Google search: India No 2 in education

India ranked second after the US in the number of education queries on Google and IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad were the most searched in their respective categories, the search engine major said today.

India was ranked 8th in 2008, and is now behind only to the US, reveals a study titled 'Students on the web' compiled by Google India. The study was compiled by combining Google search query patterns and an offline research conducted by TNS Australia on behalf of Google India.

Of all the education-related search queries on Google, over 40 per cent of queries were for higher education courses and institutes.

Education-related queries on Google in India growing at over 46 per cent year-on-year, which highlights how important it is for institutes to have a strong online presence, Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan told reporters here.

"Seven out of 10 students said they think it is essential for educational institutes to have a mobile site. But today, not many educational institutes have a presence on the mobile platform. This shows the areas that need working on," he said.

Top searched IIT was IIT-Delhi, while IIM Ahmedabad was most searched IIM, it added.

IT or vocational courses and institutes accounted for 44 per cent of the searches, followed by engineering courses (40 per cent) and institutes and postgraduate courses with MBA at 16 per cent.

"With over 60 million Internet user population in India being in age group of 18-35 years, educational related search queries are exploding on Google.

"Our core objective behind compiling this study was to understand the impact Internet is having on this young population with regard to education related decision making by the students," Google India Vice-President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan said.

The study also found that students took anywhere close to 5-6 months on an average to research before finalising the institute and course.

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