Internet Marketing

Universal Search versus Vertical Search

This article is the first of a series of three, trying to help you better understand what Universal Search is and how it can affect the search engine optimization process, and pay per click campaigns. Every article of the series will focus on one of these subjects:

• the first will try to explain what Universal Search is, which are the benefits and the downsides and also, how it differs from the classical search, also called vertical search;


• the second article's main subject will be the impact of Universal Search on the search engine optimization process;


• the third article will try to present it's influence on the pay per click campaign.

The reason we decided to write a series of three articles having as main subject universal search and its impact, stands in the major changes Universal Search will bring to the universe of internet search. Therefore, we consider the information found in these series to be essential in order to adapt well to all the new characteristics of web search.

What is Universal Search?

Starting with May 2007, Google developed a new type of internet searching which became known as Universal Search. This means that now, when you use Google to search for something, you won't find only text results. Instead, the results found by the search engine will bring you different types of media, including pictures and videos.

This type of search is used now also, by other search engines, such as Yahoo, MSN, or Ask.

Benefits of Universal Search

This new type of search has several advantages for users, such as:

• More helpful information for the user: by receiving many types of results,(pictures, videos, text), users will have a better general view on what they were looking for;


• By using only one keyword or phrase, and not mentioning the type of media the users are looking for, the results will cover everything;


• Bigger possibility of finding the answer you are searching for faster, after performing only one search;


• By including video results, Universal Search helps those interested in watching internet videos find them faster. Adding well tagged videos to your site could prove to be a very good idea for both your business and for obtaining better ranks through Universal Search;


• Image results also come in handy for most users, since, it is a well known fact that a picture means more than a thousand words; therefore, thanks to this new feature of web search, both the ones performing the search and site owners can benefit: instead of wondering which result is the one you are searching, by looking at an image you will know for sure; providers will be found faster just by their customers or by adding relevant pictures to their sites;


• Since Universal Search includes also news, press releases published on a site could enhance that site's ranking.


• Last, but not least, Universal Search will increase also the importance of blogs, since they will now help the site get better result page ranks.

Which are the downsides?

Still, there are some voices in the field who say that Universal Search has some disadvantages, like:

• The more the types of results, the more information, which can sometimes prove to be quite irrelevant for the user;


• Video results may not be exactly what users with slow internet dialup connections may be looking for;


• Users cannot, at this time, use the old version, by switching off Universal Search.

Universal Search vs. Vertical Search

There are some voices saying that this new searching type will replace forever the "old fashioned", vertical way, making it look almost irrelevant. We must not forget that Google is not the only search engine, and that there are still such engines working with vertical search.

Nevertheless, Universal Search is also, as mentioned before, used not only by Google, but by other search engines too. There is no way we can predict whether it will be a success or not, whether it will replace vertical search or not, or at least not until some feedback from users is received. After all, they are the ones who can make a big success or a big failure of it.

Another idea, quite popular when it comes to debating the differences between universal search and vertical search is that Google intends by introducing Universal Search to increase its revenues by adding to its results as many advertisements as possible. The ones who sustain this idea have as a main argument the fact that, on the one hand, universal search allows results which cover everything, from texts and blogs, to pictures and videos and, on the other hand, ads usually contain pictures and videos in large amounts. Therefore, saying that Google might want to increase its revenues by introducing universal search might not sound very far fetched.

Still, most users consider Universal Search much better than vertical search, saying that both the results and the way they are presented are more appealing. Also, they consider that the information found through this type of web searching covers a broader range of fields, thus making the search process much more efficient.

Conclusions

In the end, there are some conclusions to be drawn from the above mentioned facts. First of all, you should know and accept as a reality the new type of search introduced by Google - Google Universal Search. The most important aspect of it is that through Universal Search, the quantity of results will be vaster, and much more diversified than before.

View Related Articles

• Top 50 Free Directories
• 50 Free Press Release Submission Websites
• Twitter + Analytics = Love

Featured categories

• Internet Marketing (37)
• Software Business (54)


• Affiliate Marketing (22)
• Website Usability (19)

Spread the word:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

E-mail this to a friend Print this page Trackback Download as PDF

Leave a comment

Name *

Mail(will not be published) *

Website *

Subscribe to comments:

Validation Code *:       

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.