Google Unveils Instant Previews

Google recently unveiled a new feature, called Instant Previews, that allows users to instantly see a preview of a website within Google’s search results page.

How to use Google Instant Previews

In order to enable Instant Previews, users need to click once on the magnifying glass located next to the search results. After activating the feature, the result will be highlighted in a blue background and you will be able to see a full preview of the web page on the right sidebar.

If you click anywhere on the preview, you’ll be directly taken to the website. For example, here is a search for [seo Beijing] :

Instant Previews increase user satisfaction

In some cases, Google can also highlight the words on the page being previewed. According to Google, people using Instant Previews are 5% more satisfied with the results they clicked on. Indeed, they can preview and evaluate the page before visiting the website and find the information they were looking for.

From a SEO point of view, Google Instant Previews doesn’t change anything in Google’s search algorithm and rankings. When a user clicks on the title of a result and visits a website, it counts as a normal click, regardless of whether the result has been previewed. Keep in mind that previewing a result doesn't count as a click.

However, some webmasters noticed problems with Analytics since the introduction of Instant Previews. Indeed, some users complained of an unusual increase in their pageviews. However, Google indicated that it resolved the issue.

A few months ago, Google also launched Instant Search, allowing users to get search results as they type their query and leading to changes on SEO & SEM. 

Google Instant Ad Previews next ?

After launching Instant Previews on search results, Google could create an Instant Ad Previews.

As you may have noticed, users who enabled Instant Previews don't see Google’s ads anymore, and then may do some damage to ad clicks. Google said it was OK because most users interested in the organic results focus on the unpaid results rather than the ads.

So, according to Google, previews won't have any effect on users already ignoring the ads. And you, what do you think ? Will Google Instant Previews impact paid search ?