Website: What is Universal Search?

Website: What is Universal Search?

Universal search is search that shows images, local businesses and rich snippets on Google’s search results page. In the past, Google only showed links from other websites when a user typed something but now, Google uses universal search. This refers to Google’s ability to take results from many different verticals and combine them into a single SERP.

How does universal search work with SEO?

The types of content that appears vary depending upon what people commonly look for with a particular question. For example, a search for “Nike” returns a mix of shopping ads, standard websites and company information on Wikipedia. On the other hand, a search for “how to make sticky rice” gives you news articles, videos, recipe links and other common questions. 

Understanding universal search will help better position your business in it. Understanding where you rank in universal search for particular keywords and then comparing your content to that of your competitors will help you generate better material. 

Related: Understanding Search Engines