Internet @ a Glance - Internet Usage Information

This article provides an overview of the Internet as it stands today - a quick review of definitions, Internet functions, usage statistics, the explosion in local search and a look at the growth in online sales. What exactly is the Internet? Let's start with a definition.

The Internet "is a ‘network of networks' that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web.

Contrary to some common usage, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, etc.; the Web is a collection of interconnected documents, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is accessible via the Internet, as are many other services including e-mail, file sharing, [etc.]" (Internet, 2006, par. 1-2).

While the Internet began as an academic and technical endeavor, public interest in it started to grow in 1994. By 1996 the Internet was a household term and today it is part of our every day lives. According to Internet World Stats, over 1.08 billion people are using the Internet as of September 18th, 2006 (see Table 1). That is a 200% increase since 2000.

Net Functions (Email, Search Engines, & Searches)

With all these people on the Internet, what exactly are they doing? Most of the time the net is used for leisure (playing games, watching videos, gambling, chatting with friends, sharing pictures, etc.) and communication (email, IMs (instant messaging), PC-to-PC calls, etc.). In fact, email ranks second behind the telephone as the largest means of communication. The Radicati Group estimated that 171 billion emails are being sent per day. That means "almost 2 million emails are sent every second" (Tschabitscher, 2006, par. 2). To the dismay of many, only 29% are genuine emails. The other "71 percent are spam" (Radicati Group, 2006, par. 1).

In addition to leisure and personal communication uses, the Internet has also become a great source for information (research, how-tos, newspapers, online journals, job listings, blogs, and pretty much everything you every wanted know about anything), shopping, and business-to-business communications.

How do these one billion+ users find what they seek? They use search engines (SEs). According to comScore, Google is the most widely used SE, followed by Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask. Google, with 47.3% usage rate, receives 91 million searches a day (see Graph 1 and Table 2). And, when you tally all searches performed on the Internet per day it comes to a whopping 213 million. That represents a lot of people looking for a lot of information. With all this traffic, the Internet is now an essential component of any business or organization's marketing plan and communications strategies. Whatever you have to say, share or sell, the Internet is the place to do it.

One important trend in user searching behavior relates to local searches, that is, users looking for information, products, and services provided by businesses in their local geographical area. A study done by comScore shows "63 percent of U.S. Internet users (or approximately 109 million people) performed a local search online in July [of 2006], a 43 percent increase versus July of 2005" (comScore Networks, 2006, par. 2). Google and Yahoo! were the SEs of choice for most of these local searches, followed by Microsoft and Time Warner Network (see Table 3).

"Based on a recent comScore Search Satisfaction study, 41 percent of those conducting a local search were searching for something in their home area, as opposed to searching for information on businesses in locales that they intended to visit. Additionally, among those searching in their home area, 59 percent indicated they were searching for a restaurant or something entertainment-related, such as a theater, theme park or an attraction for sightseeing. Another 52 percent said they were searching specifically for a business phone number or address. Two out of five local searchers (41 percent) were looking for information on a local service in their home area - services such as car rental offices, dry cleaners, veterinarians, florists and lawyers.

The same comScore study also found that performing a local search drives consumers to take action. During the second quarter of 2006, 47 percent of local searchers visited a local merchant as a result of their search behavior, while 41 percent made contact offline. More than one-third (37 percent) made contact online as a result of conducting a local area search" (comScore Networks, 2006, par. 3-4).

Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix, said, "‘Local search is experiencing strong growth as more consumers adapt to the ‘always on' nature of their broadband connection, which enables them to quickly find information on local businesses. With approximately 849 million local searches conducted by Americans in July, local advertisers have a sizable market that can be reached through leading search sites'" (comScore Networks, 2006, par. 5).

There is no longer any business, however small or local, that could not benefit from a presence on the Internet. In fact, the time is near when the lack of such a presence will be interpreted by customers as a sign that the business is not current. Local businesses without web sites may begin to lose business (if it isn't already happening) to their local competitors who are embracing and using this media to their advantage.

"Some of the biggest companies today have grown by taking advantage of the efficient nature of low-cost advertising and commerce through the Internet. … It is the fastest way to spread information to a vast amount of people simultaneously. [Subsequently,] the Internet has … revolutionized shopping—for example; a person can order a CD online and receive it in the mail within a couple of days, or download it directly in some cases. The Internet has also greatly facilitated personalized marketing which allows a company to market a product to a specific person or a specific group of people more so than any other advertising medium" (Internet, 2006, par. 59).

"Examples of personalized marketing include online communities such as MySpace, Friendster, and others which thousands of Internet users join to advertise themselves and make friends online. Many of these users are young teens and adolescents ranging from 13 to 25 years old. In turn, when they advertise themselves, they advertise interests and hobbies, which online marketing companies can use as information as to what those users will purchase online, and advertise their own companies' products to those users" (Internet, 2006, par. 60).

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce estimated $26.3 billion in retail e-commerce sales were made during the 2nd quarter of 2006 (see Graph 2). This value was "adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday trading-day differences, but not for price changes. … Total [unadjusted] retail sales … were estimated at $984.9 billion. … The second quarter 2006 e-commerce estimate increased 23.0% (± 5.4%) from the second quarter of 2005 while total retail sales increased 6.6 % (± 0.5%) in the same period" (Scheleur, King, & Shimberg, 2006, par.1). If you have a product to sell, the Internet is the marketplace to get your message and products out.

The staggering growth in Internet usage, email communications, and e-commerce sales underscore the fundamental change taking place in business. The marketplace has globalized, consumers demand more information at their fingertips, and business without a web site to provide that information will be left behind. Businesses and organizations hoping to grow and take advantage of today's information and service-based economy need a web site; it is that simple. An effective presence on the Internet is one of the easiest and most economical means of influencing potential customers.

To read some great Internet Usage Statistics, check out our Fast Stats companion article.

For more information on taking the first step onto the Internet with your business or for updating your existing site, contact denning e-solutions.