14 DAY TRIAL // The week has been dominated by the squabble with Bing, but Google engineers haven't stopped working. Google Instant is now available for Shopping search as well, enabling users to find the products they are looking for a lot faster. Hotpot, Google's local social recommendations service, has been integrated in the main search engine as well.
"Now you can shop faster than ever and get the speed of Google Instant when comparing prices, looking for nearby stores and learning about products you want to buy," Google wrote.
"For example, if you’re searching for a cast iron skillet, we’ll start showing you relevant pans as you type [cast iro...]. Click “Shopping” in the left-hand panel and try searching for [sweater wrap shawl], [android phone] or anything else," it explained.
Google Instant was introduced a few months ago, marking a big shift in the way the search interface works. Results are loaded instantly, so users can adjust their queries on the fly.
This could prove particularly useful with products, the ability to quickly modify a search should make it easier and faster to find exactly what you're looking for.
Google Instant has proven particularly popular, only 2 percent of users have deactivated the feature. The vast majority of Google users find it helpful or at least not annoying enough to change it.
This week, Hotpot reviews started showing up in search results. As long as you're logged in and using Hotpot, any search for a place might also yield results from your friends' reviews.
Having the opinion of a friend should count a lot more than reviews from strangers and algorithm ranking. Google has been very focused on Hotpot lately.
It's only been available a few months, but the team has been pouring out new features and improvements at a fast rate. The stakes are high though, Google hasn't had a history of great social products and the location market has a huge, mostly untapped, potential.