diberry - 11:38 pm on May 30, 2012 (gmt 0)

I agree that more searches does not mean more user satisfaction. Another reason to doubt this interpretation:

The behavior Google is describing suggests that getting good search results makes people suddenly realize they have other topics they want to search. Now, when I have time on my hands, I do this (with Bing). I'll look up one topic and suddenly realize I need to know more about another topic, and I'll do 10-20 searches in no time. But it's not prompted by being happy with my search results; it's prompted by having time on my hands.

Why would people have time on their hands? Could it be because school just let out in the US? Could it be because there's a glimmer of hope in the job market, and some people who'd given up are starting to look again?

If people are searching more, it's either that they suddenly have lots more time to do it, or that their initial queries aren't finding what they want. Or both.