Well there has certainly been a lot of buzz about the brand new Google Instant Search which was launched this week.  Just check out Twitter for people tweeting about Google Instant Search: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23googleinstant  

So what's all the fuss about? Well, it's always interesting to see what Google comes up with next as they are such a huge and massive player in the web industry.. but this change has sparked new concerns about a possible shift in the way SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) needs to carried out and reported on.

The issue is this: previously, a single search done by a visitor to Google was straightforward. A user enters a keyword or keyphrase and clicks "Search". This was viewed as a single search, and Google could report on this accordingly (e.g. they can tell us how many people are searching for "Web Design" or "SEO" in any given month).

Now though, Google Instant Search refreshes the results on the page AS YOU TYPE! A Wired article goes on to explain how Google deals with this new feature... (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/whats-a-search/)

So what counts as a search now? Well, if you click on a result or an ad, Google counts its guess as your search term, which makes sense. But what about other searches, where you type in “wea” and Google guesses “weather” and shows you results that answer your question, without you having to click anything.

For these, Google instituted a three-second rule. If you pause on a page for three seconds or longer, Google registers that as a search. It’s then added to its master tally of search results, to your search history, and to the search count for AdWords.

Further Reading on Google Instant Search:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/whats-a-search/ 
http://www.google.com/instant/ 
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/205111/google_instant_could_evo...