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Most Search Engine Users Stop at Page 3
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. "
In my experience, most results after the first 2 or 3 pages are utterly worthless, and usually contain a bunch of foreign language mailing list posts, and repeats of earlier results mirrored on different sites.
Not always my experience. As a compulsive maximizer, I can't help looking through 10s of pages of search results, often to the very last page. I often find the best links near the end, particularly for commercial stuff where the top results are more a reflection of market presence and SEO rather than real relevance and value.