The Google search results landscape has forever changed. Yes, this is a huge deal. With the launch of Google Universal Search, you will see a totally different approach to search results that you have never seen before.
Remember we found both Google News results in the middle of the Google search results? Remember two nights ago we found Google Local Results Found In Google.com Web Search Results? Well, that is here to say. Vertical searches (video, images, news, local, blogs, etc.) will now be directly incorporated within the main Google Web search results at Google.com. I am not kidding. I strongly recommend you read through the various articles Danny and company wrote at Search Engine Land.
- Google 2.0: Google Universal Search - Google's New Navigational Links: An Illustrated Guide - Google Experimental: Opt-In To Google User Interface Experiments - Google Searchology: CLIR and Views - Mayer Suggests New Ad Units Might Show Up On Google.com
If you want a quick demo, video style, I have created a screen cast with voice overlays showing you many of the new features Google has launched in the main search web results.
The forums, as you would image, are all buzzing about it. I love the title used at Cre8asite Forums, Predictive Search Goes Live On Google - yes, it is predictive. Google has to know what you are thinking by the two words you enter into that small search box. They have to know you want three of the ten results to be local oriented or a video embedded within the search results or news items in the main results - it is predictive and universal in nature.
SEOs and SEMs, this changes the search results landscape. As I described at my personal blog last night, Google Will Never Be The Same: Invisible Tabs a Reality. Danny's Searching With Invisible Tabs concept has come alive at Google.com last night. And as Danny put it towards SEMs:
The skilled search engine marketer's most important asset is understanding how search engines get various types of listings, then helping their clients enter the appropriate databases.
SEOs and SEMs now, more than ever, need to think vertical.
Forum discussion at Cre8asite Forums, Search Engine Watch Forums, WebmasterWorld, HighRankings Forums and DigitalPoint Forums.

Comments:
Jane
05/17/2007 01:10 pm
Thank you for this, very interesting and clear, I thought something was wrong with my internet when my regular Google homepage had changed!
Kelly
05/17/2007 03:57 pm
Apparently this has effected other types of search as the navigation buttons that have moved up top on the regular search have disappeared on others: http://www.google.com/firefox -- This page is mostly useless now for anything but a straight search. The Google logo is not even linked so there is no simple click way to get to Google.com.
glengara
05/17/2007 08:29 pm
*..yes, it is predictive.* How is it predictive?