How Americans Use Search Engines

There is a great post at SearchEngineWatch.com that talks about a study recently concluded about American's web search habits.

Among the studies findings:

1. Most people (88%) said they were researching specific topics—specifically, information about hobbies, followed by getting directions/maps - 75%, looking for news - 64%, shopping - 51%, and looking for entertainment web sites - 47%.
2. Google is the most popular search engine, followed by Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask Jeeves.
3. The study also affirmed anecdotal evidence that people are turning to the Internet instead of phone books or yellow pages. 54% indicated they have searched on-line rather than using a phone book.
4. When it comes to shopping, most people (80%) are comparing prices, rather than looking for a local retailer.

Knowing how people search and what they are searching for should help all of us in providing this information to our customers.