The total number of searches in the U.S. conducted across approximately 60 search engines grew 55 percent year-over-year to nearly 5.1 billion searches in December 2005. There were 3.3 billion searches conducted via search engines in December 2004.
While the number of searches conducted online swelled, the number of people connecting to the Internet rose a mere three percent to 207 million people in the U.S.
“The double-digit increase in online search activity marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Internet consumer behavior,” said Ken Cassar, senior director of analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. “Online search is the primary tool most people rely on to do everyday research.”

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Newsletter

www.nielsen-netratings.com