SEO 101

There has been a lot of discussion lately about “Universal Search”.  What does Universal Search mean and how can you use it to your advantage.   Google began talking about Universal Search over a year ago and has made some small steps toward implementing it.  We anticipate that over the coming months and years we will see further steps down the path of Universal Search in Google’s search results as well as the other major search engines.

 So what is Universal Search? 

 Google’s vision for Universal Search is to deliver a single, integrated set of search results based on all of the content sources in Google’s massive database – including blogs, news, maps, videos, images, articles, books, and text web pages.  The ultimate goal of this model according to Google is to break down the huge amount of information that exists on the web and to provide the very best answer – from all sources within Google’s index – each time a user enters a query.        For example, a user searching for information on Harry Potter may be interested in information related to the books, movies, character and the actor – not just web pages that mention the books or the movies. When Google fully implements Universal Search, Google search will deliver a single set of blended search results that includes links to blogs about Harry Potter, video clips from the movies, news reports about and images of the character and Daniel Radcliffe (the actor), the JK Rowling website, fan websites, links to Amazon and Barnes & Nobel where you can purchase books and DVDs online – all ranked in order of relevance to the query. Users will no longer have to visit several different Google search areas to find a wide array of information on the topic. 

How can I take advantage of Universal Search? 

As a Page 1 client, you already are well on your way to doing just that, but there is always more that you can do.  Following are just a few examples: 

• Blogs – Incorporating a blog in your website (or creating a separate blog outside your website) and actively blogging is, perhaps, the single most important thing you can do.  Blogs are actively searched and Google rewards active bloggers who regularly post topical substantive information and materials.  You can use your blog to post images and video clips as well as text.  You should know that Page 1 actively optimizes and promotes our clients’ blogs by registering them with all the major blog directories and search engines so they get the maximum possible traffic.
• Videos – Despite all the talk by certain competitors, videos have not made any real impact on the search results for people looking for cosmetic dentists, cosmetic surgeons, lasik surgeons or injury lawyers.  While eventually videos may begin showing up as part of the Universal Search results on Google and other major search engines, the real upside with video is “conversion”.  In short, well produced videos promoting your expertise and what makes your practice special can help you convert more people from your website into potential patients or clients.  Page 1 offers excellent video production capabilities – for about half the cost of some of our competitors.  In addition, our SEO team regularly registers all of our clients’ videos on YouTube as well as Google and Yahoo Video, just to name a few.  Please contact your account manager to see examples of our video production.
• Local Search Results – Google currently displays as many as ten local providers for certain queries.  Typically, these are seen at the top of the search results with a map showing office locations.  Page 1 has been actively promoting our clients on Google Local and Google Maps for the last couple of years.  If your website is not listed next to the map of local providers, call your account manager and we will help you improve your position.
• News – News is one of the most important elements of Universal Search.  Google already incorporates news stories into some search results.  The good news for you is that news stories rarely make it into the search results for local dentists, cosmetic surgeons, ophthalmologists or attorneys.  However, we can help you put your practice in a position so that you do show up in news results. 
• Images – Before and after images have never been more important for our cosmetic dentists and our cosmetic surgeons.  Not only are they essential conversion tools (converting visitors into prospective patient inquiries), they may eventually be incorporated into Google’s Universal Search results.  If you don’t have before and after photos on your website, add them now.  And, if you haven’t updated your before and after gallery recently, now is the time to do it.  Our SEO Team already optimizes and registers your images to ensure they are in Google’s database.  If you keep adding images, you are more likely to see positive results.

 At Page1 our SEO Team has been consistently following processes to ensure that our clients’ blogs, videos, websites and more will be included in Universal Search results when it is fully implemented.  We do all this as a matter of course to ensure that you get the best possible search results.

 If you have questions about Universal Search or would like to know how you can implement some of the ideas mentioned above, please contact your account manager and we will help you devise a strategy to do just that.