Use of search engines on a daily bases has been steadily rising from about one-third in 2002 to current rate of just under 50% according to a recent report by Pew Internet & American Life Project. With this increase, the search engine use will soon be reaching that of email which is currently 60% of internet users. The study also points out that these “new figures propel search further out of the pack, well ahead of other popular internet activities, such as checking the news, which 39% of internet users do on a typical day, or checking the weather, which 30% do on a typical day.”

Other interesting findings include:

Education: Internet users with higher levels of education are more likely to use search on a typical day, with those having at least some college education significantly more likely to do so than those with less education.

Income: Internet users living in higher-income households are more likely to use search on a typical day, with those having an income higher than $50,000 per year being significantly more likely than those with lower incomes.

Broadband use: Those who use broadband connections at home are significantly more likely than those who use dial-up to have ever tried using search engines at all, by 94% to 80%. They are dramatically more likely to search on a typical day, and this difference persists when other factors, such as age and education, are held constant.

Age: Younger internet users have been consistently more likely to search on a typical day over the last five years of survey research.

Gender: While just about equal numbers of men (91%) and women (88%) report having ever used search engines at all, men are significantly more likely than women to search on a typical day.

For more details on Search Engine Use report, visit Pew Internet & American Life Project.