Videos Dominate Universal Search Results

Google Universal Search is a method that Google uses to blend results from “vertical” search engines, such as Google Images or Google News, in its web search listings.  While a regular or horizontal search means using a general purpose search engine to receive the entire spectrum of results, a vertical search slices down vertically through one specific topic area, providing the user with results that are more likely to pertain to the information that they’re seeking.

Searchmetrics studied the universal search results for millions of keywords over the course of one year (2013), and found that videos are a dominant feature.  The study shows that 85% of all searches contained some element of universal search blend, with the most common being video results, following by images, then news, shopping and maps.

The precise breakdown is as follows:

• Videos: appear for 65% of keywords
• Images: appear for 40% of keywords
• News: appear for 16% keywords
• Shopping: appear for 6% of keywords
• Maps: appear for less than 1% of keywords

“Our general observation is that over the course of 2013, the proportion of keywords with at least one Universal Search integration increased in the U.S., after a temporary decrease in 2012,” the report explains.   The most common integrations in the search results were videos, which rose 7% over 2013.  Searchmetrics explains that increasingly, the SERPs display at least one video result.

The study includes a multitude of interesting results.  Some of the other highlights include:

• The proportion of keywords with Universal Search Integrations is up to 81% from 75% the previous year
• A considerable rise in the proportion, but a 15% reduction in the absolute number of Video integrations displayed, which seems to coincide with the switch to a paid model for Google Shopping in the U.S.
• Images are displayed 45% of the time
• A 182% increase in the total number of Shopping integrations and their market share

Searchmetric’s study also indicates that the overall diversity of news sources that are featured in universal search results has dropped, but the market share of news integrations and the “absolute number” of news integrations into the universal search results remained quite stable.  The highest growth in 2013 was for Product Listing Ads in universal search, accounting for approximately 18% of all universal search integration types.