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Explore the behavior of web searchers, including the most popular search engine queries, the purposes for using search engines, and the evolution of search engines over time.
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Behavior of Web Searchers Katie Greenstreet Computer Science 49S Duke Spring 2007
What are We Searching For? • What would you guess the most popular search engine queries are? • For what purpose do you most often use Google or other search engines?
A Taxonomy of Web Search • Information retrieval is based on the idea that the user is searching for information • Why then do informational queries constitute less than 50% of web searches? • What is considered the “classic model” of information retrieval?
A Taxonomy of Web Search: Queries • 3 Classes of Web Queries • Navigational • Informational • Transactional
A Taxonomy of Web Search: Navigational • Immediate intent is to reach a particular site that the user has in mind, either because they have visited it in the past or because they assume the site exists? • Usually only have one “right” result • Examples? • Greyhound Bus: www.greyhound.com • Compaq: www.compaq.com • National car rental: www.nationalcar.com
A Taxonomy of Web Search: Informational • The intent is to acquire some information assumed to be present on one or more web pages • Purpose is to find info in static form • Examples? • Song lyrics • Movie quotes • Class research
A Taxonomy of Web Search: Transactional • The intent is to perform some web mediated activity • Examples? • Shopping • Downloading music • Accessing data-bases • Finding servers
A Taxonomy of Web Search: Statistics • Log analysis showed that of the queries examined… • 20% were navigational • 48% were informational • 30% were transactional
A Taxonomy of Web Search: The Evolution of Search Engines • First Generation • On page data • Mostly works for informational queries • Second Generation • Link analysis, anchor-text, click-through data • Third Generation • Attempts to blend data from multiple sources to answer the “need behind the query”
The Search: Chapter 2 • Battelle attempts to answer six questions about search • How? • Who? • What? • Where? • When? • How much?
The Search: Who? • 85% of internet users use search • 2/3s of those search once or twice a week • Demographics • Younger generations • More highly educated
The Search: What? • Popular Queries • Sex • Mp3 • Britney Spears • Vanity Searching
The Search: What? • This week’s Zeitgiest • Hilary Clinton • Oscar nominations • Jacksonville Jaguars • Coachella • Indianapolis Colts • State of the Union • Frilled shark • Chicago Bears • Ron Carey • Australian Open
The Search: Where? • 85% use one of the big four portals: Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, AOL • Most searches take place outside of the US
The Search: Why? • “a means to an end” • Discovery searching
The Search: When? • At home as well as at work • Traffic increases in the morning, peaks in the evening • Idea of web search has roots in the Dewey Decimal System • SMART • TREC
The Search: How Much? • Search has translated into a major business opportunity • How do search engines make money? • Business leads • Paid ads • Behavioral targeting • Demographic analysis