Autocomplete is one of the oldest features of Google and this one is really useful for optimizing organic rankings. Autocomplete is famously known as Google Suggest and there was a time when it was called ‘Google Instant’.
In this post, we will be answering some most common questions on autocomplete.
How Does Autocomplete Work?
Google autocomplete enhances the search term as you keep on typing, which produces more quick results.
With the help of autocomplete, Google can easily predict the searcher’s intention. Those predictions are going to impact searchers’ behavior because most people will tap on the suggestion without typing the complete original term.
This is what makes Google autocomplete a prominent search-engine-optimization element, as it effortlessly powers address bar suggestions on numerous search browsers, like Safari and Google Chrome.
Autocomplete for Keyword Extension
Autocomplete enhances the query to target a searcher’s requirements and thus it identifies possible keywords that should be targeted. If a search query is quite famous, Google will expand it much more.
If a searcher is typing to download the Google Classroom app for the Mac, she will begin by typing “g-o-o-g-l-e.” Autocomplete keeps expanding the keyword “google” as every additional keystroke is done —it will go on from “google” to “google classroom” to “google classroom download” to “google classroom download mac os.”
The difference between search predictions and refinements is that the next one doesn’t necessarily have the original query. Let’s assume if someone is searching “Google Classroom not working on Mac.” If she keeps her cursor again on the search box, autocomplete will try to pick the need by suggesting “google classroom not opening in chrome” and “how to fix Google classroom not loading.”
Google will not explain how it tries to identify the refinements. They are almost like queries after an initial search, so, it is worth targeting.
Autocomplete to Identify Entities
A recent advancement that was done in autocomplete is identifying related “entities,” like brands, places, people, books, and shows.
Entities can show up as a small image just beside a suggestion and the association to the query is also included.
Google makes use of entities to map its knowledge graph (i.e., its understanding of the world). Thus it includes entities in your content and it will help Google to categorize and match suitable search queries.
Autocomplete will also show up if Google has included a company or its products as an entity and so the complete knowledge graph.