Gaining insight into what people want when they go online is just as important as researching behavior for any other marketing medium you use. But the Web gives rise to one advantage detailed information about your audiences behavior and desires are easily available. Whether youre pursuing pay-per-click ad campaigns, search engine optimization, or buying ad space online, clues such as those below can help guide your online strategy.

In a recent Harris Interactive study examining how and why Internet users use search engines, it was determined that 53% of respondents said they use search engines most or every time they go online. Use of search engines is the most popular online activit yafter email, which 87% respondents said they do most or every time they go online, and general Web surfing (55%).

The top search activities were determined as:
1. Researching specific topics (88%)
2. Getting directions or maps (75%)
3. Looking for news (64%)
4. Fulfill a task that would otherwise require using a phone (54%)
5. Shopping (51%)

Topics by Search Engines
It seems that people who use a certain search engine are more likely to search for certain items:

MSN - Medical and health information
Ask Jeeves - Medical and health information, maps and directions
Google News (maybe because of the Google News search page?)

Popularity and Loyalty
Nielsen/NetRatings reports that Google is the most popular search engine in the US, with 48% market share. (It has also been reported that 13% of US adults who use Google do not use any other search engine.)
Yahoo! 21%
MSN 12%
AOL 5%
Ask Jeeves 2%

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