Keyword search patterns in sponsored link advertisements

Over time, an online user searching for information about an idea or product may enter multiple search engine queries, thus creating a keyword search pattern from which the user's intent may be inferable. Our research seeks to establish the relationship between these patterns and user actions, specifically their purchase behavior. To test our hypotheses, we examine a unique dataset from a large Asian travel agency; the dataset includes search engine and on-site behavior from over a million users during a one year span. We have developed a typology for the coding of search queries used and determining the level of specificity and breadth as well as content type for each of well over two million unique searches. Once coded, our analysis will allow us to identify types of patterns and test our hypotheses, thus providing important findings regarding the relationship between search patterns and behavior.