How Do Instant Pages Work?
Instant Pages builds upon the functionality of Google Instant shaving between 2 to 5 seconds off a search query by using an algorithm of about 200 factors combined with the Google search history to determine which link a user is most likely to click on. It begins contacting the server to load that page in the background as soon as the search results appear. Check out this quick video to give you a better idea just how much faster Instant Pages are!
How Can I Use Instant Pages To My Advantage?
Google has made this technology works for developers as well as searchers. By following the Guide To Prerendering In Chrome, publishers are able to choose which pages on their site they want to prerender when users are already on the page. However, it is important that you limit the number of prerendered pages because it could result in increased bandwidth usage, slow loading of other links and stale content.
Before You Start
Although the process of implementing Instant Pages is easy, it’s VERY important to make sure you know where to properly place the code. Take it from me, if you aren’t familiar with PHP code placement, you may want to read about the most common mistakes beginners make when trying to copy and paste snippets into their site. If you put it in the wrong place, you WILL break your site. Always do a backup of your site before making any changes and if you’ve made modifications to your theme, it’s best to make changes and test using a child theme.
Adding The Code
You will need to add a few lines of code to your theme’s PHP settings. Go to your File Manager and open the header.php file under your theme by clicking the Edit button. The page of code that is set by default will open displaying the current PHP code settings. Here’s where you’ll add the Instant Pages code to make it compatible with your site and where you need to be most careful! Before the closingtag, include the following code: It should look like this when placed in the code file: Save your changes and test them out on your site. Here you can see the Bombax theme will start to suggest article topics as you start entering letters into the search box. This doesn’t just give a suggested article; it’s also queued to open very quickly if selected. In conclusion, adding Google Instant Pages as a background tool to your site will keep visitors engaged on your site. With suggested articles and fast page loading, your site will become more user friendly and encourage many return visitors, producing a low bounce rate. Test it out and see for yourself if your bounce rate improves and come back to let us know!
