U.S. adults are going online more frequently to search for information about products and services. According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, 58% of Americans conduct such research online “at least occasionally.” That’s up from 49% who said the same thing in 2004.

When applied strictly to the Internet-using population in the U.S., the number goes up: Pew says 78% of adult Internet users in the U.S. do product or service research online. Here’s a further demographic breakdown of that 78% number.

This Pew study doesn’t distinguish how the “online research” happens. We can infer that search is a popular way that adults look for product or service information, but it may also include visiting company web sites, e-commerce sites, or even sites that offer ratings and reviews of products and/or businesses.

Speaking of reviews, the Pew study says 24% of all U.S. adults (32% of Internet users) have posted product reviews or comments online.

Pew surveyed 3,001 U.S. adults between August 9 and September 13, 2010.

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Search & Society: General | Stats: Search Behavior

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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