New data from HitWise shows that web search users are using more words in their search queries compared to behavior from a year ago. The Marketing Pilgrim, Andy Beal, compares the recent HitWise data to a OneStat report from 2004.
I used the data from Feb, 2004 and Feb, 2009 to create the following graph. It’s visually clear that in the past 5 years, users are increasing the number of words in their search queries. In 2004, more than 50% of the searches had only 1 or 2 words. In 2009, the trend has reversed. Now more than 50% of searches contain 3 or more words. Â
While it’s great to rank for 1 or 2 word search phrases, in order to maximize impact, your seo efforts need to include a variety of phrases that contain 3 or more words.
