Upon Data From Compete - Vertical Search Tools Are Growing Faster Than Google

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Upon Data From Compete - Vertical Search Tools Are Growing Faster Than Google




Most of you will not be surprised to learn that Google is the most popular Internet search tool. However, a Forrester study [1] indicates that only 20% of Google users use Google exclusively when performing their web searches. This provokes the question: what other Internet search tools are being used by the remaining 80% non- exclusive Google users? According to data presented in this article, the Vertical Search Market is growing faster than Google.

When comparing unique-visitors growth rate between the core search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) and a sample of alternative Internet search tools, it becomes obvious that the vertical search market is growing at a faster pace.

Following are the comparison results (percent growth in unique users during 2/2008 - 2/2009):

Core Engines Percent Growth:

Google =8.2%

Yahoo= -11.7%

MSN= -11.8%

Vertical Search Tools- Percent growth:

Highbeam= 195%

WikiAnswers= 155%

LinkedIn=146%

A9=143%,

MetaCafe= 84%

Indeed= 82%

Flickr= 25%.

The vertical search market is growing rapidly when measuring growth based on unique-users. However, if we measure the market growth based on number of searches rather than users we'll find a much lower growth rate.

According to an Iprospect research [2], users seem resistant to seek an alternative search tool when the web search turns unsuccessful. About 82% of users will modify their query on the same search tool instead of looking for a better fitted source. There are several possible rationales for the lack of enthusiasm to seek an alternative Internet search tool when results turn sour at the core search engine. Possible causes which deter the user to turn to the vertical search option more often are:

1. Leaving Anxiety: This may sound as a minor issue, but it seems to be a tough hurdle for many services, not just search tools. Needing to "leave" the existing web location (especially if you're on your favorite core search engine) either by changing the current web address or opening a new tab/window is an activity which most users are reluctant to do.

2. Knowing Your Options: The need to become aware and familiar of a few dozens of web search tools (considering the number of different topics and formats a typical user may query)

3. Deciding: Being aware of the many different search tools and knowing your options is an important step. However, having to decide which tool best fit the specific query or desired format may just be too much of a demanding task for an every-day usage.

Given all these issues on one hand, and the clear need of the users on the other hand, I foresee that there is still a lot of innovation to be witnessed in the field of search and vertical search especially. I strongly believe that if there were ways to help the typical search user to confront the above obstacles or to eliminate them completely, the vertical search market would grow at a very rapid pace. Not only in the number of unique users as it is growing today already, but also in the number of searches.

References: [1] Forrester study
[2] Iprospect research

Alex Rinsky is a Co-Founder of DeeperWeb.com, is an innovative search engine tool and an essential addon for Google users. DeeperWeb is integrated into Google search results page as a sidebar and is available for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers. DeeperWeb boosts searching by employing Tag-Cloud techniques to help users navigate through search results more efficiently and uses Topic-Mapping-Technologies for fast results identification.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alex_Rinsky/299727


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2119165



_(By Alex Rinsky).

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