Search engine usage rising
Search engine usage is on the increase and has risen by 69% since 2002, according to a new report into internet behaviour.
The study by Pew Internet also indicates that almost half of internet users will use a search engine at least once during their day, up from only a third six years ago.
The growth in popularity of search engines means that they are now approaching internet-based email websites (such as Hotmail and Yahoo Mail) as the most used site category. In the same period, use of internet-based email use has grown just 15%, suggesting the market is reaching maturity.
Popular internet activity
Increased reliance on search engines mean they are now more popular than other common internet activities such as reading the news (39% usually check out a news site in their day) and looking for weather forecasts, which 30% of users include in their daily routine.
The rising popularity of search engines may be partly down to the trend for navigational searches - whereby a user knows the site they want to go to and search for the name as a quicker alternative to typing the full URL.
Higher search success rates, particularly for navigational searches have seen many users relying less on browser bookmarks, confident in the knowledge they will be easily able to find the site again.
Search demographics
In addition, the report reveals that education levels have a link to typical search usage, with 66% of college graduates using search engines daily, compared to only 32% of users with a high school education level or less.
Younger people also continue to be more likely to use search engines than older users; 55% of 18-29 year-olds will search on a typical day, versus only 27% of people aged 65 and over.
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