Or rather, is your website ready? How do you know? Recently I have been researching this topic as I am feeling a bit lost at sea with all the new changes to search engines lately as well as what is coming down the pipe in the near future.

Have you heard of Universal Search? I hadn't until 3 days ago...and I like to think I'm on top of things when it comes to SEO! I was in for a rather rude wake up call; which is good...and not so good.

On the bad side; my sites are not really ready. :{ but whos really totally IS?

On the good side, I now have a fairly accurate picture in mind of some of the things I can DO about it. I still have much more research to do but I have found several things I am going to share with you.

Universal Search (Vertical Search)? ... scratched my head; ok, sounds not like such a big deal...but it IS a big deal and here's why.

Google is undertaking a most radical change to its search results, never seen before - introducing a "Universal Search" system that will blend all its listings. Just Google you might think; well since Google is such a massive company, already owns nearly EVERYthing of value $ wise online AND is the most used SE it stands to reason that whatever it does is important and is also always making the competition (little) scramble to try and keep up. They generally are simply playing catch up.

I have so far found several different ways to use Universal Search (US) and you'de better learn them too if you have any future web business plans. Just one opinion before I tell you - it seems to me that since the thing the media called the "dot com boom" exploded all over wall streets face, the internet has still to my way of thinking operated much like I think the old wild west did. The bulky old government can';t catch up, most places don't even charge taxes (or should I say collect taxes For the good ol' US of A's government - they've had Americans doing their job for them for free for SO long no one can remember when it was any different.)

Operating on my wild west theory works well for me - it is still the *anything goes* era online, the gov can't keep up bogged down with stupidity, lack of computer geeks to help them - who WANTS to help them? and they are playing catch up but are at least 10 years behind.

First of all, what is it? Glad you asked! In a very small nutshell it combines all the information within its vertical databases into one single index which serves you up with a single set of SERPS or (search engine results pages).

A vertical engine example is instead of going to google and getting just a limited set of paid for results and algorithim results - you get results from EVERY venue all together - all at once -

"Welcome to a brave new world...again. Google announces universal search. Once again, we are treated to another paradigm-shifting, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, "OMG - have you seen this!!!"

Go to the above site and read that article - it's great and can help you tons.

Discussion of your search engine status, strategy and plans. Review of traffic potential for your site and industry. One marketing suggestion for your website - a new strategy to implement, or a critique of your site, identifying a problem.

Here are the ways I have thus discovered you can position yourself to benefit from it. As an online business owner I can gain new traffic depending on the actions I take right now.

#1 - The first thing, obviously, I need to make certain of is that all of my pages are akready very SE clean and friednly to begin with. If they are not - I'm sunk before I get started.

#2 - Since (US) will take information from the verticals, I need exposure in all those areas (meaning blog, video, images, audio, press releases, etc... as it is going to get *glombed* altogether - thus determing where I'll be sitting on googles pages.

#3 - We are not comparing nuts to nuts here - the layout of the results pages has to be factored in here - and since no one yet seems to know how this is going to all play out in the end; it is probably best to incorporate some of all of it onto you front end page(s) - text with video and audio, and text with images with a press release and blog links for good measure. Text isn't going to cut it anymore (unfortunately).

#4 - So - I am saying - FOCUS on the verticals!!!#5 - Use highly descriptive keyword rich file names for your video(s) and have a video site map.#6 - (My favorite as it is too easy!) Google Local - You can have your business listed on google maps within MINUTES - FREE! I did it today and I am amazed!

#5 - Use social media (like here at hubpages) and blog engines. Submit to google blog search (beta) - get in now while the getting is good (meaning NEW).

There is a wealth of information on this topic on ever SEO page online. Everyone is serambling to figure out what to do, when to do it and what googles next move will be.

Noone can know for sure but the above tips are definitely going to Benefit you.