One of the primary elements of Internet behavior that drive search engine optimization efforts is search patterns, but is Google Instant going to change search patterns? The bottom line is that when a majority of people search for a specific keyword phrase, that is a phrase that’s at the top of the list for most SEO experts. Obviously, that’s only the starting point.

Some phrases are difficult to compete for - because everyone else is trying to rank highly on those terms as well. So, ultimately you have some winners and some losers - depending on who has better information as to how the search engines choose the sites to list first, and who is better positioned (already popular sites) to compete more effectively.

Search Patterns Have Held Constant

Up until now, search patterns have held pretty constant. Other than the hot news stories or events that crop up from time to time, there are certain phrases that are just always heavy hitters. These are keywords that don’t really change much from year to year - but instead reflect large-scale, general interests of the overall Internet population.

However, those trends are fickle, and while real SEO experts are good at identifying niche opportunities, few people really know why people search for the things that they do. That is ultimately a guessing game.

How Google Instant May Change Search Patterns

Consider the scenario where users previously typed in the first search term that came to their head, and in general this is the first search term that comes to most people’s heads (the search trends prove that). Take this keyword phrase for example:

“Search Engine List”

Popular? Heck yes - over 17,000 daily searches according to WordTracker. It also happens to be a phrase that isn’t too difficult to compete with right now, simply because of the massive search volume. So, small sites that cover that search term may see tremendous traffic right now from optimizing around that phrase. Now, consider the same scenario with Google Instant in effect.

1. The User starts typing “Search Engine…”
2. Immediately, search results display on the page and distract the user with other, more relevant keyword ideas.
3. Due to the visual prompt of in-page results, the user changes that search to some other phrase.

What SEO analysts need to understand is that search trends are not set in stone. Any small modification to the normal system can set it off balance and change how people interact with the search engines and modify exactly what they search for.

What You Can Do to Handle Keyword Changes

The fragility of search behavior doesn’t mean that you’re helpless. However, it does mean that you should not become complacent that your past keyword research results are set in stone. You should always go back and revisit those phrases you previously optimized for - particularly if Google Analytics indicates that certain pages of your site that were normally your top landing pages, have suddenly dropped in your “top pages” list.

This could be a sign that previous user search behavior has changed, and you need to be flexible and proactive enough to identify the new behavior patterns and re-optimize the page accordingly.

*****

Ryan is a technology writer and investigative blogger. He has been working as an online writer for numerous clients for over 5 years, and now consults webmasters and blog owners about effective SEO optimization. Ryan has 48 post(s) at Free Writing Center