25% of All Search Queries Conducted on Google are New

It has been brought to my attention this week that 25% of all search queries conducted on Google per month are NEW. For years, it has always been easier for Google to refine their algorithm & determine rank for repetitive & common search queries. They now find themselves in front of the daunting task of refining the algorithm for brand new search queries, composed of obscure or longer strings of text that no one has searched for before. This is quite an interesting challenge for everyone in this industry, including you, a website owner.

This information is coming from Udi Manber, Google’s VP of Engineering, in a speech that he gave recently on Search is a Hard Problem. He explained that with an audience like Supernova, he imagines we understand to some extent how difficult a problem it is, but it’s probably a harder problem then we even appreciate. He laid out three reasons why this is the case:

* Scale and diversity are almost beyond comprehension
* Expectations and needs will continue to grow
* 20 to 25% of the queries we see today, we have never seen before

What does this mean to you?
Since searchers are clearly becoming more sophisticated at refining their queries, the opportunity contained within the tail of search queries is greater than ever. We all know that blog is a great way to tap into this opportunity. If you do not consider starting a blog in 2008, please do so. It also means that your SEO plan as well as your PPC management might get a little more sophisticated this year than it used to. Break your site in smaller units of content. Break your Google adgroups the same way in order to dig deeper within the tail of search queries. You may want to try an SEO tool that is called HitTail.com that will allow you to find keywords your potential customers are searching for that you have not thought of before. That might guide some future SEO planning and you may win big in the process. First come, first serve.

Permalink /// Comments (7)

Comments

1. This is exactly why having a blog and posting regularly is so important. Google is constantly finding new words and phrases that have literally just been posted allowing for quick ranking from the millions of queries that come in daily.

   The posts to my own blog are frequently emailed back to my from Google news alerts within minutes of posting and start sending visitors shortly there after.

   Posted by Website Optimization - Terry Reeves on 01/09 at 09:15 AM

2. So, you too are becoming quite amazed on how fast these blog posts get indexed, hey! I have been tracking the amount of different keywords that are used on Google (and others) for finding my site and so far, I am reaching 2,500 search terms on any given month. It is amazing to see how fast the list grows.

   Posted by Alexandre Brabant on 01/09 at 03:38 PM

3. I read the explanation that people are learning and using more complex queries. Maybe they are using more complex queries because the rankings for the more general queries are crap and spam and they can’t find what they’re looking for?
   I think that is the main reason...not finding what they want easily

   Posted by Jumpions on 01/16 at 01:29 AM

4. 25% is way too high in my opinion but I am sure he knows a lot more than I do....

   Posted by matt on 01/22 at 12:30 PM

5. Hey
   I believe this statistics mean that people get more and more sophisticated in their searches. Maybe they know exactly what they need and go for long term searches more and more.

   Posted by Bid Directory on 02/13 at 09:22 AM

6. The 20-25% new queries stat is probably related to the fact that we all use more complex queries. Noone use search terms like “USA”, “Europe”, “Chemisty” or “English” anymore, like we did a few years ago.

   Posted by Göteborg Webdesign on 02/21 at 01:01 PM

7. Not sure what people used to query before but I find it hard to believe they were searching for “Europe” if they were planning to go on a trip in Europe...people are not smarter lately

   Posted by ArticlesGarage on 02/21 at 01:16 PM