A new report from Pew Research Center shares interesting data on search engine use
The Google consumer surveys revenue stream might be one reason publishers want to increase the amount of website traffic they receive.
Fortunately for digital publishers focused on SEO, there is more upside from an audience standpoint. The Pew Research Center recently released Search Engine Use 2012, which documents the opinions of 2,253 adults, age 18 and older.
The research shows that users have a lot of positive things to say about using search engines, although targeting and tracking their search activity bothers a majority of respondents. According to the report, 68% of search engines users are “not okay” with targeted advertising because they don’t like having their search activity tracked. As an Internet user, I cannot blame them. Many online marketers probably disagree with us, though.
[text_ad]
As for the positives, here are five major highlights from the report:
-91% of respondents say they “always or most the time” find what they are looking for while conducting searches.
-73% of respondents consider the content they find to be accurate and trustworthy.
-66% of respondents believe search engines are fair and unbiased while presenting information.
-55% of respondents believe search results are getting better while only 4% believe they are getting worse.
-52% of respondents think relevancy of search engines has grown, while only 7% believe search engines are less relevant.
This report is a great tool for learning more about your audience’s opinions of search. If you have some time, I recommend checking it out.
