Why do people type full URLs into search bars? And why is this practice noticeably less common at Google than at other search engines? It’s hard to say, really, but Compete’s Jeremy Crane has some thoughts and stats on the matter.
Chinese Searches Hijacked
Domains containing the word “search” in China were hijacked yesterday… pointing to search engine Baidu (and partly, another government website).
Hannah Montana Leads TV Costume Searches
If you want to be more certain your Halloween costume is unique, it’s a good idea to follow the trends and wear something not listed. That’s how I would do it, anyway.
Trick Or Treat, Baby! Top Baby Costume Searches
Ah, babies. Cute, round, fairly pliable and fun to make look silly because they won’t remember it and you’ll get to embarrass them with pictures when they’re teenagers. As Halloween approaches, dressing up baby is a tradition alive and well, or so say the search trends.
England Sees Spike In Baby Girl Name Searches
Either England is about to have a spike in female births, or nobody knows what to name a girl over there. While searches for "baby girls names" spiked by 258 percent this year, "baby boy names" searches jumped by just 84 percent.
UK “How To” Searches Focus On CVs
We used to keep a pretty close eye on Google’s Zeitgeist; somehow, Hot Trends just isn’t the same.
But Hitwise UK’s Heather Hopkins has constructed a Zeitgeist-like list of “how to” searches, and this is definitely worth checking out.
Lyrics, Bridge Collapse Top Searches
I’ve become enamored with Google’s Hot Trends feature that lists the top 100 searches for a particular day. It’s a glimpse into the culture that’s hard to get, in crisp clear text. Even if you’re not sure you want to see.
It’s also a good, simple way to keep up with what’s going on in the news, really. A spike of searches for "fisher price recall" for example can let you know there might be a problem.*
Theme Park Searches Peak In July
Searches for amusement parks hit their peak every July, says Hitwise, and this year was no exception, with most searching for parks close to home because of gas prices. Not only did they peak, but they were the most searched-for travel destinations.
Beaches Tops In Web Cam Searches
Ah, the Web cam. So simple, so abused. But they can be used for good, and though you might assume the Internet (as in, the collective online population) uses them mostly for nefarious and seedy peeping-Tom purposes, that’s not really true, not mostly.
Google Searches Michigan For Fish Stockings
Google added the State of Michigan to its list of state government partners in an effort to make local government information more accessible to citizens. Michigan adds its name to Virginia, Arizona, California, and Utah to states that have enlisted Google’s services.