What is search suggestion boosting and why is it needed?

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What are the methods of cheating search engine suggestions, what are its advantages and disadvantages, how companies can use this online tool with benefit and without risks - experts from the reputation agency Topface Media figure it out .
What are search suggestions?
Search suggestions are suggested queries that appear in a drop-down list below the search bar in a search engine and change as the user types in the search bar. The user can select one of the automatically suggested options if it is relevant to their query.
example of Yandex suggestions
Example of Yandex suggestions (as well as paid advertising at the top of the list)
Suggestions can help search engine users find a company they are looking for, even if they don't know it exists.
example of search suggestions
An example of mentioning specific brands in Yandex suggestions for a general query
If a company's marketer can control the prompts and ensure that the brand name appears in the suggested list for a general query like "inexpensive tire service in St. Petersburg" or "good orthodontist in Novosibirsk," then the chances of sending new customers to the site will increase significantly.

On the other hand, if users see prompts that mention the brand in a negative light, such as "developer X deceives investors," then the business will face reputational costs.
For a company developing on the Internet, it is important to track the context in which its name is used, especially during a search - perhaps a search engine prompt will form a potential customer's first impression of the brand. Prompts should be configured so that they help promote the business and create an attractive brand image.

On the topic: How to remove information about yourself on the Internet
How search suggestions are generated
In popular search engines, autocomplete suggestions are created based on the analysis of historical data - the principles are described on the corresponding pages in Google and Yandex . In simple terms, this can be described as follows: the system collects the most frequent queries of ordinary users into a database. When a person enters something in the search bar, the algorithms analyze the request, find the corresponding continuation options in the database and form a list of possible autocompletes from them.

Yandex, Google, Rambler constantly update their social media marketing service suggestion databases to offer users the most relevant and popular ones.
Factors Affecting the Display of Search Suggestions
Two different people, entering the same query in one search engine, can receive a unique set of tips. This is because the algorithms take into account the characteristics of each user:

its location;
personal search history;
topics of interest to him (based on other queries and site browsing history).

Thus, the first automatic recommendations of the Google system reflect the history of queries with the same beginning of the phrase, made earlier from a specific account (if there were any).
example of search suggestions in Google
An example of showing suggestions based on the search history in a specific Google account

(marked with the "history" icon)

Search engine suggestion boosting: definition and goals
Let's figure out what the essence of cheating search engine suggestions is and why companies do it.
Description of the search suggestion boosting mechanism
In preparation for cheating, relevant phrases are introduced into the content on the brand's web resource and the pages are optimized for the requirements of the search engine. These same phrases are artificially made popular. To do this, they are entered into the search bar and searched for as many times as possible. This is done manually by people or automatically by bots.



As a result, the user sees a cheated hint in the list and, by clicking on it, gets to the search results page, at the top of which is a link to the company's website.
Goals of cheating
Search engine suggestion boosting is performed to achieve business goals.
1
Goal: increase traffic
You can get traffic to your site from search suggestions if you put the keys it is optimized for into autocomplete. These should be queries that competitors do not use in promotion.
2
Objective: to increase brand awareness and stimulate sales
Mention of a brand in one of the search suggestions is not perceived by the user as advertising. The person thinks that the company is popular, trusted, and its products are in demand among other consumers.
3
Objective: to improve the company's reputation
Working with hints is useful for monitoring the brand's reputation in search engines. By cheating, you can push negative phrases out of the autocomplete list and bring positive ones to the top.