But I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For...

This week in MT8425 we're discussing web metrics or the ways that we can determine whether our web campaigns are successful. For me lately, a big related question has been how are people finding the information they need when they go online.

The web is a giant sea of information. Social media has expanded the resources available to everyone because as it turns consumers of media into producers, information grows exponentially via blogs, tweets, wikis, and image and video uploading sites.

This is a great step forward for democratic communication, however it presents the public with a serious problem. How do we sift through the barrage of information in order to find exactly what we are looking for? And once we think we've found what we are looking for, how do we know the information we've found is reliable and trustworthy.

Of course if business leaders and social media experts could figure this one out, it would allow us to really reach our target audience more efficiently, but as the situation stands right now, one of the biggest challenges of online or social media PR is getting your message out amidst a sea of competing messages.

Here's what we do know:

1. Google is still the most popular search engine, and has been for years.
2. People who use Google seldom make it past the first page of search results.
3. You can't beat Google - they always update and refine their algorithm, so SEO or search engine optimization cannot trick the search engine into moving your website higher up in the list.

But in addition I also suspect the following:

1. People tend to use Google to find websites that they already trust when they are looking for information. In other words, they'll go to a traditional media outlet first, because they know they can trust names like The Globe and Mail, or The New York Times.
2. People will also click through to information provided by their social network (on or offline) but they tend to do this more often when presented with an interesting link, not when they are looking for specific information.
3. People probably have a relatively small number of sites which they consult on a regular basis, therefore when they find something they can count on, they will regularly return to it.

I am in the process of researching the final three points. All data we gain will give us clues that can help us better reach people with the message we want to send. If we know what sites people actively seek, then we can leverage that information in order to get the public to come to us, so that we do not have to work as hard to go to them.