However Nitin Karandikar notes in the first comment that "the best Vertical Search engines do a lot more than simply offering search results limited to a given domain; often, they provide specialized UI paradigms, domain-specific parameters, communities, partnerships within the domain, related services, and so on. Until Google can start focusing on these additional strengths (and I'm guessing they will stick to some key domains for the forseeable future, like jobs, real estate and travel), VSEs will continue to dominate specific domains. As an example, Zillow and Trulia provide results and services in real estate that go far beyond simply finding relevant web documents."
Alex responded that Google's vertical search integration will be 'good enough' for most consumers. Both are compelling arguments (and other commenters provide great food for thought too). What do you think? Please take part in our poll below and let us know.
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My personal oppinion is that google won't be stopped. They're most innovative, most flexible and most advanced.
]]>I think Google has to be careful not to clutter their search results. Unless they can figure out how to accurately gauge the intent of searchers, it would be dangerous to include everything under the sun in their general search (i.e., universal search might get too universal and just annoy people or dilute their results). That said, Google has more resources than most companies and they can certainly enter any vertical search market they want -- but that's not a new development. :)
Anyway, I voted for option #2... many will survive (and many of those will probably be acquired), but those that die might have regardless of Google.
]]>Adding verticals to the right-hand side box, as Alex said, is probably a good idea for Google. (I read that wrong initially -- sorry, Alex!)
But universal search, as I understand it, is really about more tightly integrating the different verticals they already have (web, images, video, blogs, code, news, products... am I forgetting any?). I.e, now the main search results sometimes give you a news article, a blog post, a video, etc.
Doing that with jobs, travel, and every vertical under the sun could be very risky, and perhaps ill-advised as it could really dilute the results.
I have no doubt that Google will enter more verticals, however, and probably dominate them. They have the technology and the resources ... and it just means more advertising revenue, so there's no reason for them not to. But I don't think that's a new development... they've already been doing that--they're just now pushing them more to the forefront.
]]>This of course assumes the Google users accept the UI changes and it becomes "successful", which is a big assumption given how much of a change (and a bit of a mess) the UI is.
Pierre
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