By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
I saw a domain for sale today and it prompted me to begin searching for some local chiropractic related terms. One thing led to another and I found myself searching Bakersfield Chiropractic. I was amused to discover a post from planet chiropractic news displayed within the search results but what I found really neat was a few examples of blended search which provided an opportunity to put together this hopefully educational post.
I captured three different screenshots with the first one being displayed below.
The search I performed included results for an article appearing on Planet Chiropractic from February 18 of 2008. Notice just underneath the snippet (…which features one of his three daughters talking about the benefits of chiropractic care.) is a link to a map along with the address for a chiropractic office in the 93312 area.
This next screenshot shows what the search result looks like when clicking on the + (plus sign) that appears to the left of the map link. Results open within the search page and here is what is displayed…
I don’t know about you, but I find it very exciting that one can get information for local businesses directly within search results, without having to trudge through directory web sites, or even having to leave the main search page.
If I was consumer searching for this particular chiropractic office or an office in the Bakersfield area, I’d likely get this map link (or something similar) within the blended results. Two options I think are really great features is the option to get directions or to expand the map view. Very cool stuff.
Out of curiosity I modified the search term and Google kindly delivered two different examples of blended search, stacked right on top of one another. I marked those with red arrows. Let’s take a look below.
The first result was for a YouTube video featuring one of Dr. Ryan’s daughters. The second result was the same as is shown in the screenshot to the top of this post. The two different examples of blended search here are video and mapping. In my opinion, the search experience for the end-user is much richer as a result of blended (a.k.a. universal) search. In my search results I was provided with an opportunity to learn more about this local chiropractor (thanks to the displayed video) and or view a map to the office, all without leaving the search page. If it wasn’t the information I was seeking I could continue going on about my searching activities.
You may be thinking that this could suck for Planet Chiropractic since the user is provided with an opportunity not to leave the search page (and therefore not viewing content on the web site). It could suck, but I was looking at this from the perspective of the end-user (who happened to be me) seeking an easy way to discover information, not the webmaster bending over backwards for site traffic.
I’m liking blended search.
Comments are closed for this article!