The search behaviour of users on the Internet

Particularly for advertisers in the field of online marketing, the question often arises as to which pages to place their advertising or content on in order to reach the target group as effectively as possible. In terms of reach, it can sometimes play a significant role whether you use a search engine for your advertising or an ad on a social network.

It is worth taking a close look in advance at how the traffic is distributed in relation to the respective content. The most frequently used pages by users searching for content on the net are undisputedly Google and Facebook. However, there are sometimes serious differences in terms of user behaviour in search queries that need to be taken into account.

It has been shown that the page preferred by the user for a search query depends strongly on the subject of the content searched for. For example, there is a considerable difference between the use of Google and Facebook, for example, in the frequency of search queries for content that can be assigned to the "lifestyle" category, for example. This includes, for example, hobby and leisure topics such as cooking, travel or local events.

In contrast, the situation is different for search queries on content from the field of technology or job offers. In these cases, Google is clearly ahead. The same also applies to queries relating to research results or content from the fields of business and finance.

Overall, it can be seen that queries relating to more complex or "serious" issues and topics are placed much more frequently on a search engine. In contrast, the vast majority of users clearly favour social networks such as Facebook for more "light" topics.

If a product or service is to be advertised on the net, it is therefore of central importance as marketing decision-makers to be aware of the different search behaviour of users. This is the only way to be sure that the target group is reached effectively. This means that your own advertising can then be placed in the right place.