TechTarget, Google: New Research on Search Habits of IT Buyers

January 26, 2010 -- NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Technology media company TechTarget, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTGT) today announced the release of Phase 2 of the Google/TechTarget Behavioral Research Project, mapping IT buyer’s search behavior to their online research process.

This behavioral phase of the Research Project was designed to track the differences between what buyers said they do in our first study, versus what they actually do when presented with live SERPs (search engine rendered pages).

“IT buyer’s actual search behavior reveals important details about the findings from our first Google/TechTarget Research Project”

“IT buyer’s actual search behavior reveals important details about the findings from our first Google/TechTarget Research Project,” said Marilou Barsam, Senior Vice President of client consulting and corporate marketing, TechTarget. “Specifically, CIOs have a tendency to view more pages of search results, use keyword queries around “solution” more in early stage research, and demonstrate more willingness to provide their telephone numbers than IT buyers with Director or Administrator roles,” Barsam continued.

Another significant finding in search behavior patterns was a greater frequency of brand and issue/opportunity search phases during the early awareness stage, and a greater use of solution and comparison/review phrases during the later consideration stage than in our 2008 study.

Additional highlights from the study include click-maps that demonstrate the actions taken by IT buyers, including showing that more than 80% of users skim the entire search results page for titles, topics and specific content types of interest before taking any action on the SERP.

This report, along with in-depth analysis of responses segmented by title, role and international region, will be the focus of a joint Google/TechTarget Roadshow event to be held at the Google offices in New York, NY on February 11, 2010. Visit http://www.techtarget.com/googletechtargetroadshow to apply for attendance today.

The Google/TechTarget Behavioral Research Project: Phase 2, is available online at, www.TechTarget.com/ForMarketers

Source: TechTarget