Google Universal Search and What it Means
In Mid May Google unveiled its latest search enhancement, appropriately titled “Universal Search”. This is a major update which integrates all the Google search verticals such as Google Maps, Google Images, Google Video, Google Blog Search, Google News and more into one results page. So now when you search, relevant results from the other Google search categories will appear above the main results.
From Google’s perspective the vision for universal search is to enable a way to easily “search across all its content sources, compare and rank all the information in real time, and deliver a single, integrated set of search results that offers users precisely what they are looking for.”
From a searcher’s point of view, it makes the main Google results page more intuitive and user-centric. Through Universal Search you don’t have to go to multiple sources or different pages to find “all” relevant content. Whether you’re looking for a local business map or phone number, or trying to find a new video, it can all be done from the one place.
From a marketers perspective it has made the process of achieving high rankings more complex. By integrating all their various search options into one results area, Google has also expanded the focus of search engine marketing. Where many have focused primarily on Organic Search Engine Marketing (Search Engine Submission and Search Engine Optimization) and Paid Advertising (Pay-per-click sponsored listings), now it’s equally important to focus on other search verticals like Google Maps (Google Local), Google Images, Google Video, Google Blog Search as significant improvements in exposure will be much easier in these less competitive verticals.
It may mean more work, but with the integration of other search content at the top of the results page, it also presents you with the opportunity of getting that top ranking that might have eluded you in normal organic search engine marketing.
Universal Search is here to stay, and rest assured that the other search engines are likely to follow.
For more details, watch this Searchology press conference.
This post was written by: Kim Mickelsen