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Most Search Engine Users Stop at Page 3

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the keep-going-there-is-more-there dept.

ambient12 writes "The BBC reports on a study saying that, despite the depth of content internet search providers offer, most people stop at page 3 or earlier." From the article: "It also found that a third of users linked companies in the first page of results with top brands. The study surveyed 2,369 people from a US online consumer panel. It also found 62% of those surveyed clicked on a result on the first page, up from 48% in 2002. Some 90% of consumers clicked on a link in these pages, up from 81% in 2002. "

7 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Well, duh. by susano_otter · · Score: 1, Informative

    Personally, I start at the top of a set of Google results, and step through each link until I hit one that meets my needs.

    In other news, nobody likes to grovel through page after page of marginally-relevant crap.

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  2. It wasn't always that way by Monoman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Google has spoiled us. I can remember going through pages and pages of search results. Altavista was in improvement and then Google came along.

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  3. Is that expected? by ThePyro · · Score: 3, Informative

    I almost always find exactly what I'm looking for on the first page. Isn't it a good thing that search engines do a good job of giving users relevant results on the first page?

    1. Re:Is that expected? by arivanov · · Score: 2, Informative

      Coming soon?

      They are already here: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/19/14 26234

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  4. A page by chanrobi · · Score: 3, Informative

    can have differing numbers of search results. My google prefernece is set to 50 per page. Useless study?

  5. That's not what depth is for by Xshare · · Score: 2, Informative

    The depth of a search engine is *not* so that you have tons of results for a single search term, and therefore a wealth of knowledge. The depth is so that on a very specialized search, you find exactly what you need. Those results in the far-back pages are not necessary to someone who needs something from the first 3 pages, whereas they may come to be necessary later, when they come onto the first page due to being more relevent to what the searcher needs. In fact, I think the fact that people find what they need in the first couple pages is actually a testament to how good search engines are nowadays.

  6. Well, duh-Plumbing the depths. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    "In other news, nobody likes to grovel through page after page of marginally-relevant crap."

    Maybe that's because most of the web is hidden