RSSCategory: Searcher Behavior

Local Heatmaps = More to Think About with New Google SERPs

Local Heatmaps = More to Think About with New Google SERPs

| November 9, 2010 | 8 Comments

Add this into the mix as you continue to think about the impact of Google’s new local search results display: A heatmap study shows how some searchers interact with local SERPs, and suggests that the map itself doesn’t draw a lot of attention.

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The Long Tail is Alive & Well

The Long Tail is Alive & Well

| September 16, 2010 | 10 Comments

Here’s more evidence that the “long tail” of search is alive and well: Last week on Twitter, Experian Hitwise shared a chart comparing search queries over a four-week period in August-September 2010 to the same four-week period in 2009. The results? In 2010, searches of 5-8 words were up 10%, while 1-2 word searches were [...]

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44% of US Adults Research SMBs Online

44% of US Adults Research SMBs Online

| May 26, 2010 | 3 Comments

Does small business reputation management matter? I think so. It’s right near the top of my SEO Success Pyramid as one of the last “steps” to earning trust in your business. The Pew Research Project has put the value of small business reputation management into numbers:

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Google Weighs In on Query Length; Long Tail Alive & Well

Google Weighs In on Query Length; Long Tail Alive & Well

| May 25, 2010 | 13 Comments

I have a soft spot for data relating to how users search. I think it’s imperative to understand how people search if we want to optimize our content so it’s visible when they do. Typically, data about query length comes from Internet data measurement companies like Experian Hitwise, comScore, and Nielsen. Google sometimes shares statistics [...]

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Explain This: One-Word Searches Up 17% in 2009

Explain This: One-Word Searches Up 17% in 2009

| February 12, 2010 | 22 Comments

For years, the conventional wisdom has been that searchers are typing longer queries into the search boxes on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The evidence I’ve seen in the analytics for the four hyperlocal blogs that my wife and I write support that: On our Richland Real Estate blog, for example, seven of the top 10 [...]

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Searchers Using Longer Queries in 2009

Searchers Using Longer Queries in 2009

| February 17, 2009 | 21 Comments

Reps from comScore, Nielsen Online, and Hitwise spoke last week in a “SearchScape” session at SMX West, and while they all shared some interesting numbers, it was Bill Tancer of Hitwise who really opened my eyes with data about searcher behavior. The long tail is getting longer; 1- and 2-word queries are on the decline, [...]

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Local Search Queries on the Rise

Local Search Queries on the Rise

| December 21, 2008 | 12 Comments

Found this Mike Boland post on the Kelsey Blog 10 days ago, but have been too busy to do anything with it before now. Mike presents a pair of charts that Yahoo Local’s Atif Rafiq presented at SES Chicago earlier this month, both of which show a steady — you could say substantial — rise [...]

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What does Google do with all that click-thru data?

What does Google do with all that click-thru data?

| August 27, 2008 | 10 Comments

Have you ever thought about how Google might use all that clickstream data it has? For some reason, this question popped into my head on the flight home from SES San Jose last week. Background: What Click-thru data? If you have a Google account, and if you have the Google toolbar installed (or if you’ve [...]

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