Assessing Traffic After Google Instant Launch

[engine]

I've spend the last week looking closely at Google organic referrals since Google Instant.

I've noticed an improvement in referrals for generic terms, and for company names, however, i've also noticed a slight decline in long tail phrases where a company name is part of the search term.

For example:
"company name" is up
"company green widget" is down

At only a week, it's hard to show patterns, so i'd have to give it much more time. In addition, I don't believe we'll know how much of that is from logged in search (Google Instant) or logged out search (no Google Instant).

How has your traffic faired?

[Robert Charlton]

In addition, I don't believe we'll know how much of that is from logged in search (Google Instant) or logged out search (no Google Instant).

Increasingly, Google Instant is rolling out as the default search setting whether you are logged in or not. It seems that Europe has been several days behind the US in this regard.

It is possible to turn Instant off, after you've made your first Instant search... and then there are connection speed issues, etc, which automatically disable Instant for some users. This doesn't change the core question of telling whether traffic is from an Instant search or not, but unless lots of folks turn it off, I think it's more likely over time that it will be Instant traffic.

[engine]

Oh, right, now I'm seeing Google Instant without being logged in.

[UK_Web_Guy]

Judging by the lack of noise about this, I'm presuming people in the US are not seeing much of a shift in traffic after Instant?

It is my understanding that Instant is live on google.com whether logged in or not - at the moment you have to be logged in on Google.co.uk to see it, so if there was a big impact I think you guys would be seeing it.

engine, the fact you;ve had to look closely, would suggest there is no great change?

My initial thought was it would make major changes, i've not seen any change inthe UK, but it's only for logged in users here at the moment, although I would guess maybe 20-30% have google accounts?

Either way, i don't like instant.

[indyank]

somehow i get the feeling that you will get to know the real impact of google instant on web traffic going forward (starting this week)...you will get to feel the real impact when it alive in most countries