Google has unveiled it’s latest addition in it’s quest for lightning-speed search search – Google Instant pages.
Google claims that the new Chrome-only feature will cut between 2 – 5 seconds off of page load times by essentially pre-rendering pages based on the probability of the user clicking on it.
Google does this by fetching all images and external resources from the server before the user clicks on the page, meaning waiting times are cut considerably. Imagine walking towards your favourite sandwich shop – the owner sees you coming and begins to make your sandwich with ingredients based on what you’ve ordered in the past. When you arrive, your sandwich is ready for you. That’s essentially it.
Of course Google relies on slightly more than sandwich fillings and memory to deploy Instant Pages. Like all things Google shaped, it relies on a number of complex algorithmic factors including search history and page relevance.
Google Software Engineer, Ziga Mahkovec commented, “At Google we’re obsessed with speed. We’ve seen time and time again how an increase in apparent speed leads to a direct increase in user happiness and engagement. Instant Pages helps visitors arrive at your site faster”.
Google has also hinted at rolling the service out across mobile search, which would be a great asset to those searching on the go.
How this affects SEO and PPC in the long-term is a another discussion, but increased speed in any context can only be a good thing, wouldn’t you agree?
Check out the video below to see Instant Pages in action:
