Universal Search: a First Look at the Data

Earlier this year on this blog, I promised to share data about Universal Search. Below is the industry’s first look at the data, shown for the first time publicly at Search Engine Strategies NYC last week on the “Orion Panel” – an exciting session with John Battelle from Federated Media, Lyndsey Menzies of Big Mouth Media, and Jack Menzel from Google.

Comscore’s findings are based on Google search queries observed through Comscore qSearch during one week in January 2008. During this period we observed over 220 million Google searches containing a universal result, out of 1.2 billion searches overall:

1. 17% of the queries had a universal result
2. 16% of total Google clicks were sourced from a page where a universal result was present
3. 14% of paid clicks were sourced from result pages where a universal result was present

Assuming the pattern of 17% holds, we’re talking about approximately one billion monthly universal search queries on Google alone. This is not an insignificant number and shows that universal / mash-up / blended search results are clearly now in play. It will be interesting to track how this grows (or not) over time.

For the search marketing industry, the shift from 17% total universal search results to 14% paid clicks is a vital stat. In other research situations, a move of 3 percentile points is hardly worth mentioning. In the world of search – where decimal points of change move tens of millions in commerce – it’s a big deal. It means that the presence of a universal results yield fewer clicks and will create more competition among search marketers. However, these changes should improve the referral quality among those consumer that do click.

In my opinion, major search engines like Google are adapting their result page to best meet the needs of the consumer – even if it results in challenges for or criticism from marketers. If the engines lose the consumer, they will lose their business. It will be incumbent upon the marketers to quickly adapt and create videos and images that are relevant to the consumer and make them available to the search engines. Not an easy task given the legal and technical hurdles many major brands face, but those who do it quickly will have a competitive advantage in the search arena.

NEXT: Penetration by type of universal result