For the past few weeks, the search engine community has been abuzz with rumors of streaming results, expanded search listings and other consumer-facing alterations to Google’s famously simple interface. This morning, the search engine giant did take a step in the direction of dynamic results with an innovation they’ve dubbed Google Instant.
The implementation is still being rolled out, but, depending on your browser and your location, you may have noticed the change already today. Google Instant provides a full set of results that is updated as you type – instead of waiting for you to hit Enter or click the Search button, you’ll see results change in real time. It’s similar to the auto-complete feature that already exists; in this case, though, the full set of results actually updates dynamically, rather than just the search query.
Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Search Products and User Experience, provides a full explanation on the company’s official blog. The end goal, according to those at the Mountain View campus, is that Google Instant brings the benefit of speed, while preserving the integrity of Google’s search applications.
How will Google Instant affect your online reputation (ORM) or SEO program? On its face, it won’t. This innovation is not tied to a new round of changes to the search engine algorithm, so we will not necessarily alter our techniques. Google Instant will not disrupt your existing results. It does showcase the heightened need for companies and people to continually monitor and manage their online presence in the search world, and it is a great example of the kind of technological change that we adapt to on a regular basis.
We’ll continue to do that, and will keep developing the kinds of cutting edge ORM solutions that allow you to fully benefit from the changing landscape of search engines and social media – for example, our recently released Yahoo Search Assist program, which is a great way to measure and shape search behavior and direct traffic to your targeted sites.