“Google’s busy year continues with this launch. Google Instant Preview brings web design right back to the forefront of search optimisation. Sites that are clear and attractive will benefit, and thin affiliate sites lose out again”.

Google Instant Preview –View Before You Click:What we believe it means for marketersGoogle Instant Preview gives users the ability to view a screenshot of pages returned in search results listings without requiring them to click through, and builds on the latest Google Instant technology.

This has ramifications for both organic and paid search results. In this briefing we discuss how Google Instant Preview will affect you.

The ClickThrough View

The Facts Google Instant Preview allows users to see an image preview of sites in

search listings before they click through, with keywords highlighted. Initial tests show that people who have been exposed to Google Instant

Previews are 5% more likely to be satisfied with the results they click.

What is Google Instant Preview?

Traditionally if you wanted to view the content of a page within search results you clicked on the link in the search results and you were then taken to that page . With Google Instant Preview, simply click on the spyglass next to a search result and a preview of the page will appear to the right of the natural search results, in the area reserved for paid ads.

In addition, where a search term (or parts of a search term) occur more than once on a page, Google breaks up the image of the page, then highlights all instances where that text appears on the page, and enlarges the relevant text snippet(s). This helps users understand where to scroll to.

What it means for Paid and Organic Search Results

This is another major change, following hot on the heels of Google Instant earlier in the summer. The look and feel of sites now matter more than ever before. Google Instant Preview forces webmasters to think about how every page of their site will look as a 300-pixel-wide thumbnail .

Are the SERPs about to become a beauty contest? It’s certainly true that pages with images and strong, clear layouts that translate well in thumbnail form will potentially gain from Google Instant Preview. However, if your site doesn’t have relevant content then Google still won’t be able to index it, and so all other algorithm rules stay the same. Nevertheless, Google does consider clickthrough rates from search results pages, and your site design will now affect that thanks to Google Instant Preview.

The new feature will save time in the searching process, because users will no longer need to “pogostick” with their search results (clicking from a search results page to a site listed, and then clicking back to Google if unsatisfied to choose another result). This means less page impressions.

Paid search ads will also be affected as the Instant Previews will hover over the top of paid ads to the right of organic search results. This will focus advertiser attention on the top 2-3 results shown at the top of each page. Google Instant Preview doesn’t work on paid results, so users will not be able to make a judgement on your landing pages prior to clicking.

• This change once again reinforces Google’s goal of helping users navigate search results moreefficiently and reduce “pogosticking”.

• The Websense 2010 Threat Report suggested that 22.4% of Google searches returned malicious sites within the top 100 results. This is part of Google’s response, helping consumers fight back with moreinformation on search results.

• This provides another very valuable source of data to Google on what people like and dislike in page design. However, as users haven’t arrived at the page yet, usability is less important than design ‘credibility’.

• Google Instant Preview puts every site indexed under the microscope, regardless of whether the webmaster has installed Google Analytics or Website Optimiser on their site.

Find out what we can do to grow your business. Call us on 0800 088 7486 or visit clickthrough-marketing.com

John Newton, Head of Digital Marketing, ClickThrough Marketing