A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 92% of search engine users are confident in their searching skills, with more than 87% saying they are successful in finding what they’re looking for most of the time. However, nearly two-thirds lack even a basic awareness of the difference between natural and paid search results. And guess what—more than 50% say they would stop using search engines if they felt the engines weren’t being clear about how they presented paid results.
So searchers are cocksure and happy, but largely ignorant of how search engines work or display the results that make them “successful.” Tomorrow’s SearchDay article, Survey: Searchers are Confident, Satisfied & Clueless (available to blog readers now), takes a closer look at this fascinating survey and some other findings that surfaced about searcher attitudes.