The big search engines released end-of-the-year lists that intrigue and entertain. They can also remind us of the fundamentals of search user behavior. Each year when we look back at top searches, we get to see what searchers are up to and measure the strides in human development over the last twelve months. Our curiosity. Our passion. Etched for eternity in the eloquent keywords used by millions demanding cars and jennifer lopez.

Even with the tens of thousands of search sessions I’ve witnessed, I still get a pang of, “Really?! People searched that? Is this stuff real?”

All those searches I’ve seen tell me these lists are accurate snapshots coming from the engines. Granted, I think they are cleaned up–people don’t capitalize much, and don’t often spell out Hillary Rodham Clinton (and probably don’t get the spelling right all the time when they do)–but this does show the short head in all its glory. The filtering makes sense too–focusing on “fastest-rising” and “Top Ten Send-offs” takes us down the long tail a bit, and makes for more entertaining releases.

The basic navigational searches, where users are typing in the name of a site on a search engine, tell us a lot about searcher behavior. They underscore that there’s a whole lotta satisficing going on.

Gord’s explanation of “satisficing” in a previous Just Behave column is spot-on. Users don’t optimize from a careful consideration of all choices in most decision making, they take the first plausible route. This applies not only to their behavior on SERPs, but to everything else they do: navigating the Web, conceiving search topics, typing keywords, etc. People do constantly type myspace and google and ebay into search engines. I would even bet google is persistently a top search on Google.

So, what’s going on here?

In user testing over the last 12 years, I’ve seen this behavior many times. At first, we were a little shocked. When we talked with people, it made sense, for a variety of reasons.

The main thing that influences them to type in domain names to navigate is that it works. For example, I’ve met many users who have an ISP start page set up as their home page. It’s just been that way since they got the Internet connection. That page features a Web search box. So when someone says “you should check out MySpace,” they will type that into their search box (their daily on ramp to the rest of the Web), and arrive at MySpace after a click on the SERP. Next time they need to get to MySpace, it’s motor memory. Of course, there are many users who would bookmark MySpace or use the browser’s URL field to type in “www.myspace.com,” but you can see how navigating via the search box might be easier.

Another context in play here is the frequency of search engines being on screen. If a user wants to navigate to a domain, a search box is often the closest, simplest interface to get there. Fitts’ Law tells us that it’s easier to move a cursor to a target that’s less distance away and larger than another target. If someone’s on a search engine, that site’s search box is often faster to get to than the browser’s URL field.

A third class of behavior here would be informational searches where we’d see engagement with more of the choices on a SERP. Think of someone learning about Facebook for the first time and trying to get an overview of what it is. Another user already knowing what Facebook is and hearing about it in the news might just type in the word–trusting the search engine to display news results in the mix.

It’s as if users have come to learn that search is aware of the same context they are. If you mentioned “iPhone” to a friend the day it came out, they’d be aware of the same buzz as you, and would be interested in reviews, pictures, news about availability, etc. A few months later, the expectation if you mentioned “iPhone” to your friend would be that she knew that you wanted to chat about the price drop and what those first day purchasers thought. In both cases, “iphone” would be the search recorded, but the search results would be tuned to the contemporary context.

3 Engines, 3 insights Into the same behavior

This year Ask came up with some fun categories, such as “Top Celebrity Search of Pregnant Stars in 2007″ and “Top Presidential Candidate Searches of 2007,” in addition to the straight up searches featuring “dictionary” and “movies.” Google focused on the fastest rising queries they saw in 2007, and Yahoo on the top trends in search in 2007. Note all the very simple one and two word searches.

A good illustration of users boiling down the essence of a concept to a few characters but expecting the search engine to know what they want is described in Marissa Mayer’s 2007 Google Zeitgeist webcast. This look at Google Trends shows jumps in the simple search math following news stories about the academic subject. Two stories came out–the first discussing a poll that showed math was the least popular subject at school, and the second that SAT math scores had reached a new high.

My take on this is that user curiosity is piqued by the stories–including hearing about them verbally from others–and they go to a search engine and drop in the shortest query possible to get the scoop. The engines will look at their current news feeds, see many matches for “math,” and return news articles to the top of the page. Everyone’s happy. The point is that no one wanted to (or had to) enter recent high school subject popularity poll math.

It’s not just satisficing driving this–it’s previous experience with search engines rising to meet needs for short queries. The engines have learned how to balance the possible meanings and blend them into the results. That, of course, has led to more confidence in drawing together various structured and unstructured data; hence, Ask 3D and Google Universal.

With many of these searches, such as those for Britney (and yes, try just putting britney in; the engines make an educated guess who you mean), the blend of results coming back need to cover all kinds of user needs. To get a peek at the needs that aren’t (yet) expressed on those basic queries, look to the various suggestions and related search products each engine features. Yahoo’s Search Assistant and Ask’s TypeAhead Suggestions and Zoom Related Search appear on their main search interfaces. Google Suggest is in their labs area, and their various development flavors of related search appear on small samples of their traffic. These are some if the semantic maps people hold–the variety of implicit keywords behind the short queries. Their utility is validated on Ask: more than 20% of the time users take advantage of Zoom Related Search to refocus the results–it’s the most used search tool on Ask.com.

When we see users searching topics as generic as cars, it may be tempting to think “Wow, people are really unable to articulate what they want.” Search engines realized long ago that they have to meet the user more than half way. In the case of cars , the searcher’s semantic map varies from user to user. One might be at the start of the buying cycle and expect to see buying guides. Another may want access to a list of online used car dealers. Another may want to understand how cars work. And another may want to buy the Pixar film’s DVD.

Since relevance is in the mind of the beholder, good SERPs cover many different needs at once. The next time this user returns, they may drop movies in the search box to get a list of what’s currently out. Or the Top 100 of all time. Or the history of film. Little effort on the user’s part, listening and blending on the engine’s part.

Search marketers can learn from these is several ways:

• The most simple terms will often collect the most honey (though, as Gord points out, the conversion rate will be lower than those down the long tail.)
• Users cast a wide net to start with, and then narrow down. Today’s SERPs reflect this more and more.
• Keep up with news and buzz in your category–these will create new keywords and combinations that can result in traffic.
• People are interested in other people–many of these top searches have to do with people and communication. The iPhone is a communication device AND a cultural phenomenon that people want to be informed about.
• Context can change for the same keywords–for one user over time, and from user to user.

When search engines talk about Top 10 lists, it might seem like there’s nothing to be learned about the keywords and clients you represent–that these are just ephemeral human-interest stories. Actually, these searches tell a story about user behavior that will be with us for a long time. To the public, these list are entertaining. To the search industry, they provide critical insight.

Michael Ferguson is senior user experience analyst for Ask.com. The Just Behave column appears Fridays at Search Engine Land.

This week kicks off the first of our guest writers on Just Behave. This week, I’m pleased to welcome Michael Ferguson from Ask.com. Michael is senior user experience analyst for Ask.com, looking at how people seek, acquire, and act on information. He informs product development with user context and design recommendations. Michael has analyzed search user behavior since 1995.

—Gord Hotchkiss

Search marketers will see more opportunities to grow business as the engines evolve beyond a box and ten blue links. With users exploring rich media and other content, capturing qualified clicks will require increased engagement—on the SERP and the landing page. In addition, in-line search suggestion tools will affect what SERPs people end up seeing. This more complex environment means increased talent and specialization for search marketers. As searchers are empowered to direct the engine and review more options, marketers should think about how optimization and buys might change, and the types of experiences that will attract and retain customers.

With the launches of Ask3D and Google Universal Search, SERPs are now displaying more content and direct access to rich media. In-line search suggestion tools are now live for all traffic on Ask and Yahoo. These innovations aren’t meant to make the sites look new—they improve the search experience.

We’re seeing encouraging data on Ask. On the user experience side, one of our focuses is ramping up the frequency of searches for those already using us. Since the launch of our new site design in early June, that metric has and continues to improve. Here are a few other indications that users like the richer experiences these pages offer:

• Large jumps in satisfaction, seen both in surveys and server analytics that gauge user success. The satisfaction numbers are even higher the more content that appears with the results: on top of the page and in the right rail.
• A bit lower click-through on sponsored and organic results per visit with the other choices on the page, but many more visits overall. Frequency and retention are up, which we expect to continue.
• A 27% drop in the percentage of users moving to the second results page. They are getting what they want more quickly.
• A 13% drop in search sessions with more than one search, when searchers use the search suggestions on the home page. These users are guided directly to what they want.
• For searchers using either the TypeAhead search suggestions or our Zoom Related Search, there’s been 28% drop in abandonment.

Why do they like these pages? Don’t searchers just want to type 1-2 keywords, review 3-4 links and get out? Usually this is true—just give me ranked high-quality choices quickly, let me choose one and get off the SERP—all in about 8 seconds. That behavior isn’t going away (and the richer displays can’t interfere with that), but it turns out there are other needs the results page can meet.

We’ve dug deep to get at the emotional needs users bring to search. Searcher goals can of course be categorized as navigational, transactional, or information-gathering—but those don’t say much about the fuller range of the human experience in play.

Broadly, search can be an experience to have, or it can be a means to an end. A solid search engine will deliver a focused feeling: being in control and reassured when trusted results speed you to your goals. On the other hand, searches can also be about exploration and enjoying being energized and feeling successful. Relevance and speed remain must-haves, but when exploring a topic searchers can feel playful, excited, and passionate—as well as accomplished and in charge.

In this mode, searchers are willing to take in more, learn, and add to their search. Linear content such as audio and video enhance the experience; visuals can be useful, not a distraction. Meaningful titles and descriptions provide entree to interesting information and actions.

This is good news for search marketers. The basics of optimization and the keyword strategies that have fueled the industry will evolve with these next generation pages. As the SERPs become more sophisticated, the scope of talent falling under search marketing will increase—you may find yourself thinking more about communicating with audio and video shows customized for SERPs, or developing unique content that engines can draw into their results mix and offer users as they explore. Meta data will become even more powerful as audio and video proliferate. Learning what works for your goals will take some experimentation, but search marketing has thrived on creative iteration.

I expect we’ll see the first moves in marketing on these richer pages with big-ticket items such as autos and travel packages. Products and services in these categories can leverage video and photography already paid for, and have a history of producing content. A guide to sights in Barcelona, a panning tour of a car interior—content’s available now. Entertainment and consumer electronics producers should also fit in well. Exclusive audio and video tracks, 30-second shopping guides might be offered.

On your site, a focus on user experience will only help. Not just great content, but easy check-out, intuitive navigation, quick access to help and contact information and lots more that tells people “I can trust this place and I like the people who run it” can contribute to conversions and word-of-mouth.

Over time, the large online ad networks may think about including pictures, audio, or video with ads—most likely with contextual advertising. Think about how to get the experience of your site (from personality to pricing) across with the unique advantages sound and images can provide.

If you’re not marketing a brand or looking for traffic, it may seem a ways away until you need to think about marketing on rich SERPs or content pages. But smaller retail sites and local businesses should pay attention to what’s happening. At some point you (or a competitor!) will think of a way to optimize content to engage users for your keywords and take mind share. This could be especially powerful in categories where brand and user experience previously hadn’t been as important as price and availability. If they have a great experience, you’ve acquired a customer who will come directly to you (and maybe not even need to arrive through search!)

Down the road, more types of ad products unique to the SERP and user context will evolve. Networks could show more video in places and at times that work in getting clicks and conversions, and more text ads in others, for the same keywords. Or the mix may change at different stages in a search session, by product category, seasonally, based on physical location and device, or search vertical.

With off-line advertising looking for new models (appearing in video games, commercials blended with films, or a fancy Second Life pavilion), we can expect to see creative ways of engaging searchers as they navigate, transact, and explore.

In the 12 years I’ve worked in search, there’s never been a more exciting time for the search engines and the search marketers. There’s still so much to learn, and so many more ways to get people to what they want.

Michael Ferguson is senior user experience analyst for Ask.com. The Just Behave column appears Fridays at Search Engine Land.