Yesterday morning, Google closed shop for one of its oldest search engine helpers, and only a few noticed its disappearance.
Google Instant was one of the company’s landmark search engine features. With Instant, users using the famous search engine would receive instant search results as they typed in their inquiries. It was made to make searching faster, by quickly providing search results for users.
Under the guidance of Marissa Mayer, then the company’s vice president of search and user experience, Google ushered a crucial change in how people searched online with Instant.
Now the 7-year Google main-stay has disappeared.
Losing relevancy
Considering more than half of Google’s searches being done on mobile, and with less and less people searching on desktops, Instant lost its relevancy a while ago.
Instant was never good on mobile.
Mobile searches included having most of the screen taken over by search suggestions, so most people would never see the instantly created search results before clicking search. Even with the news having been released, many people have admitted to never really using the feature.
A Google spokesperson gave a statement on the matter to Search Engine Land,
“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.”
Did you ever really notice Google Instant? Did you use it regularly? Let us know in the comments below.