Google Instant: Search Results just a Keystroke Away

Search engine giant, Google, has constantly been revolutionizing the way users navigate the vast plethora of pages available on the Internet. Innovations like Google Goggles, Google Realtime, Google Suggest etc., have made life much much easier for users who are searching for information on the World Wide Web.

However, Google is always experimenting and trying to make things even easier for users. Take for instance, Google Goggles, where you just click a picture, use it as a search string, and voila, your information is ready! Things could not get any easier than this. Or so you thought.

Well, it turns out that you were wrong, and Google has yet again managed to deliver an easier way for getting that information to your fingertips. Its latest innovation is called 'Google Instant', and what it does is gives you search results as you type!

In addition to your search results changing and updating with every character you type, Google Instant also provides you with suggestions to what you are looking for. What this translates to is that most of the time you will not have to hit the 'enter' key to get to the results page, and this will thus save time. This also means that if you don't see the results you want while typing, you can modify your search term right there itself, instead of entering the search term, scanning the resultant page and then going through the entire process with a new search term all over again.

So how much time does this really save? Google users will know that the search engine is already very fast, but Google says that using 'Instant' will save you an additional 2-5 seconds per search. And while 2-5 seconds might not seem like much, in today's world where time equates directly to money, there will be millions who will rejoice at the time saved. Google estimates put the total time saved by global use of Instant at a staggering 3.5 billion seconds per day.

Already available in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia, Google Instant will be rolled out globally in the coming weeks. Whether or not it will be the runaway success that it still remains to be seen. In my opinion, a serious user who knows exactly what he is searching for might be put off or distracted with the continuous changing results. Google Instant might also prove to be a distraction for users searching for one thing but ending up on different pages due to top results. An example would be someone searching for 'PS3 game not working' would get results for the 'PS3' first, then for 'PS3 games' , and finally for 'PS3 games not working'. Of course, the search term might show up in suggest, but one can't help be distracted when new games results keep popping up. This, however, is just a personal opinion and might end up not affecting users at all.

Much is to be said for the way Google is looking to make user experience easy, and Google Instant is just another instance of the search engine giant coming down to the level of the users and looking at the web from their point of view.

See what Google has to say about this whole "Instant Experience" - "Feelings of euphoria and weightlessness are normal. Do not be alarmed."

If the new Google Instant is available in your location, try it and feel free to let us know how your new Google experience was. Till then Kudos to Google for a job well done, as usual!