targeting those other options.
I hope you write more about this topic and the results you are seeing from it. I agree it is a game changer if it sticks.
Thanks for the help, Jeremy, in trying to understand what the new version of Google is going to do to all of our SEO efforts. It seems like there will be little change since , as writer Misty says, Google can’t predict things for long tail keywords. Hope it keeps playing out like that because then I won’t have to change much.
Some good insights Misty! I too have noticed that it is a little geo-located and also learns the more you search things. A group of us were trying it with our names. While it would take me 8 letters for some people, others would take only 4 for the same name.
Google is getting too smart!
Awesome research! You really stay on top of the tech tools… Love it!
Is this like what the google toolbar has been doing for the last few years, just as a whole for google in general?
It’s actually a little different Tom as this way it is showing the results also as you type. No more having to press enter on the keyboard.