According to qSearch, a division of comScore Networks, approximately 85% of the Canadian Internet population conducts at least one search at the top engines each month (compared to 73% of the U.S. on-line population). Canadians also search more frequently than Americans, conducting approximately 575 mln searches last April, or 40 searches per search engine user. The first 10 sites listed are visited 78% more often than sites listed 11th to 30th.
Microsoft, Time Warner and Yahoo! are July top sites from home
Microsoft, Time Warner and Yahoo! head the list for top sites reached from home compiled by Nielsen/NetRatings. Even though Microsoft leads the ranking with the number of visitors it reached, Time Warner is undisputed leader of customer retention, with each site visitor spending almost 4 hours on the properties.
Parent Name Unique Audience Reach Time Per Person Microsoft 89,750 65.70% 01:26:20 Time Warner 78,464 57.44% 03:46:50 Yahoo! 77,369 56.64% 02:00:36 Google 46,957 34.37% 00:18:31 eBay 35,344 25.87% 01:25:08 United States Government 27,055 19.80% 0:15:53 InterActiveCorp 24,584 18.00% 00:17:56 Ask Jeeves 23,363 17.10% 00:22:52 RealNetworks 22,132 16.20% 00:42:14 Amazon 22,029 16.13% 00:15:13
Paid search to generate $2.6 bln in 2004, $5.5 bln in 2009
Paid search will continue to grow faster than any other sector of online advertising, increasing from $2.6 billion in 2004 to $5.5 billion in 2009, according to Forrester Research.
Amazon searches inside 120,000 books, 20 TB of data
In the latest issue the Fast Company magazine describes the database used for Amazon’s Search Inside the Book feature. It includes 120,000-plus books. Each one had to be scanned digitally and indexed, a huge logistical challenge at a huge cost. The database took up 20 terabytes, which Bezos says is about 20 times larger than the biggest database that existed anywhere when Amazon was founded. But a large-scale launch was the only way to see whether it would go over with Amazon’s 43 million active customer accounts.
1.2 bln US searches made in May 2004
Americans generated 1.2 bln search sessions during May 2004, a 30% rise from May 2003. The principal driver of growth in sessions between May 2003 and May 2004 was a 15% increase in the online audience. Growth in the number of search sessions per person was a positive 11% during the period, while growth in search reach was only 2%.
