The Effects of Query Bursts on Web Search

A query burst is a period of heightened interest of users on a topic which yields a higher frequency of the search queries related to it. In this paper we examine the behavior of search engine users during a query burst, compared to before and after this period. The purpose of this study is to get insights about how search engines and content providers should respond to a query burst. We analyze one year of web-search logs, looking at query bursts from two perspectives. First, we adopt the user's perspective describing changes in user's effort and interest while searching. Second, we look at the burst from the general content providers' view, answering the question of under which conditions a content provider should ``ride'' a wave of increased interest to obtain a significant share of clicks.