Types and Share of Universal Search Results

In January, I examined search results during a single week on Google. During that time, 17% of all results were universal search results, and 58% of those who searched Google saw a universal result at least one time. By a large margin, most saw video and news, followed by images and maps/stocks/weather. Maps constitute the majority of that final bucket with stocks and weather in the low single digits.

The “multiple” column indicates that 15% of the audience was exposed to two or more different types of universal results on one results page. This figure may not rapidly increase if search engines move slowly so as to maintain an optimal consumer experience. However, if it does increase one can imagine a truly multi-media experience on the search engine results page.

Looking at the share of universal search results by type, video and news clearly dominate. Is this driven by consumers? By marketers? It's actually largely driven by a combination of consumers and Google itself. Video results on Google are mostly links to YouTube, where Google has a tremendous inventory and knowledge of the content and a huge base of consumer usage. However, as marketers create more relevant material, that new content will likely start to surface on the results page and change this dynamic.

Next: Click Performance for Universal Search Results