Will Google Universal drastically change SEO? Some people think so:

This new search option may have long-term repercussions for every search engine optimization company in the industry if it is something that is preferred by the public at large and if it becomes the standard going forward.

Google Universal is somewhat over rated (if it’s rated at all). The reason it’s an issue at all is because Google has had features that most people weren’t aware of. You could have all along searched for blogs under Google Blog Search, photos under Google Images, or videos under Google Video. But most people haven’t been aware of this. Now, you can just perform a regular search as usual and Google will return those results along with your normal organic searches.

This isn’t universal yet, however. Google is rolling it out in a piecemeal fashion. It works for some queries but not all. If it catches on then Google will roll it out across the board. Will it be helpful?

Yes, and no. Keep in mind that for every video, blog entry, or image that appears in the top 10 results for a search query that there is one less web page that will appear there. That means competition for those top 10 spots will change. In some ways it will be more fierce. However, in other ways, everyone will have more chances to appear in the top 10.

How Google Universal Will Work

Here’s how it will work: A searcher will perform a search for a particular term - let’s say “log cabins.” Currently, this search query brings up 10 web pages optimized for the keyword phrase “log cabin.” Below those top 10 results you’ll get a list of related search queries, which allows you to click on one of those links to narrow down or modify your search for “log cabins.” I actually like this feature because it tells me that Google knows which log cabin searches are most popular or most likely to match my intentions. Below those appear three photos of log cabins.

For many searches, the photos appear at the top of the SERP. But the feature that makes Google Universal attractive and helpful is at the very top of the page in a blue bar - you know, that blue bar that tells you how many results show up for your query? On the left side of that bar you’ll see some links that will lead you to more specialized searches for “log cabins.” In this case, you see “Web” and “Images.” For some queries you’ll see “Videos,” “News,” or even “Blogs.”

What Happens If You Click on ‘Images’

If you click on “Images” then you’ll be taken to a SERP that shows you the top 10 results for images tagged with “log cabins.” What makes this feature useful from and SEO perspective if you’ll be able to maximize your own potential to be found by a search query by using photos, other images, videos, and blog entries (just to name a few) for your particular keywords. Since every image can’t appear on the universal SERP, the question is “how does one get to the universal SERP from the vertical (in this case “Image”) SERP?” That question will take some time and experimentation from SEOs willing to spend the time in order to answer. But out of 20 images on the Image vertical SERP three of them will have enough clout to appear on the universal SERP.

What about the other 17 photos? Don’t worry, they’re not lost. A certain percentage of searchers will click over to the Image page from the universal SERP. If your photo appears on that page then you’re as much a winner as before because in the past your photo would not have appeared on a search for “log cabins” at all. Now it will.

Another Useful Google Universal Trick

Another trick is to click on one of the verticals at the top of the page. Even if the vertical search category doesn’t appear in the blue bar, you can click on it in the top left corner of your screen and find videos, for example, that are optimized for the “log cabins” keyword phrase. Same thing for news items. Then, if you are on the news SERP you can click on “Blogs” on the left side of the page and see all the blogs that use “log cabins” as a keyword. If your blog, photo, video, or other element is optimized at all for the phrase “log cabin” then you stand a chance of being listed on one of the SERP pages for that keyword phrase. The SEO hasn’t changed, but your chances of being found has.

How To Win With Google Universal

While the principles of SEO remain the same with Google Universal, the strategies are slightly different. You’ll be more likely to appear in a Google Universal SERP if you also appear in one of the vertical SERPs. Therefore, you’ll need to offer more photos, images, videos, news items, and blog entries that are optimized with the correct keywords. If you are moderately successful in the vertical arena then you should be somewhat successful in the universal arena.

Of course, all of this is assuming that Google continues with its Universal approach. I think they will and I think it will only get better. Currently, I’ve noticed many of the photos that appear in the Images SERP do not have alt text. That will have to change. Given Google’s past I would say that they will change their algorithms to ensure that alt tags for images become more important. They won’t be supremely important because Google only moderately considers meta tags important - it is more concerned with on page content. But as more images compete for recognition there will have to be some way to set them apart. Right now the only way to do that is through alt tags because images aren’t crawlable. Unless Google can figure out how to make images and videos crawlable, alt tags will be very important as will the page URL of any page on which your images and videos appear.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Search Engine Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.