Why Search Rules the Internet

What do you do if you need information on a local restaurant, a plumber, what's on at the cinema or what else that guy in the film you're watching was in? You go online of course.
"Just Google it" is now a common response to virtually any question. We have access to so much up the minute news and information at our fingertips and it is all channelled through search engines.
The internet is growing larger and faster than ever. More and more people are going online; more and more people are browsing for information and, crucially, more people are buying online.
But just how much power does internet search hold over our daily lives?
1) It is Massive
They say "everyone is online these days" and whilst that isn't true (only 1 in 3 are) the number is rising faster than it ever has before - as is the size of the internet itself.

• There were 2.28 billion users in March 2012 (32% of the world's population) double the number there was 5 years previous
• 53 million were from the UK - that's 85% of the population
• There are at least 7.9 billion pages on the World Wide Web

2) People Use it to Search
Alongside email, typing words into a search box is the most common internet activity. With the level of data available to people at such speed and with such ease, more and more people are turning to the net for their news, entertainment and social life. And they find most of it via a search engine.

• 93% of online visits start with a search engine.
• The industry is believed to be worth more than $16 billion - four times its value back in 2004.
• In March 2012 the total population spent 2.2 trillion minutes online viewing 3.5 trillion pages.
• 92% of users use a Search Engine, more than any other internet activity.
• There are over 4 million searches per minute

3) Google Owns Search
There is a reason people don't say "Yahoo it" or "Bing it".
Search engines are the gates to the internet and Google is the key master.

• Two thirds of all global searches are done through it.
• 91% of all searches in the UK used the search engine with 2.3bn UK searches being made in May 2012
• It receives over 1 billion queries each day

4) Search Drives Commerce
People may complain that it is causing the death of the high street and traditional shops, but given how e-commerce has revolutionised the way we shop I can see why people may not be too keen to venture down the high street on a December weekend. The internet allows you to browse every conceivable product on the market from the comfort of your own home and have the products delivered to you (sometimes with no charge) in a matter of days - and we love it!

• The online shopper population will grow to 184.3 million in 2012.
• Around 39% of customers for online businesses came via search.
• 88.1% of US users over 14 will use the internet to browse or research products in 2012.
• 13.5% of all purchases in the UK in 2010 was done online with this figure expected to grow at a faster rate than the US and China.

For internet marketing, Search Engine Optimisation and help on how to master the search engine this author recommends Only Web ( http://www.onlyw3b.com )

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ross_Moffat