Rambling Thoughts

Search Queries are Getting Longer

Posted on 24. Feb, 2009 by Nikhil Sheth in Knowledge, News

According to a recent study by Hitwise, search queries on all the major search engines are starting to get longer and longer. While the average search query is still around two words long, queries that are longer than four words have become increasingly popular over the last twelve months.

This is an interesting trend, and it could be interpreted in a variety of way. This could mean that a growing number of users is finding less value in the search results they get from relatively unspecific, short queries. It could also indicate that users are becoming more sophisticated in how they structure their queries when they are looking for very specific answers.

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Tags: Search