Universal Search
Universal Search – also called “blended search” – refers to combining various search areas on one results page. Google introduced it in 2007: since then, images, videos, news, map sections or products have appeared directly in the search results alongside the classic organic results.
Before Universal Search, users had to switch specifically to the respective areas, such as image search or news. This is referred to as horizontal search (general web search) and vertical search (specialised search areas such as images, videos, news or shopping). With Universal Search, Google mixes the matching vertical results directly into the general results page to offer users the most helpful answer in the most suitable form. Initially, these results appeared in separate blocks, which is why they were also called “boxes”.
Since 2007, Google has continued to expand the results page. In addition to images, videos (above all from YouTube), news and Google Maps, the Knowledge Graph with info boxes on people, places and companies (2012), featured snippets, the “People also ask” section, shopping results and the local pack were added, among other things. Products appear both in paid shopping ads and, since 2020, in free product listings. Since 2024 and 2025, the AI-generated answers of AI Overviews have supplemented the results page. What used to be called Universal Search is usually described today as SERP features.
Which elements appear depends heavily on the search query. For searches with purchase intent (e.g. product + “buy”), Google prefers to show shopping results; for local searches, maps and business listings; for current events, news; and for instructions, often videos. Google also takes the user's context into account, such as location, device and language. For companies, this means they have several opportunities to appear in the search results – not only with their website but also with images, videos, products or the Google Business Profile.
Where the content comes from
For the various elements, Google draws on its own indexes and data sources: the image and video index, Google News, Google Maps and the Business Profile, the Knowledge Graph and, for products, the data retailers provide via Google Merchant Center. Anyone who wants to be visible in these areas must maintain the respective basics: optimised images with alt texts, videos with meaningful titles, a complete business profile, structured data and a clean product data feed.
Criticism and impact on SEO
One criticism is that users get a lot of information directly on the Google results page – such as a shop's opening hours or the answer to a factual question – without visiting a website. These “zero-click searches” cost websites visitors, and AI answers have intensified this effect further. At the same time, users spend more time on the results page, which increases the likelihood of ad clicks. For SEO, this means: organic results are often pushed significantly down by ads, shopping elements, maps and AI answers. A page can be in position 1 of the organic results and still only be visible after scrolling. This makes it all the more important to be present in the other elements of the results page too.