Top Search Engine Terms of 2011: Who and What We Looked For

SANTA MONICA, CA – What do Facebook and Justin Bieber have in common? They are both at the top of their categories for the number of search inquiries directed at them in 2011. The categories are part of an in-depth analysis of the top search terms of 2011, published by Experian Hitwise, a part of Experian Marketing Services.

The biggest search engine victory, though, was achieved by a search engine itself. According to Experian Hitwise, Google properties made for 11.98 percent of all U.S. visits, which is a 22 percent increase from 2010. Facebook properties accounted for 8.93 percent, and Yahoo! properties accounted for 6.81 percent.

As a stand-alone, the fastest-moving search terms of the year mainly focused on big events, disasters, and changes that happened on that specific day. The terms included: Hurricane Irene, Les Paul, Nick Ashford dies, Apophis Asteroid, Sheen dumped, Hurricane Irene path and Amber Cole. Looking at the top public figures and the top five searches in the movie category is equally as amusing (and maybe even a little scary to some degree, in some cases).

Top public figure searches:

Justin BieberCasey AnthonyKim KardashianNicki MinajSelena GomezCharlie Sheen

Top five movie titles:

Star WarsTransformers 3(Twilight) Breaking DawnHarry Potter and the Deathly HallowsFast Five

Looking at the top hits for 2011 is fun and provides some insight, but the analysis goes much deeper when comparing the results of 2011 with 2010. A few important differences, as noted by the Experian Hitwise study: Facebook was the top-visited website for the second year, making up 10.29 percent of all U.S. visits between January and November 2011, which is a whopping 15 percent increase from 2010. Google.com ranked second, with 7.70 percent of visits, which is a 7 percent increase for them, trailed by YouTube with 3.17 percent, and Yahoo! Mail at 2.95 percent with Yahoo! at 2.47 percent.

Check out the Top 10 most-visited websites for 2010 vs. 2011:

Top 10 in 2010:

Facebook.comGoogle.comMail.Yahoo.comYahoo.comYouTube.comMsn.comMySpace.comMail.Live.comSearch.Yahoo.comBing.com

Top 10 in 2011:

Facebook.comGoogle.comYouTube.comMail.Yahoo.comYahoo.comBing.comSearch.Yahoo.comGmail.comMail.Live.comMsn.com

Taking a critical look at both the 2010 and 2011 search terms, especially in relation to search engine optimization, makes for an important task for 2012, and that is meeting the challenge of knowing what’s current and anticipating what is on the horizon, according to Ali Husayni, the CEO of the SEO service company, Master Google.

After all, SEO helps a website’s visibility by making sure that the site’s language gives an optimal chance for it to be found when a web surfer performs a search.

“The key is to recognize your key audience and think like them,” Husayni says. “For instance, if Sinai is working on dental website marketing for a client, we have to think in terms of what words people use when they search for a dentist. Then we build the client’s entire Google marketing efforts around those 100-200 words.”

© 2012 Master Google. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Master Google is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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Pew Internet Study Reveals Two-Thirds of Internet Users Want Search History Private

NASHVILLE, TN – It’s no secret that Internet usage has increased dramatically in the past decade. In 2004, 30 percent of Internet users conducted search engine queries on a normal day.

In the present, that number has shot to 59 percent, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. When Google released Search Plus Your World, we reported that Web searches would start getting personal. A study released on March 9 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows the results of a very interesting test. Pew wanted to know how Internet users feel about search engines gathering and saving their past histories to use as a guide for future search results. The survey asked approximately 2,000 participants questions about their Internet use, their feelings on targeting advertising, and their knowledge on how to keep their information private. The survey was conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 19. Overall, participants did not want search engines to gather that information.

A whopping 73 percent of people said they would “NOT BE OKAY with a search engine keeping track of your searches and using that information to personalize your future search results because you feel it is an invasion of privacy.” The Internet users that accept search engines tracking their searches feel that the material gathered allows search engines to customize their results, better guessing what they’re searching for.

A chart from Pew’s research shows a breakdown of how Internet users feel (either “good” or “bad”) about personalized searches based on users’ age and income level. The study found that the older one is and the more income he receives, the more he disagrees with this method of gaining tailored results.

Personalized searches are certainly controversial, but sometimes they aren’t all bad. If you search for “Indian food takeout,” your past search results could mean that you don’t have to enter your location in each search. If you’re searching for “oil change,” it might annoy some people to get results in other states or regions.

What This Means for SEO

It can get cutthroat in the SEO world, but try to keep your client in mind. If your client values privacy, and most people do value privacy, refrain from deceptive practices. Don’t share their email addresses. Don’t clog up their inboxes with irrelevant content.

There may be a backlash from Internet users due to the way search engines and websites like Facebook treat their personal data. Keep your customers and readers happy by treating them with the respect they desire.

The best way to get readers to trust you is to give them valuable content on a regular schedule. Master Google’s CEO Ali Husayni believes that focusing on the customer’s needs is the way to achieve success.

“Ultimately, humans are more important than the search engine because they are the ones who buy, the ones who will share the content, and the ones who will get you the backlinks to the content, so always strive for a natural tone and relevant topics,” Husayni says.

Contact the Master Google search engine optimizing team to see how we push to get you results while staying true to your customers.

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Apple Buys Chomp: Is your App’s Page Optimized for Search Engines?

NASHVILLE, TN – TechCrunch reported on February 23 that Apple acquired Chomp, a company founded in 2010 to provide a search engine for mobile apps. They started solely with improving iPhone app results, and in 2011 they expanded to the Android market.

Android and iPhone users can download the free Chomp app to search for apps with better results than simply using the respective mobile stores. Apple’s website states that more than 500,000 apps are on the App Store, but finding them is as daunting as finding a needle in a haystack. If you know the app you’re searching for by name, or if it’s a big corporation’s app like Twitter or Facebook, you’ll probably find what you need. But if you’re searching for something like “simulation games” or “fabric stash” or “hidden object”, your results may be murky.

There are blogs that feature popular and underground-sensation apps, but why can’t we just search for them? Google makes it so incredibly easy to find information on anything that we get spoiled. We take it for granted. We wonder why these app markets doesn’t just know what we want.

Chomp’s algorithm reads an app’s specific functions, optimizing the results that users see. Even if the app has an obscure name, Chomp will be able to categorize it for you, to tell you what it’s for. This information is compiled just like Google compiles its index – by crawling. Chomp gives developers the chance to submit an app to their directory, but eventually they’ll get to it on their own. Their website states:

“Chomp’s advanced app crawling technology will automatically find and index your app once it is published to the Android Market, iTunes App Store or the Verizon V CAST Android store. However if you want to help us find it as fast as possible, you can submit your app below. You may also add keywords that describe your app.”

On Chomp’s website, visitors can see analytics for mobile Chomp users, which I personally find pretty awesome. For January 2012, 81% of Chomp searches for iOS apps were for the app’s function; only 19% of searches were for the app’s name. On the Android Chomp searches, only 14% of users searched for an app by name, while the remaining 86% was only searching in terms of function.

And now, with Apple’s acquisition of Chomp, it’s expected that the Chomp team will transform the Apple App Store into something organic, something that can read your mind. So why would an SEO company like Master Google really care? Why all the talk about mobile apps?

If your company has an app, your app’s description page now needs to be optimized for search engines, as Chomp is providing better results than you can see on the iOS or Android app stores.

The implementation of SEO in the app world is long overdue. Hopefully, with Apple’s acquisition of this two-year old search engine app and algorithm superstar, the App Store will step up their results to better serve their customers.

If you’re in the market for an SEO expert – for your website, blog, or app description page – Contact Us to see if the Master Google team can deliver results.

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