Do you know what and how
people search when online? If you're operating an online
business, this is important information. Understanding
search habits and online behaviors helps you strategize your
marketing campaigns.
Pew
Internet Project has released a new study (summer 2002)
describing what people do online.
The researchers found that searching for information is big
-- second only to using email. Fully eighty percent of
Americans who are on the Internet have used a search engine
to find information. Twenty-five percent (that's
thirty-three million) use a search engine on a daily basis.
Men are more likely than women to use a search engine on a
given day. 33% of men and 25% of women reported using a
search engine on a specified day.
College grads are more likely to use a search engine than
high school grads. 39% of Internet users with three or more
years under their belts use a search engine on a given day,
while only 14% of those online for less than six months use
the search engines on a given day.
Google is the most used search engine in terms of minutes
searched. It's currently at 25.9 minutes and gaining.
However, MSN has the most number of users. It recorded 43
million unique users in May of 2002, compared to Google's 36
million. Yahoo had 38 million unique visitors during that
month.
Information searches fell into four main categories:
information about people, health, government and religion.
People searches leaned towards the personal (66.6%), more
than the professional (33.3%). College grads were more
likely to do people searches than high school grads, and
younger people (18- 29) were more likely to do people
searches than older people (50-64).
Seventy-three million Americans looked for health
information... up from 52 million in fall of 2000. Women are
more likely than men to look for health information, but are
likely to be turned off by sites that are selling something,
or by sites that do not provide the date and source of their
information. 81% started their search at a search engine or
at a web portal like Yahoo, AOL or MSN. The others started
at a health information site.
45% started at the top of the search list and worked their
way down. The rest clicked through according to recognized
names or relevant content descriptions.
82% reported satisfaction with the health information they
found. One in three say they know someone who has been
helped by Internet health information. Two out of 100 know
someone who has been harmed.
Most searched for health information pertains to specific
diseases, weight control, and prescription drug information.
Inquiries are increasing for mental health information and
for sensitive medical topics.
Sixty-eight million Americans reported using government
agency web sites -- a dramatic increase from 40 million in
March of 2000. 40% started their search at a major search
engine or web site such as AOL or MSN. Most scanned the
search link for names that seemed to fit. Only 21% visited
sites according to rank.
28 million Americans (up from 19 million in late 2000) use
the search engines to find religious or spiritual
information or contacts. Only 4% started their search at
religious portals.
Other statistics of interest to marketers:
* 95% of
Internet-using Americans go online to use email.
* 80% do searches
* 80% look for hobby-related information
* 37% play games online
* 75% go online to research a product or service before
making a purchase
* 63% look for information about movies, books and
entertainment
* 44% look for financial information
* 20% participate in auctions
* 9% visit dating web sites
* 5% go online to gamble
Only 21% of Americans (twenty-four million
people) have broadband Internet access in their homes.
However, this number is four times greater than in 2000. The
broadband users are more likely to be wealthy, educated
males. Not surprisingly, persons with high speed access make
fuller use of the Internet's resources than those with dial
up connections.
There you have it. Lots of numbers to help you develop your
marketing plans or to incorporate in your business plan.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
June Campbell Shows You How to Write
Business Plans, Business Proposals, JV Contracts, Human
Resource Package and More! She is the author of the no-cost
ebook "Beginners Guide to Ecommerce". Contact June
for Business Writing at
Nightcats
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