The Summer Games & What Australians are Searching For

Announcement

Sydney, Australia – 19 August 2008 – [Michael Phelps] was slow off the blocks with Australian searchers, but after 8 gold medals, he has caught up with [Stephanie Rice]. [Swimming] is edging out [basketball] in popularity, with [gymnastics], [volleyball], and [cycling] level pegging. [Gold medal] is taking the gold, although interestingly [bronze medal] has outpaced [silver medal].

Google today announced some of Australia’s most popular Olympic Games-related searches, using its new freely available tool, Google Insights for Search.

Also revealed:

• Searches for [Opening ceremony] spiked on August 8, nearly three times the number of queries as the same term in 2004.
• [Usain Bolt] may have taken gold in this year’s 100m sprint, but [Cathy Freeman], even though retired, still has him handily beat among Australian searchers.
• [Stephanie Rice] is the golden girl of Australian swimming searchers, but the past month has seen a neck and neck race for silver between [Grant Hackett], [Leisel Jones], [Eamon Sullivan], and [Libby Trickett]. [Eamon Sullivan] holds the searching hearts of his hometown Western Australians, but Hackett leads in Queensland
• When it comes to Australian teams, The [Opals] have surpassed the [Olyroos] after their defeat. The [Boomers] have a slight lead on the [Hockeyroos], and the [Kookaburras] are fifth.

Google Insights for Search (www.google.com.au/insights/search) is a new tool for advertisers, marketers, and Internet users who are interested in finding out what’s top of Australians’ minds and looking to compare search patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames. Insights for Search complements and adds to the existing Google Trends feature (www.google.com.au/trends).

"With such a packed schedule, a desire for up to the minute information and many of the contests taking place during our work hours, huge numbers of Australians are going online to keep up to date on the Olympic Games. Aggregated search trends reveal the moments, sports and athletes which are captivating everyone’s interest," said Karim Temsamani, General Manager of Google Australia and New Zealand.

Australians have been turning to Google to search for event schedules, athletes and get results right on their Google homepage (see the results for basketball here). Google’s popular Summer Games page (www.google.com.au/intl/en/landing/summergames2008/index.html) has also been enabling Australians to see venues in Google Maps, track medal counts with an iGoogle gadget and more.

As well as gaining insight into the trends around the Olympic Games, advertisers and users can see top searches and "geographic heat maps" by category, such as rising searches in "Celebrities," for example, or popular searches in "Vehicle Brands", or what holidays Queenslanders are looking for. Detailed results can be found by narrowing the date range, region, or subject.

One interesting example is the term [Street View], the newly launched feature for Google Maps, which enables users to see 360-degree street-level views of Australia. The term was a "breakout search" in Australia in the past 30 days, with search volumes increasing by over 5000%.

Australian businesses can put Google Insights for Search to work by:

• Comparing keywords to gauge interest levels and develop advertising or marketing messages;
• Discovering opportunities in new geographies based on emerging trends;
• Comparing a search term over time to anticipate demand and plan for seasonality;
• Establishing benchmarks through comparisons against competitors or the product category;
• Measuring the impacts of advertising campaigns by analysing related search terms.

Visit www.google.com.au/insights/search, have a play around and see what insights you can find!

Press contact:

Google Press Centre:
press-australia-nz@google.com

Labels: Australia new announcements