The Value of Search Engines

What information can be gained by studying the searching habits of Internet users? The Search Engine Index by Apex Rankings.com functions as a clearinging house on the use of search engines that is helpful in developing marketing stratagies and in making a site shine on more than a handful of computer screens. Here is just a sample of the information being gathered.

Search engines are the top way consumers find new web sites online, used by 73.4% of those surveyed.
Search engines are the top information resource Americans use when seeking answers, used 32 percent of the time, more than any other option.
Americans search the web practically every other day. Nearly 1/3 search once or more per day.
On average, Americans spend 1.5 hours per week searching for information.
On average, Americans experience "search rage" if they don't find what they want within 12 minutes.
57% of Internet users search the web each day, making search the second most popular Internet activity. 46% say they look for product info, making this the third most popular activity. Email is the most popular activity, with 81% checking each day.
Google.com is by far your most important search engine ranking. If your site is not listed on the first results page for your top search terms then you're missing about 70% of all potential web searchs for your product or service.
Nearly half use multiple keywords when searching, rather than a single keyword or other options
About 32,000 businesses run paid listings with Go2.com. They pay an average of
21 cents (US) per visitor.
Search engine positioning was the top method cited by web site marketers to drive traffic to their sites (66%), followed by email marketing (54%).
Meta tags are the most popular search engine optimization technique, used by 61% of those surveyed, followed by optimizing page titles (44%) and link building (32%).
Marketers checking on search engine rankings generated half a million queries per day at Northern Light using position checking software -- the numbers are probably similar or more for other major search engines.
The Open Directory receives 250 site submissions per hour
The average work user spends 73 minutes per month at search engines, second only to 97 minutes at news, info and entertainment sites.