Despite the demise of Ask Jeeves, many people still search the internet using questions. I like these people as it’s easy to tell what the intent behind a search is. Also, when a search is phrased as a question e.g. If someone searches for ‘how big is the moon?’ then we can make a pretty good guess as to the information they’re after and can make content that satisfies that demand however if someone just types ‘big moon’ they may want to know the size of the moon but equally they could just want to know what makes a moon appear big in the night sky.
I’ve been doing a little digging around using Hitwise data to find out what are the most asked questions online and what percentage of total searches are questions (does it vary from someone looking for recipes to someone looking for science information). I used Hitwise data and my attempt at visualising all of this is below. (click on the image to make it bigger).
The intent behind these searches is crystal clear
See all of the data visualisations here
Related articles
- Using search engine data to shape and create online content (searchinsights.wordpress.com)
- Jeeves Retires (firstrate.co.nz)
- The Huge Untapped Potential of Q&A Content for SEO (seomoz.org)
- Study Looks at Searcher Verbosity, Ask “Wins” (searchenginewatch.com)
- http://sp.ask.com/2009/topquestions.html (Top questions of 2009 – Ask)
Nell Rose
September 17, 2011
Hi, this is great info, as I love collecting anomalous info! lol and it does give me some ideas for my question and answer site, oh well we all have to make a dollar! lol thanks Nell Rose
Pewter Keychain
September 23, 2011
Hey may I reference some of the material here in this blog if I link back to you?
Duncan Bloor
September 28, 2011
Of course, go ahead!
Anon
September 30, 2011
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