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Hitwise Intelligence - Robin Goad - UK

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Category Archives: Fast moving search terms

Grand National 9% more popular with online gamblers in 2011

April 11, 2011

This weekend there was plenty of sporting drama to enjoy with another tense week in the Premier League, the conclusion of the Masters and the Grand National at Aintree. With such a feast of sporting activity it’s not surprising that... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 01:49 PM | (1) | (0)
In Categories Fast moving search terms | Gambling | Sport

Rebecca Black fastest moving search term in social sphere

March 23, 2011

In the last week the Internet has been buzzing with talk of Rebecca Black. Like her or hate her, Rebecca Black’s pop song Friday is a YouTube sensation which is quickly heading towards 100 million views and has become one... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 02:37 PM | (0)
In Categories Fast moving search terms | Music | Video

Psychic Sally foresees new online audience for Ents24

March 22, 2011

Ticketing is one of the most dynamic categories we monitor online as every week there are always new trends of search terms as the UK Internet population seek information about upcoming gigs, festivals, musicals and comedy acts. I’ve written previous... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 09:58 AM | (0)
In Categories Demographics | Fast moving search terms

Predictions for 2011 – Oscars and NFL

December 24, 2010

At this time of year we often reflect on the past 12 months and look ahead to the forthcoming year. I’ve already reviewed 2010 in a previous blog post and now it’s time to look ahead and see what people... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 11:58 AM | (0)
In Categories Fast moving search terms | Football | Search

2010 Online: the year in review

December 21, 2010

I can scarcely believe that a whole year has passed since I was sitting here writing the 2009 review, but 12 months to the day here we are, and it’s been another fascinating year in the digital world. Once again... Continue reading...

Goa and Marrakech fastest moving winter sun destinations this quarter

November 30, 2010

With snow up and down the country it’s little wonder that Brits are thinking of warmer climes and wanting to get away for winter sun holidays. One of the insights to come out of our latest quarterly travel report is... Continue reading...

Clever Clocks Go Back campaign boosts View London traffic by 31%

November 05, 2010

This week the clocks went back which no doubt surprised more than a few people on Monday morning when they turned up for work an hour early. The surprising thing is that even a seemingly innocuous event like the clocks... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 06:10 PM | (2) | (0)
In Categories Fast moving search terms | Search

How are the fastest growing SMEs in the UK boosting their online traffic?

October 27, 2010

Today sees the launch of our “5 A Day” campaign to highlight the top five reasons to use Experian Hitwise in order to maintain a healthy business. Each of our 5 A Day focuses on a different part of Hitwise... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 11:59 AM | (0)
In Categories Custom data | Fast moving search terms

Gamu Nhengu number one search topic driving traffic to Facebook

October 07, 2010

X-Factor controversy has been splashed all over the media this week ever since Cheryl Cole decided not to put through outstanding talent Gamu Nhengu. What first seemed like a talent contest fix then descended into accusations of racism and finally... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 01:03 PM | (0)
In Categories Celebrities | Fast moving search terms | TV | Twitter

Experian and Hitwise at ad:tech: What will be the hot products this Christmas?

September 21, 2010

If you’re visiting ad:tech in London over the next couple of days, be sure to pop over to the Experian stand (270a) and say hello to us and our Experian colleagues. At 10:30 on Wednesday I’ll be taking the stage... Continue reading...

1 in every 100 UK Internet searches Sky Sports related

August 16, 2010

Although the lower leagues had already kicked off earlier in the month, the football season truly got underway this weekend with the first Barclays Premier League matches. As you would expect, UK Internet visits to key football related websites increased... Continue reading...

Cameron's Big Society prompts big traffic spike

July 30, 2010

Last week the Prime Minister set out his vision for the “big society”, the flagship social policy of the Conservative-LibDem coalition government. The initiative aims to take the emphasis of responsibility away from the government and instead empower people to... Continue reading...

Budget 2010: the online response

June 23, 2010

As expected, yesterday’s budget, presented by the Chancellor, George Osborne, gained a huge amount of press coverage. Given the wide range of changes introduced, it is not a surprise to see that many people went online to research both the... Continue reading...

Budweiser tops the Experian Hitwise World Cup Brands Index during week 2

June 22, 2010

Budweiser, an official FIFA World Cup sponsor and sponsor of the USA team, was the brand that made the most of its World Cup involvement last week. UK Internet searches for Budweiser increased by 25% between the week ending June... Continue reading...

Flag searches reflect the patriotic mood

June 03, 2010

You can’t have failed to notice the number of flags flying in the UK over the last few weeks. Many of those hanging from cars, pubs and windows across the land are England flags, but other nations are represented as... Continue reading...

Volcanic ash cloud: online travel impact

April 19, 2010

Last week UK Internet users searched for over 10,000 different searches containing the word ‘volcano’, up from less than 1,000 the previous week. The reason for this surge was the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has caused travel chaos across... Continue reading...

Leadership debate winners: Lib Dems, Sky News, ITV and Twitter

April 19, 2010

Despite the best efforts of an Icelandic volcano to ground all Northern European flights and take (obscure?) the limelight, last week’s leaders’ debate grabbed a lot of media attention. The consensus view is that Nick Clegg came out on top,... Continue reading...

Online voter registration

April 13, 2010

British citizens flocked to the Internet to register to vote last week following the announcement that the General Election will take place on May 6th. UK Internet searches for the term ‘register to vote’ increased 9-fold between the week ending... Continue reading...

BBQ searches take off as the sunshine comes out

April 09, 2010

We might have only had a couple of days of sunshine following our cold winter, but us Brits have been anticipating the summer for number of weeks now. The chart below illustrates the volume of searches for the terms ‘bbq’,... Continue reading...

Mother’s Day: Woodlands Junior School strikes again

March 16, 2010

A couple of years ago we highlighted the extraordinary case of Woodlands Junior School, the best optimised school website in the UK. It appears high up on the Google SERP for popular seasonal terms such as ‘mothers day’, ‘pancake day’,... Continue reading...

Coffee wars: Flat White vs. Cappuccino

March 11, 2010

Hitwise was started in Australia, and there remains a strong Antipodean influence in our London office. The most recent manifestation of this is a fashion amongst my colleagues for flat whites – a style of coffee that, like the pavlova... Continue reading...

Apple Tablet the fourth most searched for laptop in the UK

January 26, 2010

Apple’s much anticipated – but not yet even announced, just rumoured – Tablet PC became the fourth most searched for laptop model in the UK last week. The table below is from the latest Hitwise Hot Consumer Electronics List, and... Continue reading...

Last minute surge in online retail traffic before VAT increase

January 04, 2010

The UK VAT rate returned to 17.5% on January 1st and, as a result, UK Internet searches related to the change also increased. As the chart below illustrates, searches for our “VAT Increase” portfolio (which includes terms such as ‘vat... Continue reading...

Shop opening times searches up 11% this Christmas

December 30, 2009

Just after Easter we wrote a blog about the popularity of searches for shop opening times / hours. That analysis showed that searches for retailer opening times spiked during the May and August bank holidays, over Easter, and at Christmas... Continue reading...

Google Chrome searches double following advertising campaign

December 22, 2009

Google doesn’t do much offline advertising, but the search giant is currently running a high profile campaign for its Chrome browser. The campaign - which has included a wrap around supplement in the Metro newspaper and a lot of ongoing... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 09:51 AM | (1)
In Categories Branding | Fast moving search terms | Google | Search

2009 online: the year in review

December 21, 2009

The end of the year presents and excellent opportunity for reflection, and also for lists. Combining the two, I’ve decided to reflect on the last year of online activity in the UK by providing a list of our most popular... Continue reading...

Video Games searches overtake Mobile Phones following release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

November 20, 2009

UK Internet searches for video games increased by 28% last week following the release of the much hyped and anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. As the chart below illustrates, Video Games overtook Mobile Phones to become the most... Continue reading...

Google Doodle: Sesame Street vs. Wallace and Gromit

November 10, 2009

Last week Google replaced its traditional logo with two Google Doodles. The first celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Wallace and Gromit, the second Sesame Street’s fortieth birthday. The chart below illustrates the increase in searches for the terms ‘wallace and... Continue reading...

UK Halloween and fancy dress costume searches increasing

November 02, 2009

Judging by the amount of merchandise for sale in the shops, it feels like Halloween becomes more popular every year in the UK. And Hitwise search data seems to bear this out: the chart below illustrates the breadth of searches... Continue reading...

Has the threat of postal strikes harmed eCommerce in the UK?

October 21, 2009

The threat of further postal strikes is one of the hottest political issues of the moment, and this is being reflected in our search data. As the chart below illustrates, searches for a portfolio postal strike related terms were up... Continue reading...

Liverpool beach ball searches

October 19, 2009

As you might expect, following Darren Bent’s freak beach ball goal for Sunderland against Liverpool on Saturday, UK beach ball-related internet searches shot up. As the chart below illustrates, the breadth of searches for the term ‘beach ball’ (which measures... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 11:50 AM | (0)
In Categories Fast moving search terms | Football | Search | Sport

Micro pig searches benefit the Daily Mail and Telegraph

October 14, 2009

As we pointed out via Twitter on Monday, the fastest moving search term in the UK last week was ‘micro pigs’. These extremely cute little pigs are the latest pet trend, and have already picked the inevitable celebrity endorsements -... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 09:48 AM | (0)
In Categories Animals | Fast moving search terms | News and Media | Search

The importance of photo searches

September 29, 2009

Whilst looking through this week’s list of fast moving search terms, one term that caught my eye was ‘great north run photos’. As the chart below illustrates, searches for the term spiked last week (w/e 26/09/09) in line with the... Continue reading...

Record week for Google News

September 21, 2009

A while ago we highlighted how Google News UK picks up more traffic from searches for celebrities than any other type of news. Last week was a bumper week for celebrity news stories (unfortunately for sad reasons in many cases),... Continue reading...

Bee keeping and the Beehaus

August 10, 2009

Monday mornings are never the most cheerful time of the week, but mine are often brightened up by perusing our list of the previous week’s fast moving search terms. This morning the term that brought a smile to my face... Continue reading...

Searching to stay cool

July 06, 2009

Following last week’s heat wave, us Brits turned to the web in order to find ways to keep cool. The fastest moving search term sending traffic to our Shopping and Classifieds category last week was ‘paddling pools’. This was joined... Continue reading...

ITV.com traffic reaches record high thanks to Britain’s Got Talent

June 01, 2009

The Britain’s Got Talent final attracted 19.2 million viewers on Saturday night, making it the most watched non-sporting television programme since 2003. The ITV show, which was won by dance troupe Diversity rather than favourite Susan Boyle, picked up almost... Continue reading...

MPs' expenses searches drive Telegraph page views

May 14, 2009

The Telegraph’s MPs' expenses story has dominated the headlines for almost a week now. As the chart below illustrates, searches for a portfolio of terms relating to story increased by 575% last week, and our data will likely show a... Continue reading...

London Marathon: 2010 searches overtake 2009

May 07, 2009

As you would expect, UK Internet traffic to the official London Marathon website spiked last week and was up 25% on the previous year. Searches for the race also increased, but I was surprised to see both ‘london marathon 2009’... Continue reading...

Swine flu searches increase 58-fold

May 05, 2009

UK Internet searches for ‘swine flu’ increased 58-fold last week, making it Britain’s fastest moving search term. Of the 10.9 million distinct search terms we tracked in the UK last week, ‘swine flu’ ranked 20th. As the chart below illustrates,... Continue reading...

Budget 2009: paid search tactics

April 27, 2009

As you would expect, last week’s budget received a lot of press attention. UK Internet searches for the term ‘budget’ increased 27-fold between the weeks ending April 18th and 25th. However, as the chart below illustrates, searches for the term... Continue reading...

Shop opening times searches: an SEO opportunity?

April 14, 2009

While perusing this week’s fast moving search terms (i.e. the search terms in each category that experienced the biggest increase in volume between last week and the week before), the list for our Shopping and Classifieds category caught my eye.... Continue reading...

Fair weather searches

March 25, 2009

Whenever the sun comes out, us Brits flock to parks, beaches and al fresco restaurants to make the most of that most precious of commodities (in the UK at least): sunshine. As you might expect, our online behaviour also changes... Continue reading...

Online retail declines as Westfield opens

November 03, 2008

The economic downturn is beginning to have an impact on Internet retail in the UK. Monthly traffic to online retailers fell by 0.5% between October 2007 and 2008, while actual visits to the high street and shopping centers, as reported... Continue reading...

Kerry Katona and YouTube

October 27, 2008

Following her much talked about appearance on ITV’s This Morning show last week, searches for ‘kerry katona’ have gone through the roof. One website that received a lot of traffic from searches for the former Atomic Kitten singer was YouTube.... Continue reading...

Credit crunch dominates fast moving search terms

September 22, 2008

Last week’s fastest moving search terms were: 1. ryder cup 2. hbos 3. northern rock 4. hbos share price 5. moto gp 6. share prices 7. aig 8. ftse 9. ftse 100 10. bloomberg As you would expect, the list... Continue reading...

Tweet Posted by Robin Goad at 09:30 AM | (0)
In Categories Economy | Fast moving search terms | Financial Services | Search

Fast moving search terms: LHC, big bang, Andy Murray and XL

September 15, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. large hardron collider 2. hurricane ike 3. lhc 4. xl 5. big bang 6. tour of britain 7. itv f1 8. andy murray 9. black hole 10.... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: Google Chrome, cautious investors, football and flooding

September 08, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. google chrome 2. man city 3. bestival 4. environment agency 5. chrome 6. manchester city 7. burghley horse trials 8. nsandi 9. ns&i 10. setanta sports The... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: Strictly Come Dancing, Pierrepoint, Most Haunted

September 01, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. strictly come dancing 2. us open 3. bournemouth air show 4. www.bebo.co.uk 5. most haunted live 6. albert pierrepoint 7. most haunted 8. you tube.com 9. euromillions... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: Olympics, BBC iPlayer, UCAS and fantasy football

August 18, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. ucas track 2. bbc olympics 3. fantasy premier league 4. dream team 5. michael phelps 6. tom daley 7. the sun dream team 8. joules 9. last... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: Olympics, celebrities and exams

August 11, 2008

No prizes for guessing what event dominated the fast moving search term list in the UK last week. Here’s the top 10. 1. beijing 2008 olympic games 2. olympics 3. craig jones 4. morgan freeman 5. olympics 2008 6. bernie... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: British Gas fallout, Beatrix Potter and diamond geezers

August 04, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. beatrix potter 2. diamond geezer 3. southern electric 4. play.com uk 5. bbc cricket 6. u switch 7. carol vorderman 8. racing post 9. currys uk 10.... Continue reading...

Fast moving search terms: Batman, Now Compilations, Festivals, Runescape

July 28, 2008

The 10 fastest moving search terms in the UK last week were: 1. now 70 2. christian bale 3. global gathering 4. heath ledger 5. batman 6. dark knight 7. womad 8. shipwrecked 9. runehq 10. hamfatter Four of these... Continue reading...

Robin Goad

Research Director, Hitwise UK.

About Hitwise

Category Archives: Fast moving search terms

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