Assessment of online search terms associated with aquatic invasive species and plant management: Implications for education and outreach

Abstract

People use search engines (e.g., Google) to find online information related to specific questions about aquatic plant management (APM). How people search about APM (e.g, what key words they use and what web sites they click on) is critical information to guide professionals from science-based institutions about best practices for educational programming to reach audiences searching the internet for solutions to control aquatic invasive species. This study examined 113 of the most searched key words relating to APM, and from these key words, 1,130 web sites were categorized into either institutional/governmental, commercial, or mixed purpose/ other. Web-site quantity and web-site rank were recorded for each key word from Google, which controls the vast majority of the search-engine market in the United States. Our results showed there were significantly more commercial web sites present in the first 10 search results and that commercial web sites had the highest rankings overall compared to other categories. Key words that are scientific, specific, or about invasive species were more likely to result in institutional/ governmental web sites. However, key words that are vernacular terms, are negatively framed, or are related to control/ management were more likely to result in commercial web sites. Considering many APM web sites from institutional entities such as universities and government agencies are educationally motivated with an emphasis on science, the use of vernacular, negatively framed, or control/management terms in key-word searches for APM information would likely not result in finding these web sites. Overall, our results high-light likely communication gaps for scientific institutions that can provide useful insight for the creation of web sites, outreach materials, and promotional strategies to target an APM audience.