Google yesterday unveiled a radical upgrade of its search engine, called universal search, that now integrates video, news, blogs, images, maps, books and Web sites into the main results page. Previously, all these content sources had been separate.
Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience for Google, demonstrated the upgrade yesterday for analysts at a briefing at Google headquarters. She also wrote in her blog: "With universal search, we're attempting to break down the walls that traditionally separated our various search properties and integrate the vast amounts of information available into one simple set of search results."
Google also announced the introduction of a universal navigation bar and contextual navigation links, making links to other Google services more accessible. It launched Google Experimental, a chance for users to give feedback on new Google features.
Mayer cited the following as her favorite examples of the benefits of universal search: "Steve Jobs," "Darth Vader" and "Nosferatu." For instance, a query for Jobs, the CEO of Apple, shows pictures, video and news as regular text links.
In regard to video, note that search results will include clips from third-party sites, and not just from Google's YouTube and Google Video.
Here's a few more examples, from the Google Blog post by David Bailey, tech lead, and Johanna Wright, product manager: "Although it's just a beginning, this first pass of universal search focuses on video, news, local and books. Now you'll be able to get more information Google knows about directly from within the search results. You won't have to know about specialized areas of content.
"If you're looking for the [atkins southwestern pork fajitas] recipe, we can now link you right to that page in the book. Or if, like me, you've been busy these past few days and have not caught up with your Tivo, don't type [sopranos] into Google, because our news result will be a giant spoiler. The search for [rachmaninoff concerto 3] includes a video of Vladimir Horowitz performing this piece (scroll down to see it)."
Reaction from the industry appears to be mixed. On one hand, some bloggers and search experts say that it may now be more difficult to implement successful search engine optimization campaigns because now there are more variables to consider. On the other, those who focus on specialized (or vertical) search may be in good shape.
Danny Sullivan, search analyst with Search Engine Land, described the Google integration search update as "the most radical change to its search results ever."
"The move potentially should be a huge boon for searchers, while search marketers who have paid attention to the importance of specialized or vertical search will see new opportunities," wrote Sullivan in his blog. "To fully explain the importance to both groups, I'm going to work step-by-step through the concept of vertical search engines, how they're often ignored by searchers and search marketers alike, then how Google is going to make this content more visible through Universal Search."
For more information on vertical search, read our story "Does It Pay to Advertise on Vertical Search?"
Meanwhile, it appears that more changes are still on the horizon for Google. Mayer signed off her blog post with this: "While (these) releases are big steps in making the world's information more easily accessible, these are just the beginning steps toward the universal search vision. Stay tuned!"
Michelle Megna is managing editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.
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