Today I participated in a webinar with Howard Partridge of Phenomenal Products.  I was one of 3 other guest speakers.  One of the other panelist was David Akindele of Reach Local - an international Internet marketing company specializing in Pay-Per-Click programs.  David talked about Search Engine searches and the 3 different types and I wanted to pass that information on to you.

There are 3 types of Searches:
Navigational:  This simply means that a 'searcher' knows what they are looking for.  They may know the company name.  They may even know the domain name.  (Yes, people sometimes go directly to Google to put in a domain name then click on the link in the index to go to the site.  It's an extra step or two but they do it.)  This searcher typically goes to the Organic Search Index to find what they are looking for.

Transactional:  This searcher knows what they need and they need someone now.  They don't do a lot of research on it - they did that on another visit.  They just come to the Internet searching for who can give it to them the quickest.  This searcher typically migrates to the Sponsored Links Index because they know that these are the aggressive companies - the companies that are there and ready to serve them right now.

Information:  This searcher is looking for information.  This is where the do their research.  Who offers what they are looking for?  Who has the best presentation to give them what they need?  And where can they find it - locally or elsewhere?  This searcher tends to use a mixture of both the Organic Search Index and the Sponsored Links Index to find what they are looking for.  They want to know where the information is going to be when they need it.

By understanding the 3 Types of Searches you can know how to focus your marketing dollars.