User Search Strings Grow
November 28, 2009
Hitwise ran an interesting article “Search Getting Longer.” The data carry the label AltSearchEngines, and I had a tough time reading the tiny type providing more details about the source of the data. What was interesting to me is that “Users are getting more specific with their search engine requests leading to higher search success rates, illustrating how the more specific a request, the more likely a Search Engine is to accurately fulfill that request.” The percentages for the increases are growing slowly with most queries in the two to three word range. The working figure I have from my data is a query length of 2.5 words. Most users of search systems perceive their ability to search as very good or excellent. The reality, as any information professional with some real competitive intelligence work under his or her belt, is quite different. Most searchers are not so good. The proliferation of search systems with “training wheels” and “safety nets” make clear that quite a few of the engineers working in search and information retrieval are going the point-and-click direction. Mobile search is moving to the “think for me, please” approach.
Stephen Arnold, November 26, 2009
I want to disclose to the Department of Education that I was not paid to point out that instruction in search methods is not exactly top notch.
Comments
One Response to “User Search Strings Grow”
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
[…] Steve Arnold believes the current number to be around 2.5 which I think is on target, and the trend is up. […]