The Correlation between Search Engine Count Estimates and Market Share and User Satisfaction of Major Smartphone Brands

• Main Authors: Hsu, I-Ning, 許伊寧
• Other Authors: Hu, Jin-Li
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/17279285101726757466

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 企業管理碩士學程 === 101 === Search engines have become powerful search tools for consumers and proven business tools for businesses looking to increase brand strength, and are a central component in the science of webometrics – the study and analysis of usage patterns on the World Wide Web (www). The most common form of data used from search engines in webometrics is search engine count estimates (SECEs). Search engine count estimates provided by search engines have attracted significant attention because of the recent research on measuring popularity and fame, such as the popularity of authors, the fame of World War I (WWI) fighter-pilot aces, and other studies. This study focuses on the search engine count estimates, or web presence, of major smartphone brands and its links to market share and consumer satisfaction. This research examines the correlation between search engine count estimates of smartphones brands and their market share, the effect of search queries in different languages, and the correlation between search engine count estimates of smartphone brands and consumer satisfaction with smartphone brand features. The results of the study show that there is significantly positive correlation between search engine count estimates of smartphone brands and their market share. A larger web presence or higher search engine count estimates represents the popularity of the brand. The results also imply that there is positive correlation between the popularity of smartphones and their market share. The correlation between search engine count estimates of smartphones and consumer satisfaction with smartphone features is also positive, which also implies a positive relationship between popularity and consumer satisfaction. Another area this study discusses is the popularity of smartphone brands in Northeast Asia. The results show that some smartphones outperform in certain markets because the search engine count estimates returned or web presence in those markets are higher. Keywords: search engine, webometrics, search engine count estimates, smartphones, market share, popularity