SearchDay - Why Search Engines Fail - 29 August 2002
Two major research studies stress-tested web site search engines around the world, analyzing search failures and offering important insights for dramatically improving search usability.

Key findings from the study:

- 74% of test searches were unsuccessful.
- Sites were best at handling multiple word queries, though worst at coping with ordinary language queries.
- E-Commerce sites offered the worst relevance among corporate, government and media sites, although:
- Public sector sites were worst at overall search usability.

The most significant conclusion from the study was that most sites force users to interact with the search tool in an unintuitive, precise way -- in other words, users can only search successfully if they already know the answer to the question they are asking!

The second study was performed by Mondosoft, a search engine company based in Denmark, that analyzed its own customers' search patterns. The scope of this project was huge: More than 57 million queries across a wide range of both North American and European customers, including both broad public portals and narrow verticals. The findings are both significant and well-supported by the amount of data gathered.

Unlike the Infonic study, Mondosoft found that about 60% of all searches were successful, but the results included a range from 30% to 90% among different sites. Other key findings:

- The average search session lasted 1:50 minutes, ranging from 48 seconds to four and a half minutes.
- Only 1 in 20 visitors will scroll to the second page of search results.
- 22% of searches produce no results.
- 52% of all queries are single word; only 12% are three or more words.
- There is no significant difference in user behavior in North American or European web sites.
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/02/sd0829-search-failure.html