39 replies to this topic

[Jill]

Wordtracker has no searches for highrankings.com. There's 3 searches for Jill Whalen, though. Does that count?

Jill

[integramed]

Jill,

The Overture Suggestion Tool treats you better, it gives highrankings.com 147 and Jill Whalen 58 ;-)

[DanThies]

When someone types "Hotmail" into the address line on MSIE, they're not searching for Hotmail. They know where it is, and they know that MSN will redirect them there.

When someone "searches" for highrankings.com, yahoo.com, etc. there's a very good chance that they meant to type it into the address bar, and accidentally clicked in a search toolbar instead.

I get more referrals every month, with people searching on the site name. That's a good measure of progress in branding.

[compar]

Bob:

Maybe we need a "semantics" forum, and you can be the moderator.

I didn't even see that as a semantical argument. But upon reflection maybe what he was asking or suggesting was that Overture should remove the "Google" searches from it database. To do so they would arbitrarily have to say that any search for a search engine is not a "real search". Them the question is how many other sites would fall into this category?

How would a search for CNN or IBM or any other national brand name be handled. And what about highrankings forum. Hell everybody know that URL that can't be a "real search".

By my definition if someone types it into a SE dialogue box it's a search.

Then the next question arises. What purpose would be served by removing these from the database?

[integramed]

Of course, technically compar is correct - anything typed into a search box is indeed a search. But, this whole thread is about people who type a URL (such as, say, yahoo.com) into a search box.

The Overture Suggestion Tool indicates that this happens in high volume. And, as Jill and others mentioned, we think this is due to people using a search engine as a navigational tool to get to a known site each time they want to visit.

So, they don't use favorites, they don't type the URL into the browser address line.. they type it into a search engine and then click on the top result to go to the site. Or, as someone else mentioned, maybe they type it into a search engine toolbar.

The point is that this is an interesting comment on how people navigate. And maybe an interesting comment on how search engines are beginning to take on the role of an "operating system" for the web. Just food for thought.

As a simple application of this - if you use the Overture Suggestion Tool to look at the search frequency on your URL, then this is a measure of your domain name branding i.e how well your domain name has been branded and is known. Also, when hunting for new keywords for a campaign, don't forget relevant domain names - maybe those of your competitors for example.

Hope this clarifies things.

[qwerty]

If you're going to check your domain name branding in this way, you probably need to add other searches: in addition to people searching on highrankings.com, I think you should be looking for highrankings, high rankings, highranking.com, highranking, high ranking, high-rankings.com, high-rankings, high-ranking.com, and high-ranking (and probably a few more).

[integramed]

qwerty - not really. If all you want to know is the popularity of your actual domain name then you only need to check (using highrankings as the example here) highrankings and highrankings.com - and this is the case - the Overture Tool gives highrankings.com a 147, but highranking.com gets a 0. Which goes along with the basic proposition - people know EXACTLY the domain they are "searching" for in these "navigational searches."

[qwerty]

I agree with you if we're just talking about people who know your exact domain name. But if, for example, Jill is identified as the person behind "that high rankings web site," then any search of the sort I listed is in my opinion an indication that she has branded her services in those people's minds.

But I do see your point. I just think you're just being more specific about the domain name than I am. My point is that searches on variations of the domain name that bring a person to a given site are somewhat different from searches on the site's keywords, like "search engine optimization" or "web site marketing," because they're an indication of how well the site is branded.

[integramed]

qwerty, yes agreed. This whole thing started when I was using the Overture Tool and noticed that it reported over 11 million searches in August on keyword: yahoo.com

Now that we know how this happens I'm wondering if this type of search behavour presents any special opportunities. Always looking for new SEM ideas, always looking to get one step ahead ;-)

[Ron Carnell]

I teach a handful of seminars each month at some local colleges and universities, so I'm frequently in the position of "standing over someone's shoulder" while they work. I see this phenomenon quite a lot, though what I typically see doesn't correspond to what one might think.

In the vast majority of instances I recall, the user simply typed a domain into the wrong place on the screen because they weren't actually reading what was in front of them. They meant to enter it in the Location/Address bar, but hit the wrong "long white box." Interestingly, when this happens, they don't even bother to read the search results returned. Even in the not infrequent case where they don't immediately realize why it didn't work as expected, as soon as someone points out their mistake, they correct their mistake by going to the Location/Address bar and retyping the domain. The search results are never used.

[qwerty]

Interesting. I used to see it happen the other way with an office-mate all the time. I'd tell her to go to a URL, she'd open her browser to MSN, type it into the search bar, etc. When I'd tell her she could just type it into the location bar, she'd say something like, "I know, but it's easier this way, especially if I make a mistake."

[integramed]

ron, query - thanks, these are the mechanisms I expected for this type of "navigational or accidental" search. I just checked with a friend here in the office, an experienced user, and he does a variation on this.

He keeps his favorites window open to the left at all times, and in his favorites he has Google. When asked to go to any site (such as msn.com, yahoo.com etc.) he first clicks Google in the favorites window, types the site domain name into Google, gets the search results and clicks the top one.

Wow! Now THAT'S a "navigational search" ;-)

[Scottie]

LOL- users are fun. The more you watch them, the more you realize there are plenty of ways to skin a cat.

Usability studies are never boring- you can't imagine the different ways people will try to use a site.

[compar]

He keeps his favorites window open to the left at all times, and in his favorites he has Google. When asked to go to any site (such as msn.com, yahoo.com etc.) he first clicks Google in the favorites window, types the site domain name into Google, gets the search results and clicks the top one.

That behavior is very common. A great number of people use one search engine or the other as their browser home page. So these people search for things as the most convenient form of navigation. Couple that with the search icon in the browser toolbar and you get a lot of searches that might have been typed directly into the address bar.

I think people find that the search engines are probably more tolerant of typing errors or misspellings than the address bar and so have learned to go that way.

[DanThies]

Actually, I used to get a ton of business with a one cent bid on Overture for "Yahoo."