Last Thursday we talked a little about blended search and how the search engine result mix has changed over time.   Today, our SEO company will cover search landscapes, how to analyze them, and most importantly how to use them to your optimization advantage.

The search landscape for a particular query varies widely.  Google searches that include a particular location, for instance, tend to start with about ten listings from the Google local business center.  Of course, adding your business to those listings should be one of the first steps of your online marketing campaign.  Not only will adding your business listing (along with photos and other information) help your SEO process along, it will ensure that your customers can find your business on Google maps.

Other potential elements in the search landscape include images (particularly if you are searching for an individual or distinctive place, like the Sears Tower), video results, Google news results if it is a timely or breaking news-related search, book content, and of course, the ubiquitous Wikipedia pages that are almost always near the top of the SERPs.  Press releases (which can also appear in Google news) and blog listings are other possible things that might appear in the results.

Once you determine what your search landscape looks like, it is time to optimize your digital assets accordingly.  Make sure the images on your site are tagged properly and show in Google’s image search, that any video content also appears on YouTube (create a company Youtube channel for maximum exposure), if you have a Wikipedia page that it is as complimentary as possible, and that you create press releases for any company news.  Lastly, if your brand is mentioned in any books, it might be possible (or they might already be listed) in Google’s collection of digitized books.  All of these elements combined make up the search landscape, and it is important to take full advantage of them all for SEO and online marketing purposes.

What do the search landscapes for your keywords look like?  Are they mostly traditional listings still, or are they already blended search results?  As technology and the internet become more sophisticated, blended results are going to begin showing up for an increasing number of queries, so savvy online marketers need to be prepared.