What is Search Suggest?

When people search, some search engines suggest related search queries. These search suggestions were originally provided within search results with "did you mean" suggestions for things like misspellings.

As search engines gained confidence in their ability to guide searchers, these suggestions spread to more queries and became available at the bottom of Google's search results, in the right rail of Microsoft's search results, in the left rail of Ask.com search results, and on the top of Yahoo! Search results.

Example Search Suggestion Implementation in SERPs

Below are example images of various flavors of search suggestion tools baked into search result pages.

	Google Bottom
	Live Search Sidebar

Search Suggestion Spreads

Search suggestion technology, which only appeared on search result pages for years, has spread quickly to:

• search toolbars
• web browser search boxes
• a default search box setting

Search Toolbars

Web Browsers

Search suggestion is a default feature in Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, and Google Chrome. Browsers will be covered more in the next section.

Search Box Setting

Web Browsers

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer 8...

• offers search suggest for many search engines, including Google, Yahoo! Search, and Live
• offers search suggest for leading content and ecommerce sites like Wikipedia, Amazon.com, and eBay.
• sends browsing data back to Microsoft, which may be used to improve their relevancy algorithms using BrowseRank

Firefox

Search suggestion is a default setting in Firefox 3

Google Chrome

Google Chrome...

• merges the address bar with a search box, calling it the Omnibox
• provides search suggestions for related search queries
• Google keeps ~ 2% of the data people type into Chrome to help refine their search suggestion service and search relevancy algorithms
• recommends URLs you have visited before, and the top ranked URL from the search results BEFORE you see the actual search results. If Chrome gains much marketshare...
• this adds value to a #1 ranking because some people will click it from the drop down, and people will be more likely to click on it when they see it in the search results (because they already have some level of awareness from having just seen the URL in the drop down)
• it will increase the value of awareness oriented marketing (branding, affiliate programs, community interaction), as pages that have been seen recently are recommended from the Omnibox drop down

How Search Engines Condition Searchers

As search has got more relevant and become the default way we navigate the web, Google has been able to redistribute more attention to the results at the top of the page.

Which Searchers Will Search Suggest Impact Most?

As people become condition to using search suggest, it will change how people search and what they search for. What searchers and search queries will be influenced most?