SEL: Search Behavior Insights Extracted From the AOL Data

check out the Digging into Search swicki at eurekster.com

Search marketing in the new media era.

August 16, 2006

Search Behavior Insights Extracted From the AOL Data

More lemonade squeezed from AOL's user data gaff in Clickstream Awareness Goes Mainstream by Rob Garner.

He dug into the numbers and noted that:

"Out of 20 million queries and 650,000 users, there was only one search for 'business process outsourcing.'"

"Some searchers show a topical keyword interest over several months, indicating that this search quest may be ongoing, or that it is never fully satisfied..."

"Search intention can't be predicted with 100 percent accuracy. Though she made many queries on health-related issues, these searches were conducted on behalf of friends and family members."

"Satisfying search is a process and not a linear action."

This is interesting stuff in that it reminds us that the mind of the searcher is hard to know.

More sweet AOL lemonade:
New Tool Determines Keyphrase Clickshare by SERPs Rank With the AOL User Data (with links to 3 other tools besides the one in the title.)

Update:
3 AOLers got sacked for their efforts to enrich the search community. At their users' expense.

Garrett French - MarketSmart Interactive | permalink | +marktd |

...the search industry queries new media