Intranet Search > trends

• The Internet continues to grow at a rate of 7 million pages per day, and is currently home to 2.1 billion documents, according to Cyveillance.

• Studies show that when searching for new information or products, those with access to the Web now use the Internet to find that information 70% of the time.

• The biggest complaint users have of web sites is poorly organized search results. A poll conducted by Roper Starch found that 86% of Internet users feel that there should be a more efficient way to find accurate information on the Web.

• "Analysts have estimated that more than $6 billion in online purchases was lost in 1999 because of badly designed search functionality and poor results," Rajiv Parikh, AltaVista.

• Users looking for products are far more likely to type the product name into a search engine's search box (28%) than browse shopping "channels" (5%) or click on ads (4%). Jupiter Media Metrix & NPD, March 2001

• Search engines are the top way consumers find new web sites online, used by 73.4% of those surveyed. Forrester, March 28, 2001.

• The most popular portal feature is search, used in 49 percent of visits. Booz-Allen Hamilton, July/August 2000.

• The Internet hosts two basic types of users: browsers and searchers. 80 to 90 percent of people who go online to buy products are searchers. (ClickZ article: You Say Tomato, I Say T-Shirt, Jack Aaronson, July 25, 2002).

• The main reason conventional search engines fail is that searches produce either no results or poorly organized ones.

• A May 2002 Newsbytes report states that many businesses are losing customers because of inadequate websites. Enterpulse surveyed 301 'heavy' Internet users about their online habits and found that 66 percent of respondents never return to a website where they have a negative experience.

These trends reflect an expanding Internet where users try to locate the proverbial "needle in a haystack." Distinguish your organization - install a Vortaloptics custom vertical search engine.