Harris Interactive recently released the results of a study on the behavior and preferences of Americans that search the web. The study was put together based on interviews with more than 2,100 adults. The findings show that search continues to be a popular online activity, with more than 50% reporting that they searched every time they went online. However it's what these adults search for and how they search for it that should influence the way that you approach SEO .
What are people searching for? Most people (88%) said they were researching specific topics. Other common things people use search for include:
Getting directions - 75%
Looking for news - 64%
Shopping - 51%
Looking for entertainment web sites - 47%
The study also affirmed data from the major measurement services, showing Google as the most popular search engine, followed by Yahoo and MSN. However, the types of information people looked for with each engine varied.
For Ask Jeeves and MSN users, searching for health information is the most popular reason for researching a specific topic. Google users, by contrast, like to look for news and current event information. Google users also tend to use search for business or professional research more than other search engine users. When it comes to news, 45% of adults searching for news are looking for differing viewpoints, and 42% are searching for supplemental information.
This study also affirmed anecdotal evidence that people are turning to the internet instead of phone books or yellow pages. 54% indicated they have searched online rather than using a phone book. Most (63%) are looking for the addresses of phone numbers of people, but almost as many (58%) are looking up information on local businesses.
So what does this mean to the SEO webmaster? Here's what I think it means:
1) Since most people are looking for information on specific "niche" topics, make sure to optimize interior pages for "niche" terms. The more niche content that you can offer via the search engines the more targeted traffic that you will receive. This also means that if you have an e-commerce site, it is critical that you offer plenty of text relating to product information for each of your individual product pages.
2) A lot of folks nowadays use the search engines to look for news. Learn how to optimize your news content and get yourself into Google News and Yahoo News. Also, try to offer a unique perspective. Don't just regurgitate what everyone else is writing.
3) If you're a local merchant, make sure that you have good visibility in the engines. Based on this study, a lot of searchers are looking for local merchants by using online search. Don't get passed over because you lack "local search" visibility.