Google Universal Search
Have you noticed something different on Google homepage and search result pages?
Google homepage has links to other Google services on the top left corner. On search result pages, a navigation bar with dynamic links added below the top search form.
For some search terms (e.g. steve jobs, you might also get image results at the top, related search terms and news archive results at the bottom.
These are some of the changes of Google Universal Search.
“Our focus has always been making our users’ search experience as simple and straightforward as possible,” said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google. “The ultimate goal of universal search is to break down the silos of information that exist on the web and provide the very best answer every time a user enters a query. While we still have a long way to go, today’s announcements are a big step in that direction.”
Google Press Center: Press Release
Google Experimental search
In addition to Google Universal Search, Google also announced Google Experimental, a experimental version of Google search service with some new features:
- Timeline and Map views — See results on a timeline or map. It works best for searches related to people, companies, events and places (example: thomas jefferson, olympics). Tip: Get your Google timeline: YOURNAME view:timeline
- Keyboard shortcuts — Dump your mouse, navigate Google search results using keyboard shortcuts (example: malaysia).
- Left-hand search navigation & Right-hand contextual search navigation — Additional related searches and deeper information about your search term on the left or right hand side of Google search results (example: malaysia (left), malaysia (right)).
My two cents
The new improvements of Google Universal Search and features of Experimental search give me easier access to other information on Google services. I like it, how about you?
