Table 2.

How visitors arrived at the websites and categories of search terms used by those arriving via search engines (N=116,657 unique visitors).

Traffic sources		Total traffic, n (%)
Route of arrival (N=116,657)
	Direct traffic	23,331 (20.00%)
	Referral traffic	18,432 (15.80%)
	Search engine traffic	74,606 (63.95%)
Search terms used (n=74,606)
	Hospital name	27,122 (23.25%)
	Website name	22,672 (19.43%)
	Website to compare providers	15,998 (13.71%)
	Other	4988 (6.69%)
	Medical condition	605 (0.81%)

^aDirect traffic arrives by directly entering the website URL into the browser or by clicking on a link in an email, word processing document, or PDF document. Referral traffic arrives at the websites through clicking on a link from a different website. Search engine traffic arrives via Web search engines (eg, Google, Yahoo, or Bing).

^b“Search terms used” refers to phrases or words used by search engine traffic visitors (eg, “best doctors XXX city”). “Website to compare providers” refers to search terms for hospital comparison such as “best hospitals in Maine.”