When most businesses think about search engine results, they are really thinking only of where their website shows up in the list of a Google search. However, while Google was originally just a search engine, it is now also a vertical search engine, with many more elements that can benefit a company.

The term vertical simply means that the search results are now broken down into blocks of result types down the page.  Although I am talking about Google, most of the major search engines use this approach now.

These days when you search, you are not simply asking the main search anymore, but also any smaller search engines that the search provider has absorbed or created in that time.

As you see from Google results, a simple search can now result in blocks of results like pictures from Google Images, map listings from Google Local, products from Google Stores, YouTube videos, news results and blog posts.

Another recent Google aquisition was to include results from a travel search engine to display comparison results for travel sites like Travelocity and Orbitz. With these additional elements, Google is acting as more of a hub of information. Such multi-results benefit the person searching.

For someone who may not know exactly what they want, the vertical search method brings a new perspective and offers something that person may not have considered.

The best thing about this is that because the first page of results now contains these different items, a business now has more ways of being found than just the traditional website link results.  By utilizing as many vertical departments as possible, you can often compensate for a site's lack of visibility in other areas. If your website cannot get good search results with planning, it can show up on the map for local searches. By posting well-keyworded, informative videos to YouTube, or informative third party site blog entries, you can show up in the searches where your main website may not.

Of course, as with any marketing, you need an organized, planned approach, rather than simply putting sometimes irrelevant or spam-looking items across the board. The best thing about it for a local-based business is if these different methods are used effectively, it can seriously increase your visibility. The result can be your website often showing up in several places - on the first page of Google results, in the organic results for your website, a YouTube video, in the map results, and so on.

If you have concerns with your web presence reaching your widest customer base, now is the time to look into our WebUpdate system sites.  Not Open Source, they take advantage of advanced SEO, social, and responsive features to give your business the best competitive edge online.   

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