The document discusses trends in universal search as identified in a Searchmetrics study. It finds that the number of organic search results has decreased from 10 to 8.5 on average, as Google integrates more knowledge boxes and other elements into search engine results pages. There are also differences in results shown on smartphones versus desktops. Key opportunities for SEO include optimizing content to appear in direct answer boxes, related question boxes, and the knowledge graph. Marketers should understand which devices their target audience uses to inform optimization strategies.

1. What’s New in Universal Search
2016 Edition
Presented by Holly Miller
Professional Service Manager
Searchmetrics
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3. • We are an SEO & Content Optimization platform with our
own data (Research Cloud)
A data and knowledge repository that contains over 250 billion data
elements that are continuously updated like keywords, search topics, social
and PPC data—reaching back to 2009.
• Variety of customers (F500, enterprise, e-commerce)
• Established in 2005
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Who is Searchmetrics?

4. • Professional Service Manager
• Expertise in SEO & holistic brand
marketing
• Fun fact: I went on a safari!
“Today, capturing search intent is about fitting
in and standing out. That means being visible on
page one in a variety of ways.”
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Who is Holly Miller?

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But first, some housekeeping items
Brought to you by this zebra…

6. 3,000,000,000
searches per day
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Universal Search shows SEO is not dead
Google is the gatekeeper to online information

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Searchmetrics Universal & Extended Search Study
Blending in yet standing out
http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/universal-search-study/

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3 Major Trends
Searchmetrics Universal & Extended Search Study
Extended
Search are
traffic
opportunities
Number of
Organic Search
results is less
More boxes in
the SERP
Smartphone &
Desktop differ
1. The original 10 organic search results have now become 8.5
2. Google is integrating an increasing number of boxes within
in the search results
3. There are significant differences between the results for
Smartphones and desktop
The study outlines strategies for exploiting the traffic opportunity
to rank for the various Extended Search boxes.

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10 Organic search results now become 8.5
From Blue Links to Boxes
Google’s classic-looking SERP
consisted of primarily 10 “blue links”
emphasized by descriptions and an URL
Deemphasizing Right Rail Ads
bringing the desktop more in line with what’s visible on a mobile
screen (more than half of Google searches originate on mobile )
designed to allow searchers to quickly glean a direct
answer or provide a related question to the search query
Rich Answer Boxes

10. 1. Knowledge Graph
2. Direct Answer
3. Twitter Cards
4. Maps
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Audience Poll 1
Which one is not an Extended Search element?

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More Boxes = more opportunity
1. Maps
2. News
3. Images
4. Videos
5. Product Listing Ads (PLA)
Four most common Universal Search boxes (+5th Element):
Universal Search integrations dominate
the majority of search queries
80% of searches now include at
least one form of images, videos, news,
or maps

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Differences between Universal & Extended Search
Direct Answer
Related Questions
Knowledge Graph
Carousel (Image)
Twitter Cards
App Packs (Mobile)
Extended Search
(elements began 2012)
Images
Videos
News
Maps
Universal Search
(integrations began 2007)

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Between the two, where’s the real opportunity?
Images Yes
Videos Yes
News Yes
Maps Yes
Direct Answer No markup language
Related
Questions
No markup language
Knowledge
Graph
Yes
Carousel No markup language
Twitter Cards No markup language
App Pack No markup language
Universal Search Extended Search
“Yes” indicates markup language
(like Schema.org) can be applied.

14. 92%
of Business Purchases
start with Search
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People are asking questions…a lot of questions!
Search is the starting point for purchases
B2C B2B
81%
of Shoppers Research
Online before buying
Source: Forrester/ Internet Retailer B2B Buying And Selling Online Survey Source: Adweek/ +GE Capital Retail Bank’s Major Purchase Shopper Study

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Extended Search – the real SEO opportunity
1. Direct Answer/ Fact Box
2. Related Questions
3. Knowledge graph
4. Carousel (Image)
5. Twitter Cards
6. App Packs (Mobile)
Element Overview:

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Direct Answers – the sweet spot
EARNING these rankings is challenging because …
• Markup language is not yet applicable to these elements (*thus far)
• It’s based on Google's analysis of the organic result.
Out of all Extended Search elements, the Direct Answer & Related Questions
are a prime opportunity to optimize for SEO rankings

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Direct Answer boxes = SEO opportunity
Content that answers specific questions which
users type into Google is likely to be featured
here.
Pro: Earning prominent visibility above
organic results and the opportunity to
receive a click.
Con: Not actually receiving the click.

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SEO optimization tips
Linking & Content quality signals: “E-A-T”
Expertise, Authoritative, Trustworthy
 When Google “sees” that the domain itself has links to relevant pages on the
subject and is linked to by other sources of quality, it translates into signals of
trustworthiness and authority.
 Structured pages involve the use of headings and subheadings, bullet points
or numbered lists, and paragraphs which contribute to the overall positive
user experience and make it easier for Google to potentially extract
information relevant to a search query.
Direct Answer & Related Questions

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Related Questions – 2nd SEO opportunity
Answers can also surface midway through
the desktop SERP in the form of Related
Questions as “People Also Asked” box

20. 1. Mobile
2. Desktop
3. I don’t know
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Audience Poll 2
Which device contributes the most organic traffic to your domain:
Mobile or desktop?

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Results can vary – Mobile vs. Desktop
Direct Answers are more likely to appear on Desktop
Different device types will trigger different types of
Universal and Extended Search Elements. Therefore,
Online marketers should take note which devices their
target group uses for searches and strategically design
their content before they start work on optimizations.
Searchmetrics data shows Google primarily responds with a
Direct Answer to queries that involve “How” and “What.”

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Results can vary – Mobile vs. Desktop
Mobile Device Prompts Apps
Mobile searches trigger Direct Answer boxes less
frequently than desktop. App packs (when
applicable) are more likely to be served up.
Having data around mobile queries will indicate
which mobile pages you should to optimize for
these queries.

23. 1. Videos
2. Images
3. News
4. Maps
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Audience Poll 3
If you are currently optimizing for Universal Search integrations,
which are you most heavily optimizing for?

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Key Takeaways
Extended
Search are
traffic
opportunities
Number of
Organic Search
results is less
More boxes in
the SERP
Smartphone &
Desktop differ
1. Traditional Organic search text listings are fewer, but there
are more opportunities to appear within “boxes” if you can
directly answer the question.
2. Related Questions, Twitter Cards, and App Packs are also
prominent opportunities to rank on page 1 organically.
3. Different devices prompt different types of searches.
Knowing the search intent will guide optimization strategies.
Searchmetrics Universal & Extended Search Study
http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/universal-search-study/

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Measure success with The Searchmetrics Suite
Keyword Rankings
returning a Universal
Search or Extended
Search integration

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The End
Questions? Email us at hello@searchmetrics.com

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Image Attribution
Image attribution credits by Holly Miller