So what am I referring to when I say Google One Box? For those of you who aren’t aware, OneBox is the term Google assigned to the search feature update that integrated its organic results (i.e. traditional Google Search) with results from other areas of search (like Video or Images). These OneBox results are tripped off when they are judged by Google to be relevant to the organic search performed by the user. They can take the place of any individual listing on the organic search results page, but will usually be force-added to the 1st position.

Sure-fire ways to force a OneBox listing are using the words “picture” or “photo” (which will force a Google Images OneBox result), the words “video” or “film clip” (which will force a Google Video OneBox listing) or the words “buy” or “purchase” which will force a Google Product Search result.

This is relevant for internet marketers and SEO practitioners because this OneBox listing has essentially replaced and taken over the #1 position in the organic results. Some other website may be highly optimized for a certain phrase, but if your website is showing up in the oneBox listing, it’s being given the chance to supersede the top organic listing.

Properly Utilizing the different pieces of OneBox can give you a powerful edge on your competition because chances are high you are the only one using integrated search optimization. To get the total amount of coverage on a Google Search Page, your website should be showing results in the paid ads, organic ads, AND OneBox listings. It’s just the little extra thing you can do to totally tweak out your Google presence.

Google Image Results

Google Image OneBox results are obtained from the same keyword being searched for in Google Images. The process of getting indexed and ranked in Google Images is pretty simple. The most important factors in determining the ranking of your images are the alt text you have set for the image and the context of the page in relation to the alt text. Also, always use hyphens (not underscores!) in the alt text of your image. If you’re running a WordPress-powered blog, there are numerous plugins that will optimize an image’s tags for SEO for you.

Google Video results

Google Video is an aggregator of videos from video hosting sites all across the web like Youtube, Metacafe, and Viddler. Proper optimization in the submission of your video will result in better rankings in the individual video hosting sites and eventually, higher rankings in the Google Video listings. This will result in a OneBox appearance. Make your sure your video is properly tagged and titled. It doesn’t hurt to do keyword research for the title and description of your Youtube video, since Youtube in particular tends to rank very highly in search results and can often singlehandedly allow you to dominate a low-competition long-tail. There are many products and information guides that can teach you more about Video Optimization. Reel SEO has a great list of informational websites and tutorials about video search optimization.

Google Product Search results

Google Product Search results are determined by a product’s listing in Google Base. You can submit a data feed with your products to Google Base and your products will then begin to show up in Google Product Search and eventually, the One Box at the top of the organic listings. The process of optimizing your data feed for Google Base is called data feed optimization and you can follow that link to find a more comprehensive explanation of DFO that I wrote for Lilengine. The same strategies used in that guide also apply to other CSEs (Comparison Shopping Engines) like NexTag and Bizrate.

Google Local Search Results

For location-based searches, you want your business to show up in the map insert above the organic listings. This listing is not difficult to obtain and can greatly increase local traffic to your website, even without a high organic listing. The best part is that local traffic is more targeted and more likely to convert. To get well ranked in Google Local Search involves getting your business listed by the search engines, filling out all the fields for your business’s profile, and obtaining citations of your company’s address and phone number. What’s a citation you ask? A colleague of mine wrote a great article about local search optimization for EQuicktips, so I would suggest you head over there for a more thorough evaluation.

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About the author: David Fishman is a blogger and food enthusiast from Atlanta, GA. He enjoys writing about all topics related to online marketing and online customer acquisition, not to mention his current passion, which is learning how to make sushi.

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