A study has uncovered some of the main search trends running through the world of online shopping.

According to E-consultancy's Online Shopping and Credit Crunch Survey Report, search engines are one of the most common ways in which online shoppers look for product information on the web.

Nearly 70 per cent of consumers use search engines to look for goods by product name, while just over four in ten shoppers enter brand names into search tools.

However, the importance of generic keywords should not be underestimated by those looking to obtain a high website ranking, as the report revealed that broad phrases incorporating the type of product, price and class of service - such as 'five star hotels' - are commonly used.

The report followed a study by Hitwise and Experian highlighting the growing popularity of brand names as search terms and the implications this may have for search engine optimisation strategies.

According to the research, brands such as Facebook, eBay and Amazon dominated the top ten most popular queries in the UK during May.