How does Google Instant Search affect Adwords and SEO?

[Alan]

The main difference will be more adwords ad impressions. An impression is now counted if a user stays on a keyword for 3 seconds or more, presses enter or 'search', or clicks anywhere else on the screen. This in turn could make your Click Through Rate (CTR) lower, because there are more impressions and potentially the same number of clicks.

However, Google Instant Search could potentially also improve CTR for the top 3 ranking ads, as these are now more prominently displayed in the center of your screen (because the 'suggested results' box pushes down the top 3 ads and the organic search results).

Overall, many experts are saying Google Instant Search will improve the effect of 'long-tail' keywords. For example, instead of just clicking on 'Ford Focus Car' a user might be more inclined to click through on 'Ford Focus Car 2010 Consumer Report Reviews'.

For more info check out this source where I got a lot of useful info on the newest in Adwords and SEO in regards to Google Instant Search: http://www.insightforge.com/blog/2010/09...nt-search/