Jimmy Carr, Father’s Day and 50 Shades of Grey are among fastest moving search terms in the UK in June, according to new data.
The study, from Experian Hitwise, indicates that UK Internet users made 2.2 billion visits to search engines in June 2012, up by 27 million visits compared to June 2011.
The rise in visits represents a 1.2 per cent year-on-year increase in search activity.
Google’s market share dropped for the first time in four months, but the search giant still maintained its share at over 90 per cent of all UK searches in June. Microsoft Sites, led by the bing engine, was the fastest growing search engine of the month with over four per cent of the total UK search market.
James Murray, Digital Insight Manager for Experian Marketing Services, UK&I commented: “Google experienced a decrease in market share this month but continues to be the dominant force in UK search. Microsoft’s increase in market share is encouraging and further emphasises the needed to optimise search strategies not just for Google but also for the other search engines in the market.”
Experian Hitwise analysis of the fastest moving search terms in June 2012 – those with the greatest increase in search volume – saw Jimmy Carr, Father’s Day and the novel Fifty Shades of Grey emerge as the month’s hot topics. Comedian Jimmy Carr’s tax affairs created a big media splash in June and the fastest moving search term driving traffic to the Experian Hitwise News and Media category was ‘jimmy carr’.
Meanwhile, Father’s Day, celebrated on 17 June, was the second fastest moving term in the News and Media category and the fastest mover in driving traffic to Social Networks and Forums. Also of interest online in June was the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey which appeared twice in the fastest movers list for Blogs and Personal websites (in third and seventh place) and once in the Social Networks and Forums category in ninth position.
James Murray added: “Major national and international events have been very prominent amongst the fast moving search terms this month driving traffic to key categories online. In particular the Isle of Wight Festival, the Jubilee concert, the French Open, Euro 2012 and Wimbledon were all searched for, becoming popular talking points on social forums and blogs. Keeping abreast of the fast moving search terms is essential for marketers to keep their fingers on the pulse of what is happening online and the trends they can capitalise on. These search terms are great topics around which digital marketers can create content that is both timely and relevant to customers.”
Source: http://www.hitwise.com.