November 17, 2014: Tis’ the season for search! PPC advertisers know that November and December are the “big months” of the year (particularly the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas). Most brands — whether they sell shoes, toys, lingerie, or TVs — expect a strong bump in traffic.
Consumers use search engines — both on desktop and mobile — as digital research tools. As gift ideas pop into their heads, searches quickly follow.
But such seasonal searches aren’t just for products. They include all kinds of things related to the holiday period. Here are some other searches that peak at this time of year. Using Google Trends — a tool designed to help marketers identify search query trends — we took a look at search trends advertisers might not expect during the holiday season:
Home Cooked Meals vs. Finger Food
Searchers are all about home-cooked recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Year-over-year trending data shows very consistent spikes during the weeks leading up to each holiday. Once the holidays are over, however, it’s America’s favorite finger food that sees a lift in search volume. Pigs in a Blanket manufacturers see their best days just before New Year’s and SuperBowl Sunday.
Elf vs. Home Alone
*Data is for the 2013-2014 holiday season
When Will Ferrell’s Elf was released in 2003, John Hughes’ Home Alone faced a real threat in search query dominance. Extremely popular among millenials, Elf became a core leader in holiday movies – with some channels even showing the movie on a daily basis leading up to Dec 25th. As of last year, however, Home Alone retained a slight edge over Elf among the season’s top-searched movies.
Chinese Food: Christmas Dinner?
While most people are digging into a Christmas ham and mashed potatoes on December 25th, some searchers have a different take on a holiday feast. Looking at day-over-day trending data for the month of December for the past three years, it’s clear that Chinese restaurants must see a lot of calls for delivery on Christmas night. Anyone who’s seen Jean Shepherd’s holiday classic “A Christmas Story” can relate to this one — no word whether duck is on the menu though!
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