The Changing Face Of Google
Google is now rolling out it’s latest update called Universal Search. While this is one of the most important changes to the SERP’s in years, there is no reason to panic! If you are like me, your site has an active Web 2.0 marketing plan. The inclusion of more prominently displayed news and other related media results will be a big plus to sites that include Social Network Marketing applications like WordPress.
Google’s Universal Search Explained
Google SERP’s are now beginning to present results to users of its main Web search engine, including images, video clips, book information, news headlines and local business (through Google Maps).
Google said the change, which it calls “universal search,” required a multiyear effort to update it’s technical infrastructure and the algorithms it uses to rank and display their search results. Google’s move comes as other Internet Search Engines such as ASK, Windows Live and Yahoo are also working on changes to their functionality, including adding different types of information into the SERPS. In my article Website Usability and Search Engine Optimization I describe a little about Google’s new action plan.
If you take into consideration the focus that Google is putting on personalized search and incorporate Universal Search into that business model, the results are startling. It is obvious that Google is fully committed to being a one stop Internet shop for everything that a user needs. The promotion of Google Base and Google Checkout is more evidence that Google doesn’t expect users to need to go anywhere else. By gathering as much information about the way average users behave is the backbone of Universal Search.
Google is taking the data it gathers through personal search and the Google Toolbar and applying the results into Universal Search. A lot of people are complaining over privacy issues and the sheer amount of data that Google is gathering, as well as the tight lipped manner in which Google uses that data. I personally have found my search experience is much better when signed in to personal search. Google has seen the patterns of sites I click on and is doing a better job of putting relevant sites in front of me.
How Universal Search Effects Website Owners
How do these changes effect you and your site? If you are a service or information site that doesn’t sell goods and products then you absolutely must have a blog or other dynamic content system. I am seeing sites that are 10 years old and industry leaders falling down the SERPS and being replaced by 1 and 2 year old blogs! I use WordPress as my content management system and prefer that it is added as an extension to an existing domain. This make the domain itself a publisher.
If you have an e-commerce site, then Google Base and Google Checkout is the way to go. The thing you have to keep in mind about Google Base is you really should use the API to submit your product info. A spreadsheet might be a short term solution, but if you don’t keep it updated, you have the chance of your store being ousted every 45 days. Like Froogle, Google Base requires that stores keep their content and products fresh and updated.
In conclusion Universal Search is going to greatly assist users in finding relevant information about the topics they are interested in. From a standpoint of a publisher it will mean that you will have to keep your site fresh and dynamic to stay in the SERPS as a relevant source or an authority on any given subject.
