New research has found that Australians use the Google search function on their phones on average 12 times a day!

The research was complied by ZeroDeskTop Mobile Analytics and appears – courtesy of Google – in the latest edition of B&T out this week.

Says Lisa Bora, head of mobile at Google Australia, “We now spend a lot more time online. But this masks a bigger change on how we act online. The time is no longer divided up into a few long sessions. It’s now made up of many, many small spurts of activity integrated into our daily activities.

“It’s fair to say we no longer go online, we live online,” Bora said.

Other results from the data were an interesting look at how Australians use and engage with their smartphones and some top tips for marketers too…

• Eighty per cent of Australians say they now access the internet more often but in shorter bursts
• Eighty-one per cent of Australians say their smartphone searches are far more focused on information rather than the random cat videos they watch on their desktops
• Seventy-one per cent of Aussies say they uses their phones to review products in store and trust these reviews more than the actual sales person
• Eighty-six per cent use their phones to find directions or contact details for a business. Some 66 per cent have used their phones to find a café or restaurant, 54 per cent have looked for travel tips and 45 per cent have booked a hotel or rental care on their smartphones
• Ninety-five per cent turn to their phones for immediate information, ideas or advice
• Eighty-seven per cent of women aged 18-24 have used their phones to Google ‘how to’ advice on health and beauty
• Sixty-eight per cent of smartphone uses have searched for information about a product while in store and 87 per cent of them have said the information impacted on their purchasing decision
• Sixty-nine per cent said the information they Googled in store helped them negotiate a better price
• Sixty-six per cent admit the information they Googled in store influenced their decision and made them purchase a different product over the one they intended

For more Google facts check out the latest edition of B&T, funnily enough guest edited by none other than Google Australia CEO Maile Carnegie