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Consumer Reports (Magazine) Free, Online and the Google Insights Service

I was looking at the Google Insights service (prompted by PI Buzz?s exploration of the service) and thought I?d run my [free, online] Online Consumer Reports ?test? on it, i.e., just how many people do search for Consumer Reports via Google and how do they search for it?

The results were interesting to say the least. I limited my search to United States and the past 12 months, 9 months, and 30 days (all different results, all useful).

Three possible conclusions (of many others one could likely draw):

1) Most people still don?t know that they have access to free online Consumer Reports through their public libraries.

2) Libraries could make better on their web sites of the search terms people actually use so people can find out that their library has free, online Consumer Reports product reviews.

3) Bloggers and Librarians should never forget that Google RULES and that ordinary people really like Google (us extraordinary ones do too :-).

Their searches might not be sophisticated, but I?m a big fan of KISS (thought I?d prefer just the K.I.S., since there is no such thing as a stupid question ? at least in my world).

Yes, people search for product reviews through other types of Google (or Yahoo, or Dogpile, etc.) word searches ? I focus for now just on the public library?s hidden treasure of free, online Consumer Reports, which is a valuable resource buried deep within mysterious library subscription databases with unhelpful names like these: Ebsco, Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier and Vocational & Career Collection, or Business & Company Resource Center.

Last, but not least, while you?re at that FREE ONLINE LIBRARY DATABASE THAT HAS FREE CONSUMER REPORTS PRODUCT REVIEWS, go ahead and explore your library?s other databases (e.g. here and here).

Full post as published by Oregon Legal Research on August 08, 2008 (boomark / email).