Google Universal Search is a way that Google “blends” results from “vertical” search engines like Google Images or Google News into its web search listings. Google Launches “Universal Search” & Blended Results covers the launch of the system in May 2007; Google Universal Search Expands covers how it grew in 2008. Both provide good background for understanding the system today, as does Search 3.0: The Blended & Vertical Search Revolution. Below are articles with the latest developments with Universal Search.

Google Testing Two Videos On One Web Search Result

Aug 28, 2008 at 8:32am ET by Barry Schwartz

Ever since the launch of Google Universal Search, Google has been showing videos in the web search results. But sometimes, there are more than one video shown in the web search results and, in many cases, those multiple videos will take up the space of 2 or more of the ten results shown. Philipp Lenssen reports that Google is now testing showing a second video result on the same search result as the first video result. For example, the search that triggered this test was for iphone in Google Canada. What I see are two video results beneath a news result, which is beneath a web result. In [...]

Now Google Searches For “Educating” Not Safe For Family Viewing

Jul 23, 2008 at 11:17am ET by Barry Schwartz

I feel bad for always seeming to pick on Google about showing inappropriate images in normal web search. But it's happened again. This morning at the Search Engine Roundtable, I explained that a search for [educating] returns a "teacher standing over a student holding a small rod, with the student's pants down leaning over a desk." For the term education! What is even worse is that I privately reported this image three days ago to Google for removal, using the new Report Images feature in Google web search. Today, it's still sitting there (though now, not likely for long). Here what's show [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Universal Search

Google Adds “Report Images” To Web Search Results

Jun 24, 2008 at 8:49am ET by Barry Schwartz

Finding adult images on Google by doing an ordinary web search is not all that uncommon these days. In fact, I reported one such as in March and another case this morning at the Search Engine Roundtable. What I also noticed this morning was a new feature to "report images" to Google that are found within web search. For example, a search on new bathroom brings up an adult image, but I was able to report that search result to Google directly from that page: After you click on the "Report image," you are asked to confirm: Then after you confirm, Google gives you a "thank you" message: [...]

Google Drops Ability To Watch Video Directly In Search Results

Jun 5, 2008 at 8:18am ET by Barry Schwartz

Vanessa Fox posted details a few days ago about how Google has removed the ability to watch videos directly in the search results and discussed how Yahoo! and Live Search handle video listings in web search. Ionut posted a few days later and got several comments from people who used the feature and didn't want it taken away. As part of Google's universal search launch, videos listed in the search results included a plus sign that said "watch video." As of a few weeks ago, that plus box is no longer available, and searchers have to click through the result to watch the video on the hosting p [...]

Expand Customer Relationships As Search Engines Evolve User Experience

May 30, 2008 at 7:57pm ET by Vanessa Fox

Last week, Microsoft Live Search expanded the description that appears below Wikipedia results and added navigational links to major headings within the Wikipedia article. Google has long been gently mocked by the search marketing community for ranking Wikipedia results highly for a large percentage of queries, but the general searching population tends to find these results useful. Microsoft must have found that their searchers find Wikipedia results particularly valuable for their queries to have implemented special treatment for them. Below is the Wikipedia result for the query breakfast [...]

iProspect: Blended Search Resulting In More Clicks On News, Images, And Video

Apr 7, 2008 at 7:09am ET by Greg Sterling

Since the advent of "blended" or "universal search" last year across the major engines, there's been ongoing discussion and speculation about its impact on user behavior and search marketing. Gord Hotchkiss last year wrote extensively about how blended search (on Google) has in fact shifted the user focus from the so-called "golden triangle" at the upper left of the page to a more distributed pattern that resembles an "E." Now search marketing firm iProspect has released a study (conducted by JupiterResearch) that shows users are responding to the various specialized content types within sear [...]

Branding Coming To Search In A Big Way

Mar 20, 2008 at 10:50am ET by Greg Sterling

Search has historically been seen as a direct response vehicle and the notion that search is a branding medium has traditionally been met with considerable skepticism by search marketers, albeit somewhat less recently. In an effort to be provocative in moderating the "branding and search" panel at SMX West last month, I said, "Search is much more a branding medium than anything else." When I asked how many people agreed in the audience, only a few hands went up. James Lamberti of comScore then presented evidence to argue that search was in fact a powerful branding medium because of its reach, [...]

Google SafeSearch Filter Bug: Porn Found On Google Universal Search Results

Mar 19, 2008 at 11:59am ET by Barry Schwartz

This morning I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that users have been spotting explicit pornographic images on Google web search for a search on hot celebrities (warning: before clicking, take caution). The query triggers Google to show an image search result at the top of the web search results, also known as Google Universal Search. The pornographic image shows up even though I have my preferences set to block "explicit images." Note that my preference is the default SafeSearch setting for all Google users. Any user, including children, searching for that keyword will see an extre [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Images | Google: Universal Search

New—And Unfortunate—Changes To Google Local Search

Feb 6, 2008 at 1:59pm ET by Daniel Bower

Google recently made some quite significant changes to the OneBox / Universal Search result that appears at the top of the result page when you do a query that Google determines has local intent. Previously, Google would display three local search results in the OneBox area, with a star rating and a review snippet. Now Google returns 10 local results listed A-J. Once I'd finished reeling from the potential impact this would have on our natural traffic, I began to run through all the potential implications. What I discovered was quite a naive system—one that feels more like something [...]

Google Universal Search Expands

Jan 30, 2008 at 10:32am ET by Danny Sullivan

It's just over a half-year since Google launched Universal Search, its method of blending results from its own various topically-focused or "vertical" search engines. Since that time, the system has evolved. In particular, Google Universal Search now fills more than just 10 spots on the page, while shopping and blog search results are among new resources being included. Below, a look at these and related changes. The Big Picture: Comparative Ranking & Blending With Universal Search, Google promised that two major things would happen: Comparative Ranking Blending [...]

Google Maps Gaining On Market Leader Mapquest

Jan 10, 2008 at 8:03am ET by Greg Sterling

Mapquest arguably "owns" the mapping brand online. It has been the dominant mapping site for years by a wide margin. But that dominance may now be slipping under pressure from Google. Hitwise reports that "traffic to Mapquest has remained flat year on year and is down 20% in the past 6 months. Google Maps traffic is up 135% year on year and is up 7% in the past 6 months." According to Hitwise, after Mapquest, Google is the number two mapping site, followed by Yahoo and then Microsoft's Live Local. Hitwise's Heather Hopkins argues that the traffic trend is based almost exclusively on Goog [...]

Google 2D? Google Tests Vertical Results In Right-Hand Column

Dec 13, 2007 at 11:15am ET by Barry Schwartz

Ask 3D was the name Ask gave to the "three pane" user interface rolled out earlier this year. Now Google seems to be copying Ask, at least to the second degree, with the right-most column being used to show vertical results similar to how Ask does it. Google Blogoscoped and Valleywag both have pictures of Google trying out the right-hand column as a location for Google's OneBox results. It would be interesting to see if this test turns out to be more than a test. Google has adopted Universal Search, but by placing these vertical results outside of the main web results, they no longer seem t [...]

Google Adds Subscribed Links To Universal Search Interface

Dec 12, 2007 at 9:22am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google Subscribed Links Integrated Into Universal Search from Google Blogoscoped reports Google has integrated subscribed links into the Universal Search interface within the search results. In the past, subscribed links, which is part of the Google Custom Search Engine initiative, would be listed in a green box at the top of your search results. Now, these subscribed links can appear anywhere on the page, from the top to the middle to the bottom of the search results. Here is a picture showing the Search Engine Roundtable Subscribed Links within the middle of the search results for a sear [...]

Search 3.0: The Blended & Vertical Search Revolution

Nov 27, 2007 at 9:11am ET by Danny Sullivan

This has been a remarkable year. After years of no real dramatic evolution in search, the third generation finally arrived. Google calls it Universal Search, and I've been tending to say "blended search" as a generic name for the change that's now hit all the major search engines. But in doing the agenda for our upcoming SMX West conference, a better term for what's going on finally clicked: Search 3.0. In this article, I'll cover the why and what of Search 3.0, taking in Search 1.0 and 2.0 along the way and touch on how Search 4.0 -- personal and social refinement -- is on the way. [...]

Chewing Gum, Google Universal Search, & Is That A Nude Woman?

Nov 8, 2007 at 11:30pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Here's latest Google Universal Search funny, this time for chewing gum. Three images at the top. You've got your gumballs, your Juicy Fruit, and your -- um -- naked woman? Yep: You can't really see that much, so I haven't bothered to place a strategic black dot. Those concerned that this might have come up in front of a classroom of kids will be happy to know that if Google SafeSearch is on, then none of the images show. This is because it appears that SafeSearch overrides Google Universal Search image integration, regardless if a picture is explicit or not. I say this because if you do an [...]

Google Actively Considering ‘Richer Format’ Ads For Google.com

Sep 7, 2007 at 4:04pm ET by Greg Sterling

MediaPost reports on comments, about image and video ads potentially appearing on Google, made by company speakers at the Citigroup Technology Conference in New York this week. However, this is just a further acknowledgment and confirmation of what Marissa Mayer previously alluded to during the Universal Search unveiling in May. At that time Mayer said: Well we don't have anything to announce on that today. I do think this opens the door for the introduction of richer media into the search results page. We are now going to understand how users interact with that. And as Alan always likes to [...]

An Insider’s View Of Google Universal Search

Aug 31, 2007 at 8:56am ET by David Bailey

Google's Universal Search was definitely a buzz generator at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose. Universal was tagged as probably the most significant development in search this year, and its effects are just starting to be felt throughout the industry, by both searchers and search marketers alike. It’s particularly timely that this week’s guest columnist is Google’s David Bailey, who heads the team working on Universal Search. Today, David shares the reasoning behind the team's work on Universal Search, along with some examples of how it works.—Gord Hotchkiss In May 2007 [...]

Google Universal Search Means Looking For Raccoons Is No Longer Family Friendly

Aug 3, 2007 at 1:12pm ET by Danny Sullivan

A reader tipped me off to this. Search for raccoon, and Google Universal Search puts some pictures up at the top of the page: See it? Third one over? I didn't know a dog and a raccoon could, well... To be fair, Microsoft Live does the same thing: Yahoo also shows the happy couple, but only if you specifically do an image search. Ask doesn't, clearly exhibiting a bias against raccoon-dog love. Have a good weekend, everyone :) [...]

Making Google Universal Search (Sort Of) Work Like Ask3D

Jul 6, 2007 at 7:05am ET by Danny Sullivan

Google Universal Search and Ask3D are two different approaches to the same thing: how to blend results from various search databases into a single page. Ask has received praise for being more elegant in its presentation. What if you could make Google act like Ask? You can, with a new Greasemonkey script. Encyclopedic Google from Google Operating System explains the Google Extra script more and how it removes Google's ad column on the right-hand side to insert results from images, video, Wikipedia and Dictionary.com. Don't have the script but like the idea? Searchmash is Google's test si [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Universal Search

Search Illustrated: Google’s Universal Search Explained

Jul 3, 2007 at 8:48am ET by Elliance

Google recently made what Danny called "the most radical change to its search results ever, introducing a "Universal Search" system that will blend listings from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages." Danny went on to write a massive, multi-part post explaining Universal Search and its implications for both searchers and search marketers. Today's Search Illustrated sums up Google's new approach in a simple, straightforward way: Graphic by Elliance, an eMarketing firm specializing in results-driven search engine marketing, [...]

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