Google’s NEW Universal Search

The new buzz ‘round the net these days is in regards to Google’s NEW Universal Search. You may not have heard of Universal Search yet, but it is going to affect the way your website and your company shows up in search engine results, at least on Google for now. So, what is Google Universal exactly and what does it mean for you?

Google Universal Defined

The way Google handles their search results is changing. You may have noticed that pictures, videos, maps and even press releases are showing up in addition to websites in regular search engine results. This is what Google Universal is all about – giving users more options to their search results.

Google Universal is still just Google. Only they’ve combined all of their various vertical databases into one index to serve you a single set of web search results. So, instead of having to go to “Google Images”, for example, to find a particular image, you may now instead find this image in your regular search engine results. This new feature will expose users to new information without requiring them to visit specialized sections within the Google site.

To access Google Universal, you do not need to do anything different – just do a Google search and you may start to see blogs, local maps, video, images, and news right alongside your usual web page results.

What Does this Mean for You?

If you are a website owner, this is a GIANT change and the way you optimize your website is about to change dramatically. It is no longer an option to include optimized images, videos, news, local maps, or blogs on your website, it is a requirement. Remember, Google has approximately 60% of the U.S. search engine market, so its’ time to begin thinking beyond your traditional web strategies or risk getting left behind.

So, what can you do about it today? First of all, we recommend starting with the basics and optimize all of your “on-site” elements as soon as possible. This includes optimizing all of your content, links, images and videos accordingly. Once you’ve got the basics covered, you’ll want to tackle your “off-site” optimization tactics such as blogs, press releases, maps so that they too can be found and indexed properly by Google. Also, as we suggest with all online marketing campaigns, measure your efforts through web analytics and determine your ROI. Participating in advanced optimization strategies only makes sense if it can provide you with a proper return. Finally, make sure you don’t overlook the basics. Good site design, keyword rich content and relevant link building are still essential components for your SEO strategy.

For a complete list of feeds to consider, please see below:

• Google Local Business
• Google News – RSS and Press Release Syndication
• Google Base – XML Product Feed
• Google Books – XML Book Fee
• You Tube – Video Syndication

Conclusion

The web is evolving quickly and so are the search engines. Google Universal is just an acknowledgment of that change. By taking the time to ensure that your website is Google Universal “ready”, you'll increase the likelihood of getting in front of more of your potential clients and customers.

Ron Weber is currently the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Internet Marketing Agency.

Tips for Search Engine Optimization


Follow the rules.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is still a scary thing for most people. If you do it well, your site can quickly obtain high rankings AND significantly better/more qualified traffic. If, however, you do it poorly, you’ll likely be wasting your precious resources (both time and money). Furthermore, if you perform search engine optimization and try to trick your way to the top, your site may be banned. Therefore, it is critical you don’t try to fool the search engines but rather instead take an organic approach to your optimization efforts.

Our top five tips.


Below is a list of the top five legitimate things you can do today for better natural placement in the search engines tomorrow:

1) Have a Theme – What is your site all about? Every site needs to have a theme and every page of your site needs to be optimized for keywords that relate to that theme.
2) Content is Key – It is critical that your site have content that relates directly to your theme. Have keywords but do not stuff your content with them. Instead, make sure you use your keywords only a few times per page. Eventually, through latent semantic indexing, the search engines will be able to read the theme of your pages by associating certain terms with concepts when indexing your web pages. Until that day, however, keywords still rule – so use them.
3) Meta Tags – Your title tags are critical to your success. So make sure you have them and that you use your keywords in them. BUT please keep it simple – the more you put in your tags, the less effective the result.
4) Design Issues – The way your site was built definitely does matter – so make sure you work with a team of designers that have a strong track record in building sites that get high rankings. Also, stay completely away from sites built entirely in Flash or in Frames.
5) Development Issues – Dynamic sites, historically, have had a difficult time with the search engines. Make sure your team develops a site that makes it easy for the search bots to crawl around your site efficiently. Also, make sure your site has XML Sitemap and Robot.txt files.

A final thought.

While following these recommended tips, your site will be much better positioned for long-term rankings in the search engines. However, please keep in mind that many of the search engines these days, especially Google, factor in several “off the page criteria.” Google considers factors like the number of inbound links to your site, the age of your site, and click through behavior, into their algorithm. It is important to note that optimization is no longer just about bringing people to your site but rather, it is about having a site that people get value from, as judged by items such as your inbound links and visitor click through activity. If your site does not deliver value, consider designing a new site that can.

Ron Weber is currently the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Internet Marketing Agency.