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May 13, 2004

Delete this - Top Web Behavior #10: Enter a keyword

In a recent entry, BJ Fogg mentioned an important belief of our lab: the web is about persuasion, not information. Our lab has identified the top ten behaviors that websites want from you. Over the next month, we'll unveil these ten behaviors. Some of them are obvious, but others might surprise you. For each behavior, we'll show you some examples from top sites. Most importantly, we'll tell you what the websites gain, and what you lose, each time you comply. This is the first entry in our series. The Behavior
Most websites have a search feature, allowing users to jump straight to the information they want, without having to figure out the site's navigation system. What most users don't know, however, is that their searches are logged, and the information captured is often carefully mined. What they gain (and you lose)
Website operators want to know why you've come to their website. By tracking hits, operators can get a feel for what their users want, but the picture is often murky. Tracking keyword searches provides much better resolution: if 12% of visitors to a cooking website search for "pea soup", then the operators know a lot about their users. This enables them to help you by organizing their sites and focusing their efforts. But, more importantly, it helps them. They can use this information to adjust marketing efforts, or to sell targeted advertising. Google is a real specialist in this: they auction the right to show ads in response to search keywords. The program made the news recently when the price for the "mesothelioma" (a kind of lung cancer associated with asbestos) topped $90.

Posted by at May 13, 2004 11:46 AM