Size is clearly getting more important - I knew it! Research suggests that search queries 5 words or longer have increased by 10% in January 2009 compared to the same period last year. The same time period shows a drop by 2% of searches with an average of 1-4 words. So what does this mean?
 

One answer could be users are becoming more knowledgeable about what they search for and the detail they include in the search query - search results therefore need to be more specific.

The current credit climate and comparison shopping can also be linked to the higher word count. Specific brand and model number queries that invariably have  longer search term strings are now being entered to find the best deals. January 2009 saw a large amount of heavily discounted retail based sites seeking to capture the ever more illusive buyer of stereos and TVs, and competition was tough with prices being slashed and bolt on packages being thrown into the mix.

The future of search queries therefore might well be in length - gentlemen - you have been warned!