14 March 2003

Search engine referrals nearly double

The percentage of worldwide search engine referrals has virtually doubled over the last 12 months, now accounting for more than 13.4 percent of global referrals, up from 7.1 percent the previous year, according to WebSideStory (www.websidestory.com).

These figures are a global average - search engine referral percentages can vary between countries. For example, search sites in the United States accounted for around 15 percent of all referrals (up from 8 percent a year ago), while this was exceeded in the United Kingdom with a search referral percentage of 18 (up from 11.5 percent).

All the indicators suggest peoples browsing habits have moved on from undirected surfing that characterised the early days of the web. Says Geoff Johnston, vice president of WebSideStory's StatMarket division, "People are more efficient in their Web use. The trend is that they either navigate directly to a Web site they already know, or use a search engine to find a new one."

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