Yahoo! Search Blog

http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/17/search-trends-st-patricks-day/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2822

 Either folks are getting in the spirit, or are hoping not to get pinched, searches have been soaring this week on Yahoo! around St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some interesting search trends. 

Overall Festivities & Traditions:

• Celebrations. Searches for “Chicago st. patrick’s day parade,” “Hoboken parade 2011,” “irish festival dallas,” “north texas irish festival” are spiking off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches for “st patrick’s day shirts” are up 182% this week on Yahoo! and 67% of searches are by females.
• Searches are up 118% this week on Yahoo! for “celtic women.” Searches for “celtic symbols,” “celtic tattoos” and “celtic crosses” are all spiking this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches for “shamrock” are up 20% this week on Yahoo!.

 Overall Food Trends:

• Searches this week on Yahoo! are up 380%  for “corned beef recipes,” and up 120% for “cabbage recipes.” Also spiking: “stuffed cabbage” and “how to cook corned beef”  
• Searches for McDonald’s “shamrock shake” are up 203% this week on Yahoo!. 46% of searches are by people ages 25-34 and 52% of searches this week are by males.
• Searches for “beer bread recipe” are off the charts this week on Yahoo!

Top searched beers this week on Yahoo! are:

1. Budweiser
2. Bud Light
3. Guiness
4. Samuel Adams
5. Heineken
6. Stella Artois
7. Ginger Beer

 Overall Geographic/Demographic:

• Top regions searching for St. Patrick’s Day on Yahoo! are Pittsburgh, Phoenix, New York, San Diego and Indianapolis. Top states searching for the same term are Arizona, South Carolina, New York, Maryland and Illinois.
• It seems women care more about the St. Patrick’s Day holiday as 54% of searches for “st patrick’s day 2011” are by females.

 Boston:

• Searches in Boston this week for “st. patrick’s day” on Yahoo! are up 202%.
• Searches this week in Boston for the “irish independent” news are up 45% this week on Yahoo!.
• In Boston, searches for “irish soda bread recipe” are spiking off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• In Boston, “corned beef and cabbage” and “slow cooker corned beef” searches are off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches for “crockpot recipes” on Yahoo! are up 79% this week in Boston.
• Searches in Boston for their home basketball team the “boston celtics” are up 30% this week on Yahoo!.
• Is it the luck of the Irish? Searches for “boston celtics” on Yahoo! are at their highest point of the entire 2010-2011 NBA season. Searches in Boston for the “boston celtics” were at their lowest point during the season, just two weeks ago (a 349% spike from two weeks ago).

 New York City:

• Searches in New York City for “shamrock” are up 29% this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches in New York City for “st. patrick’s day 2011” are up 94% this week on Yahoo!.
  • Also spiking in NYC: “st patrick’s day coloring pages” and “st patrick’s day printables”
  • In New York City, “celtic women” searches are off the charts this week on Yahoo!
• In New York City, searches for “irish soda bread recipe” and “irish cream cheesecake” are spiking off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches for “bars pubs” on Yahoo! are up 79% this week in New York City.
• In New York City, “corned beef and cabbage” and “slow cooker corned beef” searches are off the charts this week on Yahoo!.

 Chicago:

• Searches in Chicago for “st. patrick’s day” are up 108% this week on Yahoo!.
• In Chicago, searches for “irish sayings” are up 147% this week on Yahoo!>
• Searches in Chicago for “shamrock” are up 29% this week on Yahoo!. “Shamrock clipart” searches are up 90% as well.
• In Chicago, “celtic thunder” searches are off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• In Chicago, “corned beef and cabbage,” “corned beef recipe,” and “slow cooker corned beef” searches are off the charts this week on Yahoo!.
• Searches for “crockpot recipes” on Yahoo! are up 17% this week in Chicago.

———————–

What is Yahoo! Search Data?

People power: We sift through billions of Yahoo! searches to uncover trends, burning questions, popular personalities and hot ideas. Yahoo! has been extremely successful in sifting through searches for trend-spotting, historical insight, forecasting projections, and big-picture analysis.

Follow us on Twitter: @yahoosearchdata

Want analysis reach out to: Carolyn Clark at carolync@yahoo-inc.com

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What exactly is a search and why are they useful?:  A keyword(s) or term(s) that people enter in the Search box.
• How do you determine meaning from a search? Searches at its face are neutral. Motivation and intent cannot be defined, but analyzing a billion (or so) searches can give a sketch portrait of a culture in motion. Search insight can operate like an instant poll into what people’s interests are at a given moment—and unlike a poll which offers a constrained or directed parameters, searches spring spontaneously from people want to know.
  • What does spiking and off the charts mean? A “spiking” search refers to terms with the greatest percentage increase in searches from one period of time to the next (usually day, week or month). Significant increases don’t necessarily mean a huge overall interest in a subject, but reveals an accelerated interest in popularity. Something that’s “off the chart” refers to a term that had no meaningful number of searches in the previous time period.
  • How are rankings determined? Rankings, unless otherwise noted, are based on the total number of searches.

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/14/recap-yahoo-search-at-sxsw/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2813

At SXSW, Yahoo! senior editor Vera H-C Chan (who, among other duties served as editorial lead for Yahoo! Year in Review), and director of product management-Social/RealTime Brian Theodore (the fearless leader behind Yahoo! Clues), held their session, “Chicken or the Egg: What Search Activity Conveys.”

Here is a snapshot of the information provided during the session:

In addition to telling interesting trends, such as what the most popular Halloween costumes will be, or who might become the next American Idol, search activity can be used in more compelling ways.

For instance, it can be interpreted to foresee trends and develop news stories as billions of searches lend themselves to many narratives. Figuring out the “what-does-it-all-mean” goes beyond declaring the winner in an ever-changing popularity contest, or what’s on top of everyone’s mind day to day. What does the rise in apocalypse-related searches following natural disasters say about our modern society? Are the lookups following Tiger Woods’ story prurient, or are we repeating our ancient fascination with the morality tale? And can search activity project what the masses will decide, even before the masses know themselves?

During the session, Vera and Brian discussed the predictive nature of search and how search can have the power to drive news. By analyzing what people are searching for, societal trends can be determined and some would go as far as to say that search trends can actually predict the future. Analyzing search trends helps us understand the impulses and processes of why people make their choices at that particular moment in time.

For close readers of the Y! Search Blog, the description might sound a tad familiar — straight indeed from “An Insider Look From a Yahoo! Search Trend Spotter.” Brian talked about the care of the how-we-collectively-got-here aspect in the search universe, and Vera probed the relationship between searches and news — and both poked at that larger paradox of Search Intelligence: How the act of searching has in itself become a form of insight; whereas before the goal was information, now the pursuit itself has become a tell-tale heart.

Attendees also enjoyed the Y! Prizes given out for the pop quizzes held throughout the session, such as: What’s one event Americans might be attending less of in 2011? Baby showers, preschool pageants, or quinceaneras?

If you guessed baby showers, you are correct. Searches on Yahoo! have shown for months the trend the Pew Research Report confirmed in April 2010, that U.S. birth rates have dropped in 2008, perhaps linked to the recession.

Attendees enjoyed not only the content, but the format of the prezi which can be found here.

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/11/chicken-or-the-egg/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2780

South by Southwest, here we come.

When SXSW first started in 1987, the festival was all about the music,  film and interactive components were added to the mix in 1994, during the same time that Yahoo! Founders David Filo and Jerry Yang were holed up in their campus trailer, making lists of favorite links which eventually became Yahoo!.

Now we, crew members at Yahoo! Search —Vera H-C Chan (@FastTalkingD), web trend analyst, and Brian Theodore (@bptheo), director of product management for social and real-time search (the fearless leader behind Yahoo! Clues) – are taking Austin by storm. We’re excited to use Search data and activity to finally answer the question, “Chicken or the Egg: What Search Activity Conveys.”

Search is a powerful tool that people use in their everyday lives and by analyzing resulting search data, we have the capability to provide a snapshot of what is happening in society at any given time based on popular searches. Our session will explore search data analysis and the interesting trends that can be discovered by users such as the hottest new gadget, the most popular travel destination, or signs that a flu pandemic is about to hit. Analyzing search trends also helps us understand the impulses and processes behind people making certain choices at a particular moment in time.

With Brian’s help, we will do a deep dive into the larger paradox of Search Intelligence: How the act of searching has in itself become a form of insight. Before the goal of searching was to just find information, now the pursuit in and of itself has become a mission of greater discovery.

The panel will be held the day before daylight savings time, so while we are speaking we expect many searches related to the time change. Spring forward appears to already be on many minds as searches for “Daylight Savings time 2011” are up 519 percent this week on Yahoo!.  (Click the clock on the left to see the latest “Daylight Savings Time” search trends)

According to Yahoo! Clues, both women and men equally search for the term – 51 percent vs. 49 percent respectively – and we’re making sure everyone who attends walks away with a time-saving souvenir!

If you’re heading to SXSW, we would love to have you join our conversation. Here are the panel details:

– Vera H-C Chan, Yahoo!’s Web Trend analyst

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/10/smx-west-day2/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2757

During the morning session “Mobile Apps and How They’re Revolutionizing Search,” panelists discussed today’s most popular search apps, how they gather data, and the opportunities they present to marketers.

Anil Panguluri, Director of Mobile Search at Yahoo!, offered recent research findings that showed that smartphone users are engaging with apps in equal amounts to the Internet browser on their mobiles, but the reach of browser-based search is 61% versus only 26% for apps. (The reach of search on PCs is 76%, so already mobile is closing in.) “Given a choice, users prefer to use apps,” he stated. “I believe that users use their browser for general searches, and apps for vertical searches.”

Photo: Yahoo!’s Anil Panguluri during the panel.

“Finding information that meets a specific need” was, not surprisingly, the top motivation for people using search on mobiles, but the research showed that users who use apps for search are more advanced, finding what they need more quickly and with fewer clicks. “Apps offer a search experience beyond the ten blue links,” Panguluri said. “Going forward, general mobile search will go deeper into the user flow” to enhance the experience.

Panguluri added that app users are not hostile to advertising in their apps, but that 88% of those surveyed pegged their #1 priority in this regard is that the ads do not make them leave the app, while 59% said that they want “free stuff” to be offered in conjunction with the ad. “Mobile ads are actually more impactful than online display ads,” Panguluri claimed. “Our research showed that Ad Awareness measured 22% higher for mobile ads than for our control group.” He also explained for Yahoo!’s mobile audience, which currently numbers 41 million people, rich, well produced ad experiences work extremely well, especially videos.

How to manage search marketing on various platforms

Another panel discussion focused on the devices people use to search and what it says about them—and their receptivity to your marketing messages. Taylor Schreiner, Senior Director of Strategic Research and Insights at Yahoo!, described a study we conducted with RepriseMedia, which showed that 21.4% of smartphone users do searches on it. “This is a huge and increasing piece of search in the future,” he said. “You have to realize that search is a mobile phenomenon.”

Schreiner stated that iPad users do more searches (by percentage of share) for movie and TV info than desktop users, as well as for real estate and investment searches. The latter stat, especially, reveals the Demography aspect of mobile search—higher income people can afford tablets, and are more likely to invest.

While brand searches are still driven by PCs, “I expect that here too, tablets’ search share will grow to equal PCs,” Schreiner opined. He said that this difference is related to search term length: PC and tablet users tend to use longer queries, while mobile users type in much shorter searches.

Full Day 2 coverage by Jeff Hecox can be found in this post on the Yahoo! Advertising blog.

After his panel, Taylor Schreiner spoke in the video below around the discussion highlights.

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/09/searching-on-glass/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2749

New Research – Searching on Glass: iPad, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Xoom

When did you learn to type? When did you learn to type with your thumbs? Have you learned to type on glass yet?

New devices (iPads, Droids, Blackberrys, iPhones, Xooms… you name it) are changing the way we interact with the world and the Web. Nowhere is this more true than in the way we search. Comscore says that 21% of people with mobile phones are searching on them  –  a figure that is bound to increase dramatically over the coming years. And with nearly every adult in America carrying a mobile phone, that’s going to mean that mobile search is going to be a big part of search overall.

Yahoo! Researchers Mike Yamnitsky and Vinayak Sambargi worked with Reprise Media, the search, a social and experiential agency of IPG’s Mediabrands, to utilize Yahoo! data to understand what is driving  how people search on their new devices. For more information on the research, check out this article by Taylor Schreiner on the Yahoo! Advertising Blog.

Yahoo!’s Taylor Schreiner will present this research at SMX West today. Also at the show, Anil Panguluri will provide the latest details around Mobile Search. Here is their panel information:

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/08/search-trends-spring-break/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2723

As experts gather to discuss search at SMX West 2011 this week, we took a peek at what Yahoo! users are searching for, and it looks like Spring Break is top of mind.

The anticipation is already brewing as searches for “spring break” on Yahoo! are up 34% this month and searches for “spring break packages” are buzzing. It seems the guys are looking more forward to the break as males make up 70% of searches. Partying is already top of mind for some as searches for “wildest spring break” are off the charts this month on Yahoo!.

Most searches on Yahoo! this month for “spring break” are coming from the metropolitan areas, namely New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles. The top states searching this month are Texas, Michigan, and Ohio. It seems that spring breakers turn to the Web for advice, we are seeing searches for “where to go on spring break” and “what to do on spring break”.

It seems Florida will be seeing many spring break visitors as 8 out of the 10 top searched beaches on Yahoo! this month are from the sunshine state.

According to Yahoo! Travel, the Top Searched Beaches this Month on Yahoo! are:

1. Vero Beach, Florida – searches are up 798%
2. Pensacola Beach, Florida – searches are up 495%
3. Jacksonville Beach, Florida
4. Palm Beach, Florida
5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
6. Miami Beach, Florida
7. Virginia Beach, Virginia
8. Daytona Beach, Florida
9. Panama City Beach, Florida
10. Clearwater Beach, Florida
11. Cocoa Beach, Florida
12. Laguna Beach, California
13. Venice Beach, Florida
14. Newport Beach, California
15. Pismo Beach, California

Spring Break ‘Victims’. Relief is in sight for folks who live in these Spring Break destinations, seeking an “escape.” Yahoo! Travel compiled the top-searched travel destinations from Florida and California, giving a hint on where folks seeking refuge from Spring Break may be headed. It seems this year, they are headed towards “Sin City.”

According to Yahoo! Travel, the Top Searched Travel Destinations this Month from Miami, Jacksonville and Mobile/Pensacola are:

1. Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Cruise
3. Atlanta, Georgia
4. Canada
5. New York City, New York

According to Yahoo! Travel, the Top Searched Travel Destinations this Month from Los Angeles are:

1. Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Hawaii
3. Cruises
4. Mexico
5. San Francisco, California

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http://www.ysearchblog.com/2011/03/08/smxwest2011/

http://www.ysearchblog.com/?p=2714

At Search Marketing Expo (SMX West 2011) this week in San Jose, Yahoo! Search executives will participate in several panels at the show today and tomorrow. Be sure to check out the @yahoosearch twitter feed for on-site tweets, and come back here at the end of each day for a recap of Yahoo! at SMX.

Here are the panels Yahoo! experts will be participating on:

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

10:45 am – 12:00 PM

1:45 PM – 3:00 PM

3:45 – 5:00 PM

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

10:45 AM – NOON

5:00 PM – 6:15 PM

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