GoogleProduct LaunchConfirmedHigh impact
Universal Search
Google began blending news, images, video, local and book results into the main results page, ending the era of ten uniform blue links.
What changed
Universal Search merged Google's vertical indexes into a single ranked results page, so an ordinary query could return images, video, news or map results interleaved with web pages. It created the first real distinction between ranking a web page and owning a SERP feature, and made vertical optimisation part of mainstream SEO. The change was announced publicly by Google and rolled out over the following weeks.
Timing
Rollout began 16 May 2007. No completion date was announced. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.