« Montreal Airport Does Have Power Outlets |
Main
| Snakes on the Tarmac »
Why Do People Search for Domain Names?
The August 2006 Hitwise report on the Internet's most popular search terms points out how inexperienced most searchers are. Here are the top ten terms:
| Rank | Search Term | Volume | | 1. | myspace | 0.92% | | 2. | myspace.com | 0.58% | | 3. | ebay | 0.29% | | 4. | mapquest | 0.25% | | 5. | www.myspace.com | 0.24% | | 6. | yahoo | 0.24% | | 7. | myspace layouts | 0.21% | | 8. | my space | 0.20% | | 9. | yahoo.com | 0.17% | | 10. | craigslist | 0.12% | Nine of the ten terms are for five websites: Myspace, Ebay, MapQuest, Yahoo, and Craigslist. Why not just type the domain names into the address bar? And why not bookmark sites like this rather than typing them in over and over again? While Internet users will slowly figure this out, it's worth keeping this in mind when designing websites. What level of web navigation expertise do your visitors possess?
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.technologyevangelist.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.fcgi/422
2. Posted by: rachid on September 16, 2006 8:00 PM:
Hello
I just want to mention one thing when you talk about a domain with extension like myspace.com , and asking why people search for it , usually people does not search for them it is the yahoo google or other tool bars that records and drive the user to the search engine that is installed as default in the internet exp or other browser take an example I will type www.domain.com , and the tool bar which I got yahoo tool bar installed it will drive me to the search engine and show me the result of the search of the domain.com I typed even tho the domain exist and LIVE , I have noticed this and that is why I want to post a comment about it here after I read your article , the tool bars in my opinion drive more internet users to the provider of the tool bar, I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know why is that thinking of how slow the website is to respond to the request I made or just a "boost to the provider..." of the tool bar
Rachid
Admin at KyDepot.com
Thank you
3. Posted by: wioota on September 17, 2006 6:39 AM:
Its easy to assume users are inexperienced for putting a domain into a search box but its worth considering the following:
* Many browsers default to a page with a search box (not to mention the toolbars which are getting more ubiquitous). These are often located centrally on the page making it a shorter distance on average than the location bar to mouse to.
* Search engines correct for spelling mistakes. Also Google has the 'feeling lucky' option. These features can ensure the user gets where they intended.
Usability experts will attest to users in aggregate being great at seeking the shortest distance to their objectives.
4. Posted by: Ed Kohler on September 17, 2006 2:47 PM:
Gerat comments, guys. Rachid, I think you're right about the influence of toolbars. This doesn't really help users, but could boost income for search engines with toolbars installed.
Wioota, I think people to eventually figure out the shortest distance to their objectives, but it certainly isn't searching for a known domain name. This leads me to believe that a large portion of web users don't yet understand the value in changing their homepage or bookmarking favorite sites so they can quickly and consistently arrive that their desired sites. People searching for search engine terms like Yahoo likely are people with a search engine as their domain name. Just one other than Yahoo in that case.
5. Posted by: Rachid on September 17, 2006 3:38 PM:
what i posted befor conserning typing the domain iin the borwser adress text zone , not the tool bar text zune
thank you
6. Posted by: muthulaxmi on May 14, 2009 5:43 AM:
Hai,
we create awebsite must need domain name..I used website www.tucktail.com
for buy and register the domain.Its includes webhosting plans also...
| 
1. Posted by: Kyle Eslick on September 16, 2006 9:19 AM:
Great points!
I spend alot of time working on my websites navigation. Sometimes you have to "dumb things down" a bit. If the average person reads at an 8th grade level, then you can only imagine what level a web surfer is.......