My latest column is posted at MediaPost Search Insider. This week I covered some of the key findings from a survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which was focused on search behavior “on a typical day”. Here is the first part of the article highlighting some of the key findings - a link to the full column is a the bottom:
The sample group consisted of 2,251 adults, ages 18 and older, surveyed between April 8 and May 11, 2008. The big question in the survey was, “did you happen to [use an online search engine] yesterday, or not?”, and yielded 1,553 who said ‘yes’. Here is what they found:
- Overall, the amount of daily search users grew 69% between 2002 and 2008.
- While coming in a close second to email in this study, search beat out other daily Internet activities such as reading the news (39%), checking the weather (30%), researching a hobby (29%), surfing for fun (28%), and visiting a social networking site (13%).
- Daily searchers are more likely to be “socially upscale”, and college educated with an income of $50,000 or more per year.
- Internet users with broadband connections were much more likely to search than those with dial-up at home (58% vs. 26%).
- Users between the ages of 18-29 and 30-49 were higher-than-average daily searchers (55% and 54% respectively). Of searchers 65 and older, only 27% were daily search users.
- Men are generally more aware of the differences between paid and natural search. The study found that men say they have searched more frequently, and are more confident in their search abilities.
Read the full column here:
http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/search_insider/?p=852
