Vertical Search - Internet Marketing

7th May 2006

What is Vertical Search?

Vertical search is a buzz word you may have been hearing for the past few months. As more and more information becomes available on the web, the regular search engines are not easily able to meet the specialized needs of people. That’s where “vertical search” comes in.

Simply put, vertical search means specialized search engines that display results only within a given subject. However, it’s not a new concept, and you may already be using vertical search engines on a regular basis. Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch wrote this article all the way back in 2002.

Look at Google’s own http://www.froogle.com for an example of a vertical search engine dealing with shopping. Look at http://www.sidestep.com for an example of a vertical search engine concerned with travel. Look at http://www.experts-exchange.com/ as an example of a computer problem search engine.

David Uter wrote an article recapping the opinions of the big three search engines representatives regarding the future or vertical search, and interestingly, they claim to not really view them as a threat.

I disagree, however, and think that more and more people will tune in to specialty search engines to filter through the clutter that the “regular” search results have become.

I believe that getting your industry specific website submitted to the right places is going to become more important than ever as time goes on, and that’s why I’m already doing so for some of my clients.

Here’s a link to a site with over 1000 specialized search engines. It can’t hurt to research your niche, and get your site submitted while it’s still free.