Longer Word Searches Increase
More and more companies have an online presence and consequently consumers are becoming more sophisticated. A recent survey by bimouthmedia has found that European users are abandoning brand name searches in favour of longer more targeted searches.
bigmouthmedia looked at search behaviour in Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Denmark and found that most Europeans now use two or three words in a search.
Andrew Girdwood, Head of Search at bigmouthmedia said, ‘Over the past few years consumers have become far more savvy about search, and as the recession drives people to hunt for the very best available deals, we’re seeing them adopt a sophisticated approach with the majority now employing more complicated phrases to find their way around the web.’
The Italians, British and Germans were more likely to use four words (16%, 15%, 15% respectively) whereas only 10% of Spanish people were likely to do this and still favoured the use of mainly one word searches.
Research published earlier this year by Hitwise reported that word searches of over 8 words were up by 22% in the US and overall the number of words had increase by 10% over a one year period. bigmouthmedia found that overall brand name searches were down. This may be related to the recession where perhaps cost has become more important than well known brands.
Girdwood added: ‘Clearly, the way that users approach the search landscape is changing. As consumers continue to become more comfortable with the technology and the sheer volume of online information proliferates it will be interesting to see how this trend develops over the next few years and how it may force many big brand companies to reassess their digital marketing strategies.’
Sophisticated Consumers
Consumers are becoming more sophisticated but there are increasing numbers of businesses vying for their attention. More and more companies are becoming aware that to stay on top of the search engines listings they need to be more specific and hone in on the ‘right’ keywords that consumers are using. Consumers are becoming aware that the more specific they are the more likely they are to get good results from their searches. They are also impatient and want results quickly. And ultimately business wants as much useable traffic for as little effort as possible.
Business needs to keep up with consumer demand
To stay ahead of the search engine game business needs several things:
-A ‘feel’ for what is generally going on the web
-Access to the latest search engine trends
-A detailed knowledge of what search engines need
-Detailed technical knowledge about search engine optimisation that will enable them to link their products with consumer search engine techniques
The web feels like an organism that is growing and adapting quickly to its environment and visa versa and we have a symbiotic relationship with it. For business to rise to the top in this environment it needs to be aware on a micro as well as macro level. So getting a ‘feel’ for what is going on is just as important as analysing search data.
October 18th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
[...] on in the year Propero reported that online search queries were getting longer and a new survey from Experian Hitwise shows that this trend [...]