People spend more time on the internet than ever before, but the way we access the information on the internet has changed dramatically. The growth in mobile web technology has led to many changes to the internet landscape. The beginning to the end of Adobe Flash came when mobile devices couldn’t run Flash applications. The latest casualty of the mobile revolution comes from Google, as the search giant has decided to remove the Google Instant feature.
Whether you know or not, you probably took advantage of Google Instant in the past. Starting in 2010, the feature worked by providing suggestions to the user in real time. This meant, that as the user was typing, Google was constantly refreshing the search box with data and sometimes, it would partially load pages to get information to use for the Google Instant search box. The goal was to cut down the overall search time for users.
While Google Instant accomplished its goal for desktop users, it wasn’t as useful for mobile users. When you only have a tiny screen, it can become tricky to hit the right option if Google is filling the screen with suggestions. Additionally, the data required for a service like Google Instant to work eats up data on mobile internet plans, which can make things run slower.
Due to these changes in the way people access the internet, Google doesn’t use the feature for mobile devices. And now, to ensure a more consistent user experience regardless of device, Google has decided to remove the Google Instant feature for desktops.
In a statement to Search Engine Land, a Google representative explained, “We launched Google Instant back in 2010 with the goal to provide users with the information they need as quickly as possible, even as they typed their searches on desktop devices. Since then, many more of our searches happen on mobile, with very different input and interaction and screen constraints. With this in mind, we have decided to remove Google Instant, so we can focus on ways to make Search even faster and more fluid on all devices.”
As far as Google updates and changes go, this one has the least impact on the SEO and content marketing of businesses. Search rankings won’t change, and in a way, removing Google Instant may help smaller content publishers. If Google was only suggesting the most popular results in Google Instant, it prevented people from going to the actual search result pages to choose a link to visit on their own. So removing Google Instant makes having a highly ranked page more valuable, since more people will get to the search result pages to see it.
There’s also a lesson to be learned about remaining adaptive to change. Google Instant was a great idea for its time. And in some respects, it’s still a good idea. But Google understands that their services must be a good idea for the technology people are actually using. Rather than tell people it’s better to use Google on desktop, they made adjustments to the platform to produce the best experience for the most people on the method for searching for information they use the most.
Similarly, if a business realizes that a feature or product they have isn’t as useful to consumers as it once was due to changes in the market, then it’s time for a change. Some people may resist change, but a business that refuses to adapt to the times is doomed to become culturally irrelevant or worse.
While you may not notice a big change in the way you use Google, but rest assured, Google is constantly working to make their product and services better. Business owners and marketers should have the same level of commitment to their products and customers.
For more news about changes to major online marketing platforms, read this article on changes to Facebook that may require website change from marketers.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.