Changes in search behaviour with Google Instant

As some of you might have noticed Google has recently introduced a new search feature – Instant Preview. You can see a preview of the site without clicking on the search results listing. All you need to do is roll over the magnifying glass icon to the right of listing’s title. Feel free to read more about the change and implications at SiteProNews.

Often when we speak SEO, we talk about the importance of keyword research, link building, sitemaps, etc. We all agree that these are important SEO things that change over time. Rarely we talk about changes in user behaviour. However, the fact is that users / searchers change over time too. As searchers we refer to the same thing in different terms, we change our search process and how we filter and select the results.

In the case with instant preview, which was actually done by Bing earlier this year:

… we don’t have to click on the results to understand if this is what we’re looking for, we can roll over and see what this site is about. Google went a bit further and instead of just presenting searchers with a summary of the site, they show a picture of how it looks.

Although this change to behaviour seems significant, it only touches on one step of our decision making process – evaluation of alternatives:

1. Identify a problem
2. Search for alternatives
3. Evaluate alternatives
4. Make the decision
5. Evaluate the decision

Instant preview helps to evaluate alternatives faster and open only the most relevant websites. Which, in turn, minimizes search time significantly.

So, what are the lessons for marketers, web designers and businesses?

1. Make the headlines clean and big. Emphasize keywords and the value your customer gets from using your product. If you’re a blogger, make sure the titles are descriptive and not keyword-stuffed.
2. Make the graphics clean and colourful. Make sure your graphics are large enough to be understood from instant preview. I realize that you won’t be able to do much with existing design, but keep this in mind if you’re planning to re-design your website.
3. Remove overall clutter on your pages. Let the content breath. We’ve been talking about it since Web 2.0 design concepts: open, clean, easy to read, use, large fonts and elements, etc. Google Instant Preview feature makes it event more important to have clean and bold websites.

So, as technologies change, behaviours do too. The bottom line is that along with keyword research and link building let’s keep in mind that search behaviours of our customers change.

It’s cold in Calgary and I could not start my car this morning, and missed a great event with Social Media Breakfast Calgary as a result :( .  On the other hand, I got a chance to share something with you. Stay positive, stay warm and let me know if you have questions.

Related posts:

1. How Google ranks tweets and insights on real-time search
2. Online marketing Calgary in Google Search
3. Website SEO: Search engine submission, step 4
4. Search marketers to rethink Bing
5. Branded search, presenting results of an experiment