Every time a research-related press release crosses my path I feel like a statistic. That’s probably because I am one, especially when it comes to the way I surf the web. Long gone are the days when I
would let the web take me wherever it wanted. Now I either type a URL directly into the browser, or “Google it.” Turns out, most of the world does the same thing, and “Googling it” is increasing in
popularity.
WebSideStory, Inc. today reported that the percentage of search engine referrals worldwide has increased significantly over the past year.
Based on WebSideStory’s StatMarket data, as of Thursday, March 6, 2003, search sites accounted for more than 13.4% of global referrals, up from 7.1% the
previous year. Web links went from 42.6% last year to almost half that this year (21.04%,) and Direct navigation increased from 50.21% to 65.48%.
“People are more efficient in their Web use,” said
Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket. “The trend is that they either navigate directly to a website they already know, or use a search engine to find a new one.”
Naturally, although the global average has increased worldwide, search engine referral percentages can vary between countries. For example, search sites in the United States accounted for more than
15% of all referrals (up front 8% a year ago), while the United Kingdom had a search referral percentage of almost 18 (up from 11.5% the year before).
It’s no wonder every time a search provider
like Google or Overture so much as sneezes it makes headlines.
Search Engine Referral Percentages by Country
As of 3/06/03 As of 3/07/02
Spain 21.53% 10.83%
South Africa 20.47% 12.49%
Brazil 19.04% 8.20%
United Kingdom 17.84% 11.51%
Australia 17.07%
10.88%
United States 15.07% 8.00%