4/16/2004 Complementary research to the previously released "Inside the Mind of the Searcher." This 59 page detailed research paper, conducted in January and February of 2004, surveyed respondents on search engine usage The 60 page report, "Search Engine Usage in North America" compiles the results of a survey held earlier this year.
There were a number of interesting findings, including:
Google users have much higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty with their search engine than non Google users.
About 70% of participants chose organic results when given two different search scenarios. Google users were the most likely to choose organic results.
There were distinct patterns in search engine usage related to gender, age, income and education.
Listings that offered a source of trusted and unbiased information were the clear favorite of users doing product research. This was particularly true with Google users.
Google users represent the "cream" of the online consumer base, with higher incomes, loyalty and levels of education.
Search queries are generally quite general amongst the majority of users. Queries are usually refined in an iterative process.
Search engines are much more likely to be used to research a purchase than to make the actual purchase. Over 60% of respondents said they would use a search engine to help research a buying decision, compared to only 20% who said they would use a search engine to help find an online site to purchase from.
Confusion about what is and isn't a sponsored link is still quite high and was found amongst 30% of search engine users. Google users were the least confused, MSN users the most confused.
posted by Jen @ 6:05 AM
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