Google Suggestion Results from the Caffeine Update

I came across the latest helpful offering from Google when I was looking up current client keywords to see positive or negative movement as a result of the recent Google Caffeine update. Google offers helpful suggestions based upon other users searches and terms. This is to help increase the chances of your search finding the information your were looking for. Personally I use this feature all the time and find it extremely helpful.

Google offers helpful results from it’s special features. These special features of search results includes maps, calculator, dictionary, spell check, UPS, Fedex or USPS package tracking, Airline flight information, etc. Or my personal favorite: Spell Check 🙂 I imagine that Google will start to add to these to supplement the other options Google currently has to keep Google users loyal and dependent.

Definitely check out some of these special features. A few special feature options were new to me like local Poison control and Flu Shot information, and I study search engines everyday. Google’s special features in search results is a value added bonus to make users more reliant upon Google for their everyday information queries.

Today I typed in “Lean Manufacturing” and was presented with a definition from Wikipedia as part of my search suggestions. I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand this could be very helpful and definitely could be a time saver. I typed in the word “Ton” and got the definition and weight in Kilograms. Again very helpful. Of course, it might be too much if all the new Caffeine update results from various social media outlets show up in the Google suggestion results.


The most current topic of the day is the Oil Spill in the Gulf. I didn’t want to depress myself or others so I did a search for the only current media circus I can think of: The Blagojevich trial. If Google was going to offer up social media results in the search suggestions, it would be about this train wreck.

I love my home town! I’m proud to be from Chicago Proper and I love the people and unique experiences they contribute to make Chicago the great exciting city it is. But seriously… many of the voters here make a case for the Electoral College. Doesn’t matter how corrupt, if the voters know the name they follow along behind the Judas Goat straight to the voting booth. Curiously there always seems to be Sheep burgers on the menu of Illinois politics… what a coincidence! Of course today the Electoral College just becomes a giant logical loop…

OK! Back on topic! Currently Google does not appear to be diluting the the search suggestions with real-time social media results. I hope that this remains true. Google Caffeine is disrupting organic search results to make way for real time social media results which push organic results even further down the page and “below the fold”. This is concerning because Google only shows the top 10 organic results. If your website is on board with social media, your website might be riding the wave and capturing your share of the new social media results Google Caffeine is offering as search results. However if your website is in a competitive niche, you might want to consider optimization technique training for your posts. If Google chooses to further dilute search suggestions with real time social media I think it would have negative results upon Google users.

Too much info is not always a good thing. One of Google’s main benefits from the beginning is simplicity. I imagine that most that use Google like that aspect. Easy, fast information. Now if Google starts to show social media results in the search suggestions, I think such varied information outlets will turn off many users due to confusion. Not to mention the ramifications for websites looking to be in the top 10 results. This could be a real issue for PPC Adwords users and website owners in general.

Questions that need to be determined by every website owner if Google starts to loose users:

• Will Google keep it’s market share of users?
• How does social media impact my organic results?
• Why am I using / not using Social Media?
• Where do the majority of my visitors / customers come from on the Internet?
• Will I find greater benefits in optimizing towards another search engine?
• Should I keep optimizing for Google?
• Should I compromise optimize until I see true traffic returns from major search engine updates that are coming?

As with every major Google update to the search algorithm, changes to the way Google indexes websites and delivers the content is in no way less important. The key for most websites is to just keep up with current trends and be dedicated to your updates. No matter what you do, if you have chosen to utilize social media like a blog, forum, Twitter, Facebook, etc. You need to keep to a schedule of posting once a week if not twice or more. If Google is going to serve up real time information updates, why not have your website social media content be what Google determines as relevant to searchers in the new world of Google Caffeine.

Since this post has been mainly about Google search suggestions, I have a suggestion for you. A really funny time waster is to Google search the term “Google Suggestions” there are many websites that have posted some really hilarious suggestions that Google offers up for various search terms.