• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 8, 2009

Have the 10 blue text links died? At least one analyst firm believes that search is evolving in that direction. Four key innovations--third-party integration and structured data, commercial search, user interface, and real-time search -- have begun to push that change. That's according to a report released this week from Broadpoint.AmTech.

Broadpoint.AmTech Analyst Ben Schachter suggests the changes will present both challenges and opportunities. Among the key challenges are Google's, Yahoo's and Microsoft's ability to remain in the lead, as new players emerge to push the envelope on search experiences and business models.

The report -- titled "The Evolution of Search and the Death and the 10 Blue Text Links?" -- does not call attention to one catalyst for change, but clearly states that change has begun to evolve faster than it has in a long time.

Opportunities from the shift will come wrapped in new tools and ways to generate revenue. The evolution of the search engine results pages (SERPs) away from the "10 blue links" is happening across a variety of applications and engines.

Through Google's Wonder Wheel, Yahoo's SearchMonkey and the vivid images and videos on Microsoft's Bing, it is clear that the industry is witnessing the evolution of search beyond the simple 10 blue text links, writes Broadpoint.AmTech Analyst Ben Schachter in a research note.

Much of the "self-motivated innovation" has been fueled by products and services emerging from Twitter and Facebook, as well as fledgling start-ups like real-time search engine OneRiot.com and tyBit.com.

Schachter writes that it could shake up the status quo in the industry and open the eyes to the various alternatives, as well as some of the other more specialized venues for search. In fact, change to the way engines present information always comes with potential risk.

Schachter believes that at Google, changes to the way SERPs are presented could encounter some internal push-back within the company. For Google, he believes accomplishing the change will require better communicating features to the average user.

Product-based searches show interesting promise, but also tough challenges and threats. Schachter warns that search properties making changes to product-based search results or marketing programs should consult advertisers, so search engines do not risk alienating product advertisers. Many have entire businesses that depend on search advertising programs.

Discussions with industry insiders suggest no technical or structural limitations impeding real-time search results for major search engines, but some argue that Google and others already do this via their "News" search functions. Schachter suggests that real-time search presents a greater risk for Google, compared with Microsoft and Yahoo. He believes it's too early to predict a winner in real-time search, but the vast majority of real-time content being generated comes from sites like Twitter and Facebook.