8-Word Search Queries Up 34,000% in Last 5 Years!

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 by Andy Beal

8-Word Search Queries Up 34,000% in Last 5 Years!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, we might want to start scanning-in images of what we’re trying to find on the search engines. As new data from Hitwise suggests, we’re gradually starting to use more & more keywords when conducting our search engine queries.

Hitwise compared January 2009’s data with last year’s, but I want to take you back farther in time–5 years in fact! Not that my memory goes back that far, but I did remember covering this data for my old blog: Search Engine Lowdown.

Here are the numbers from this year, with Feb 2004’s numbers in parentheses:

1-word searches = 20.29% (19.02%)

2-word searches = 23.65% (32.58%)

3-word searches = 21.92% (25.61%)

4-word searches = 14.89% (12.83%)

5-word searches = 8.68% (5.64%)

6-word searches = 4.65% (2.32%)

7-word searches = 2.49% (0.98%)

8-word searches = 3.43% (no one did 8-word searches in 2004!)

As you can see, there’s been a significant drop in the number of people using 2- and 3-word searches, while those using 5-words and above are becoming more common–likely from those of us that cut-and-paste large quantities of text into Google.

One interesting observation: the number of people using 1-word searches has remained surprisingly similar–in fact, showing a small increase in the past 5 years. This either means that the search engines are getting better at delivering relevant search results, or more “brand” searches are being made, or some of us are just committed to being lazy with our searching.

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12 comments on “8-Word Search Queries Up 34,000% in Last 5 Years!”

8-Word Search Queries Rise 34,000% Over 5 Years | HotelTravelCheck.com Blog Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 9:57 am

[...] Here’s the table with the percentages, courtesy of MarketingPilgrim.com: [...]
Jason Finch Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 10:12 am

There is a lot more local search going on these days and my niche social networks have benefited massively from people looking for local content and describing their content better. As more sites appear on the web, so people will add more detail to narrow down their searches.

But, yes, would be real interesting to see the categories for additional search terms to see if localization has in fact been the new kid on the block.
Clay Schulenburg Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 10:22 am

Andy,

I’d agree that we are cutting and pasting search queries into Google now, more than we were. I am at the Pharma SES in Princeton this week and when I want to find the site for the conference, I am literally copying the title of event into google to find the link each time – “3rd Pharmaceutical Search Engine Marketing Strategies Conference” and this is a 7 token search query.

How do you think SEMs should factor phrase, broad, and exact matches in their search campaigns to get the best coverage on these longer queries?

Thanks,

Clay Schulenburg
http://www.Healthline.com
Leo Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 10:35 am

This really doesn’t surprise me, as far as long tail search is concerned. I think people are getting smarter in terms of drilling down and the information on the web is growing fast enough to facillitate a lot of 8 word search queries. Just my 2 cents though.

Leo’s last blog post..Keyword Research Tools Give Accurate Traffic Volume? I Don’t think so?
The Rise of the Long-Tail Keyword | Blippitt Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

[...] reports that the length of our search queries has increased over the last 12 months. Comparing January 2009 to January 2008 [...]
Number of Words per Search Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

[...] search users are using more words in their search queries compared to behavior from a year ago. The Marketing Pilgrim, Andy Beal, compares the recent HitWise data to a OneStat report from [...]
Jesse Farmer Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 5:52 pm

How do you get 34,000%?

Jesse Farmer’s last blog post..When in Rome: Newcomers on Facebook
London Nick Says:

February 26th, 2009 at 4:48 am

Come on – NOBODY used an 8-word search in 2004? I find that very hard to believe; if anything this particular stat just draws attention to the failings of Hitwise as a data source…
Dave Says:

February 26th, 2009 at 11:35 am

34,000% of 0 is 0.
3 Reasons the Long Tail Keeps Getting Longer | Search Marketing Sage Says:

February 27th, 2009 at 5:17 pm

[...] The average search query these days is five words long. There’s even a significant number of eight word queries! Eight word search queries increased 22% year-over-year. When, if ever, will it [...]
Long-Tail Searches Increasing - Good News for Niche Web Sites–Internet Marketing Course Blog Says:

March 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 am

[...] 8-Word Search Queries Up 34,000% in Last 5 Years! [...]
Suchgewohnheiten ändern sich: Zunahme der Mehrwortsuche | Geheimreporter Says:

March 9th, 2009 at 5:15 am

[...] Tabelle wurde von Marketing-Pilgrim erstellt und von uns ins Deutsche [...]

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