Google Rocks the SEM World with Instant Search

Google had one of its biggest product upgrades - almost a new product launch - in years a few days ago.   With anything that Google does, there are implications.   With something this big, there are big implications.   This excerpt from the NY Times article Google Unveils Tool to Speed Up Searches sums it up pretty well.

“It’s been awhile since there’s been a game changer in search, and this is,” said Jordan Rohan, an Internet analyst at Stifel Nicolaus. “It changes how people search.” He added that it was a feat of computing and engineering that could not “easily be mimicked by Google’s competition.”

Google’s attempt to greatly change the way people search could throw a wrench in the business models of the companies that have latched onto the Google ecosystem.

Analysts said that it was too early to tell how Google Instant would affect search engine marketing and optimization businesses. But because Web pages and ads show up before people finish typing queries, it could be more challenging and expensive for them to pick keywords that catapult their sites to the top results, analysts said.

For example, it has been less expensive for a small hotel in Paris to buy ads that show up when someone searches “Paris boutique hotels in the Marais” than when someone searches “Paris hotels.” But now that Google immediately starts showing results, people may type long queries less often. As a result, advertisers would have to bid for more common terms.

Also, because Google Instant focuses attention on the search box and top results, people could spend less time looking at the ads that show up on the right side of the page.

“The general murmur is that advertisers are not particularly pleased because they see it as Google strong-arming people to buy the most expensive terms and make the most money for Google,” said Matt Hessler, account director for Trada, a search marketing firm.

 

Some other good coverage:

• Techrunch:  Google Instant Is Less About Speed Than It Is About Volume
• SearchEngineLand:  Will Google Instant Kill The Long Tail?

We'll have to see how it all plays out.  For some companies offering 'Long Tail' products, the customer is going to tend to be looking for something very specific and keep on typing.   But for others who are offering more commoditized products - at least in their names or categories -  it could have a devastating effect.   But it probably makes SEM a bit harder and more expensive to use successfully overall.   Is that good for Google, much less advertisers?