While reading Harry McCracken’s rather insightful article on Google Instant on PCWorld, I was reminded once again of how narrowly focused my own thinking regarding Google has become. I keep forgetting that not everyone likes SEO or internet marketing (lucky dogs), and that Google search has a role outside of SEO.

I keep forgetting that the general public actually uses Google to search online—there are millions of web users who have been using Google Instant to find out the weather, Lady Gaga’s latest outfit, or which flat-screen HDTV to buy. Of course, I know this is the actual role of Google, but if you’re a full-time search engine marketer, your perspective is solidly aligned with all the elements of SEO: keyword rankings, link building, and website placement. content on the most dominant sites. search engine in the world.

Basically, you’ll be more concerned with how Google Instant will impact your top keyword rankings, your click-through rates, and most importantly, what effect will it have on your sales and conversion rates? More specifically, how does this instant search affect the display of your listings on Google and what are the long-term ramifications this instant “real time” display will have on your online marketing?

There are even some so-called experts who say that Google Instant will be the end of SEO. This is a pretty silly notion as the underlying structure of using optimized strategies to get top rankings on Google or any other search engine hasn’t changed. We still have the emphasis on quality content, high quality backlinks, and on-page ranking factors.

In the background nothing has changed, in the foreground everything has changed. Well a little bit.

Google Instant is a game changer for online sellers simply because it changes “How” their listings are displayed. Not only is faster speed a factor, but Google is guessing or rather dictating what the surfer is looking for, so Google’s influence on what is displayed has increased 10-fold. They are displaying results not just based on on rankings, but also on what their data tells them you’re looking for. Only Google knows what role this other collected data and web user histories play in these suggestions, but for the online marketer all of this is concerning.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, has said, “Never underestimate the power of fast. Fast, fast, fast: we want to help you right now…we can understand things like what you really meant.”

Only time will tell what effect this “jumping the gun” or “making a decision for you” will have on Internet marketing. The lasting effect of Google imposing its results on the web search engine will undoubtedly have a strong impact on web marketing. Getting those first suggestions when a web surfer types just one or two letters… will become the real money maker in terms of online traffic and sales.

Those companies and products that appear first will gain in market share and prominence, but hasn’t it always been like this when getting those top keyword rankings in Google? Yes, but now Google is giving the searcher options and planting seeds/suggestions, which Google has done in the past but not at this speed and to this extent. The implications for online marketing could be huge, assuming of course that web surfers actually use this feature because Google gives users the option to turn off instant search. In our fast-paced, fast-paced world, you’d think web browsers wouldn’t disable this feature, though if your internet connection is too slow, Google will automatically disable instant search for you.

From a marketing standpoint, webmasters now need to take into account Google’s rapidly appearing keyword suggestions and target them in their SEO efforts. Analyzing and targeting which Google keyword phrases are showing in your niche will be vital to capturing the most traffic. Browsers will click on Google suggestions to find what they are looking for on the web. Getting top rankings for those 4-5 suggestions will be important if an online marketer or webmaster wants to cover/gobble up all the search territory in their niche. Whether you actually target these keywords would really be determined by their likelihood of commercial intent, which can be discovered using Microsoft’s Adcenter Laps ( http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/ ) and, of course, the amount of traffic. each keyword gets each month. (Try here: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal).

Another area of ​​concern has to do with the shrinking space for organic listings in the new Google Instant interface. With the dropdown menu and depending on the number of paid ads shown, there may only be space for 3 ads instead of 5 or more on the top half of the page. Keep in mind that we’re mostly talking about lucrative keyword phrases that will usually also have three paid AdWords listings where organic search results previously showed. Search engines are lazy, they probably won’t scroll down, especially if they see different listings pop up as they narrow their search. So your SEO has probably gotten a lot more difficult as you will now have to target the top 3 spots, thanks to Google.

Of course, online marketers know that the real gold is in the long-tail keyword phrases that surfers use to find what they’re looking for on the web. Google Instant could possibly wreak havoc on this whole process because before the searcher finishes typing the 4 or even 5 word long phrases, they would be exposed to maybe 4 or 5 pages of Google listings… chances are good that the searchers click on one of these listings before they finish typing, especially if the listing contains part of the search phrase.

Marketers will need to take a close look at their own web statistics and conversion rates regarding Google Instant. I see little change in my own online marketing…traffic is down on some sites and up on others, signup rates are up, and sales are flat. What really worries me is the fact that Google may not only be biasing your rankings but also your mind. They play a much bigger role in how you decide which listing you click on. Of course, this is probably drawn from unbiased data, but will the influence of top brand companies be more dominant in Google’s instant results?

Another general concern, will displaying so many listings make it difficult for your site or page to be clicked on? Will giving the searcher so many options so quickly reduce your chances of getting that click, even if you have the top spot on Google? The laws of probability and human nature say that your chances have diminished a bit in this new environment of instant search. Not good news if your livelihood depends on getting that click.

However, many of these changes, and no matter how quickly Google gives you its search results, will not change the fundamental principles of good SEO practices. Keyword rankings will still get you to the number one spot on Google for your chosen phrase if you have the time and resources to create quality content, create quality one-way backlinks, and use good on-page optimization. Other than less emphasis on organic traffic, the only other real concern is the degree to which Google will use your suggestions, and to what extent those suggestions are based not on SEO ranking factors, but on user stories and data. collected. Even with this concern, Google Instant, even at the speed of light, does not negate the importance of getting top rankings. For many search engine marketers, like myself, business as usual. Full speed ahead.