The internet has overtaken and changed many parts of our lives, and how we use recipes is no exception.
Food bloggers strive to be at the forefront of this change, but there’s not always the knowledge and research available to fully understand what users want.
In this survey, my goal was to take the first step to bridge that gap. To take the time to ask actual people how and why they use recipes online, and then analyze that info so you as a food blogger can make more confident and informed decisions.
You also can hear me discuss the results on this Eat Blog Talk podcast episode.
In the full detailed analysis, I share the results from the 25 questions I asked in this survey. The questions range from asking about what type of food-related accounts respondents follow on social to how many pictures they think are ideal on a recipe blog post. To get all these in-depth details, fill out the form below.
Overview
Below, I’ve highlighted a few of the key findings from this survey. I asked a combination of open-ended answers and direct, multiple-choice questions. This provided well-rounded feedback and gives food bloggers a unique look into the mind of their followers.
Users Overall Impressions
Overall, people are happy with finding recipes online. This comment from a respondent sums up the whole of what people said well: “[Online recipes are] mostly beneficial, and pleasing. With the occasional dud.”
The main reasons why respondents found the internet valuable for recipes are:
● Variety
● Convenience
● Quick & easy
But, the main reasons why respondents were frustrated when searching for recipes are:
● The recipe blog post is too long or it’s too hard to find the recipe on the post
● Multiple similar options make it hard to find a good, relevant recipe
● Too many ads on the recipe blog post
Search Details
Overwhelmingly, respondents are searching for recipes using Google or another search engine. Only two respondents said they never use a search engine for this purpose.
Pinterest fared worse than search engines but much better than Instagram or Facebook with 59% of respondents saying they use it to search for recipes.
Comparatively, 83% of respondents said they *never* search for recipes on Instagram. For Facebook, 74% said they *never* search that platform for recipes. That’s a 9% jump for Facebook in use over Instagram but still pales in comparison to search engine use.
As for what type of food-related info people are searching for, nearly half, 45%, of respondents selected “Just a recipe” as their only option. And another 30% selected it along with another option, for a total of 75% of respondents who want “Just a recipe” all or some of the time.
On-page content
Jump-to-recipe button
Nearly half, 49%, of respondents did not know what a “jump-to-recipe” button is, but of those who did know, 91% said that they love them, while the remaining 9% said that they know what they are but don’t use them.
Recipe videos
When asked how valuable recipe videos are, and given four answers to select from, a full 82% of respondents answered in the mostly negative category, with over half, 51%, of respondents saying they find recipe videos hold “some ” value, while 31% selected “not at all”.
Then when asked if a video specifically on a recipe post is helpful, even more, a full 86% of respondents answered on the negative side. Just over a third of respondents, 34% said that a video to go along with a recipe is “Not at all” helpful, and over half, 52%, of respondents said it is only “sometimes” helpful. Only 14% said “It’s great” and 0% said that they “only use recipes with videos.”
