Survey: Majority Use Mobile Search, Find It “Harder Than PC”

In the cross-platform, post-PC era, the big question the search industry faces is whether and how PC search behaviors are extending into mobile. The short answer is they are.

Google has sponsored research that shows majorities of smartphone owners use search engines�(74 percent). Yet mobile search, even voice-enabled search, is an awkward version of its PC sibling and people generally find it “harder” than using search online.

Those are some of the takeaways from questions in the recent holiday shopping survey conducted by Search Engine Land and SurveyMonkey.

When conducting online research with your smartphone, which of the following best describes your behavior?�

I use a search engine just as on the desktop — 52.5 percentI don�t use my smartphone for online research — 21.1 percentI rely on mobile search and apps equally — 10.6 percentI use search when an app can�t find what I am looking for — 8.3 percentI primarily use mobile apps — 7.6 percent

(Numbers may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.)��

The survey found that just over half (52.5 percent) the mobile audience used search engines “just as on the desktop.” However overall it appears that more than 63 percent engage with mobile search to some degree (frequency is uncertain). Beyond the 52 percent, 10.6 percent said they “use search and apps equally.” The population that had replaced search with apps turns out to be relatively small.

A substantial number of respondents (21 percent), however, said they didn’t use their smartphones at all “for online research.”

Which of the following statements about mobile search best expresses your experience?�

Searching on a mobile phone is harder than on the PC — 61.4 percentSearching on a mobile phone is easier because you can use voice search –�18.5 percentI prefer using apps to search the web on my mobile phone — 10.6 percentI don’t use search at all on my mobile phone — 9.6 percent

(Numbers may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.)�

While the majority of smartphone users are tapping search on their mobile phones, most people find it “harder than on the PC” (61 percent). Fewer than 20 percent said that voice search made mobile searching easier. And just over 10 percent said they preferred using apps to mobile search engines.

The survey was conducted on November 21-22, 2013 by Marketing Land and�SurveyMonkey. Results were collected with a 95 percent confidence interval and a 5 percent margin of error from more than 400 Americans using�SurveyMonkey Audience.

Summary Of Findings & Complete Survey Data

Related coverage of the survey results:�

Survey: 3 Out 4 Consumers Now Notice Retargeted AdsSurvey: Majority Use Smartphones In Stores, Not For E-CommerceBrand Bias: 70% Of Consumers Look For Known Retailers When Doing Product Searches