Google Homepage Needs Improvement

From ZDNet:

Google…falls short in a key area of homepage search usability: direct to vertical search from the homepage.

Vertical search is key…for..future growth. Vertical search users may be considered more ‘qualified‘ leads than general search users and ads on vertical SERPs, therefore, may command higher rates…

At the Google homepage, two of the five featured vertical search options are launched directly via a single click on a vertical tab: news and maps. Searches from the homepage for the other three verticals featured, however, lead to the specific vertical's homepage for initiation of a specialized search.

Google’s reorganization of its vertical “tabs” on the homepage has not served to improve Google’s direct to vertical search from the homepage.

Following the reorganization, two of the four featured Google vertical search options are launched directly via a single click on a vertical tab: News and Maps. Searches from the homepage for the other two verticals featured, Images and Video, however, lead to the specific vertical's homepage for a subsequent initiation of a specialized search.
Perhaps Google’s next homepage “revision” will aim to enhance direct to vertical search usability.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/index.php?p=333