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Google Instant: What Search Advertisers Need To Know

Posted by: Max Kalehoff on Sep 23, 2010 2 Comments

Google recently introduced “Google Instant.” With Google Instant enabled, Google.com will predict your search query as you type and instantly show updated organic and paid results. It shows predicted search terms in a drop-down box, and displays in (real-time) search results below the drop-down.

Google says this “innovation” will drive deeper user engagement and a better search experience. At the same time, the search marketing community has ignited with questions and anxiety about whether Google Instant will kill Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or influence search keyword advertising.

Will Google Instant kill SEO? We agree with Danny Sullivan, who recently stated that “SEO Is Here To Stay, It Will Never Die.” He states that SEO has always changed over time and will continue to change as search itself changes.

And how will Google Instant influence paid search? We’re taking a wait-and-see approach as the service rolls out. However, there are a few things we recommend.
  • Don’t Get Swept By The Hype. Google Instant is interesting and will potentially influence the way we people search and marketers do paid search. However, we’ve yet to see broad user adoption. Moreover, Google Instant is limited to Google.com, and does not work: from your browser’s search box, the Google Toolbar, iGoogle, other sites that access Google search, or if you’ve turned off Google Instant. And for people who do access and adopt Google Instant, we’ve yet to see how their behavior changes. Google Instant may be significant in the long term, but we don’t know yet.
  • Keep An Eye On Impression Count. It’s unknown whether impressions will go up or down. If you manage your campaigns to impressions (reach) or CTR, you may want to dial down while you and Web users adjust to the new experience. According to Google Adwords Help, ad impressions are counted in these situations with Google Instant:
    • The user begins to type a query on Google and clicks anywhere on the page (a search result, an ad, a spell correction, a related search).
    • The user chooses a particular query by clicking the Search button, pressing Enter, or selecting one of the predicted queries.
    • The user stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds.
  • Discover and Optimize Variations. This been a best practice for some time, but take advantage of the keyword suggestions feature that is employed in Google Instant. Evaluate your top 20-30 keywords by typing them in slowly. Take note of the suggestions and variations that surface and test and optimize around those potential variations.
  • Avoid Traffic Expansion Through Partial Keywords. There’s been buzz about using partial-words in order to leverage Google's predictive text to get additional traffic.  Doing so could result in very low CTR and quickly lead to big, lengthy Quality Score problems.  Feel free to slowly type your keywords and use the predictive text feature as a way to research new keywords, but resist the temptation to actually use the partial words as new keywords.
  • Include Keywords In Headlines. Many ads now have a bold word in the headline, corresponding to they keyword which prompted the ad. You should put your most common keywords in your headlines to ensure you benefit from the bold, more visible copy. If your ad is more visible, it will be more competitive and effective.
  • Keep An Eye On Your Competitors. Some business categories can be extremely competitive. Therefore, it’s important to keep track of your competitors’ ads and how sophisticated their keyword buying strategy is. Their pursuit to take advantage of Google Instant may require you to adjust your strategy as well.
It’s most important to remember that Google Instant is not a revolutionary change, and does not require any drastic changes to your SEM strategy. In fact, any knee-jerk, defensive changes to your campaigns could actually cause great damage. You should keep updated as Google Instant continues to test and roll out this feature, and adapt your campaigns accordingly -- closely monitoring your performance along the way. If you need help, let us know.
What are your thoughts on Google Instant?  As a user? As a search marketer?



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Comments
JustinCambria wrote:

Good advice here, Max. I was surprised to learn from Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz.org at Inbound Marketing Summit last week that over 90% of Google searches take place from Google.com. I can't hold this as gospel and would have thought more came from things like the Firefox search bar, or by just typing search terms into a Chrome browser in lieu of a URL, which is what I do.

On SEM I don't see this radically moving the needle in terms of strategy. Most of the clicks in search went to the organic results before Google instant, and SEM marketers know that and don't measure results in a vacuum. I think SEM strategy remains the same with a cautious eye towards whether this actually impacts paid search results. I'd think it won't.

Oct 14, 2010 at 10:06 PM Share »
Erik Knudsen wrote:

Hey Max,

I'm trying to find some help with a major Google issue and am not really finding anything in the forums or blogs to help.

We had a drastic drop in impressions October over September - a 91% DECREASE in the number of impressions for our ads. I didn't make any changes to keywords, ad copy, budget, or anything else that I can think of that would cause an effect like that.

I need this resolved quickly, but am confounded where to look for answers. Our income reduction was 49% October over September, and 41% over last year.

Do you have any ideas where I can even begin to look to figure this out?

Thank you very much,

Angela Walker

angela@christiancinema.com

Nov 17, 2010 at 05:22 PM Share »
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