Search engines are a huge part of daily life for many Americans. Google has become a widely-used shortcut to a vast network of information on everything from quantum physics to celebrity news, and many people are taking advantage of having all that information just a few clicks away.
Anything and Everything
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 52% of respondents said they use search engines multiple times per day. 32% use them daily, 9% use them weekly, 6% use them rarely, and only 2% don’t ever use them.
When asked what they search for, 65% of respondents replied “anything and everything.” 62% said they search for information out of curiosity or for personal reasons, while 30% search for school or work related information. 35% search for places, 49% search for products to buy, and 23% search for people.
Online Reputation
Another way people use search engines, possibly just out of curiosity but possibly to monitor their online reputations, 79% of respondents said they have entered their own name into a search engine to see the results. Women, young people and students were all more likely to do so.
Targeted Searches
There are different ways to target search engines, and many do take advantage of those options. 60% said they have run an image search, 33% search videos, 49% search maps, 28% search local, 41% search shopping, 41% search news, and 29% run other types of targeted searches.
It’s safe to say that search engines are a popular way for many people to gain knowledge about a wide range of topics. The widget below shows the results of the AYTM.com survey in full. Be sure to click “open full report” for full details.
Photo Credit: Google Chrome from Flickr
What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on December 12 via AYTM’s online survey panel.
