Let me preface this diatribe by saying that I love Google. I mean, I LOVE Google! No search engine on the planet touches them, insofar as the advanced queries I run. I’m afraid that their advanced operators will be nixed one day and that scares me to death, since I’m a search junkie and all. Anyway, I love you, Google, but Instant is perhaps the most annoying thing, ever. Still.
I’ve never liked Google Instant. From day-one, it’s been a nuisance to me, primary due to the fact that my search habits often consist of queries COMPLETELY unrelated to what Google is trying to suggest. Being a person who looks at the screen 100% of the time I type, it’s INCREDIBLY annoying to see the drop-down box pop up, disappear, pop up, make suggestions, disappear, pop up, disappear, popupsuggestdisappear, etc. as I type in a single query.
I know, I know: “Why don’t you disable it, then, Mr. “Search Ninja”?” I do! But, recently, I cleared my cookies, and — since Google can’t seem to make roaming search preferences for people who are logged into their Google accounts — there was Google Instant, waiting for me the next time I visited Google. I was IMMEDIATELY aggravated, but I thought I’d give it a shot… NOPE! The last time I tried Google Instant was before they changed their UI, and now, it feels even more bothersome/invasive than before. I think Ben Bailey, of Cash Cab fame, sums it up perfectly in his Google Instant bit from his Road Rage comedy special:
So, I disabled Google Instant once again, and now, I’m happier than a hobo with a ham sandwich. If you, too, can’t stand Google Instant and would like to disable it, then simply follow the simplistically-simple, simple steps below:
1 - Click here
2 - Look for the section pictured below, then select the option you see highlighted:
Sorry, Google. Again, I love you to death, but if you were my main squeeze, Instant would make me leave you… instantly. (Get it? Get it? *crickets chirping*) Anyway, thanks for at least giving me the option to do something about it even though you make it a default setting, and, PLEASE, for the love of all that is sacred, don’t ever make it such that Instant can never be disabled. That is all.
-Stephen Chapman
SEO Whistleblower
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