Google reveals hottest search terms of 2010

Google has released a list of the fastest growth search terms in 2010, with the results set to make interesting reading for small businesses.

Google’s Zeitgeist 2010 reveals that the growth of social media saw Chatroulette, Formspring, Tumblr and Omegle all among the fastest rising searches.

Overall, the most popular searches in Australia were unsurprisingly Facebook, YouTube and Google itself. ‘Real estate’ and ‘maps’ were also in the top 10.

Domesticity was also a popular trend in 2010, with plenty of searches for do-it-yourself projects catering for everything from renovations to wedding invites and super funds.

Google spokesperson Kate Mason says the DIY trend is a result of people trying to save money amidst economic uncertainty.

“The do-it-yourself mentality speaks to that idea of wanting to economise,” she says.

But there was still plenty of action in the retail sector, with the Zeitgeist showing “Woolworths online shopping” took out the top retail search spot, with online retailers Shopbop and Nordstrom also in the top 10.

Will Easton, Google sales industry lead says, “Australians are online and they’re looking for your brand and your business.”

“You need to be online to respond to their interest and convert these consumers into customers.”

“The savviest Australian marketers are incorporating online advertising – whether it’s search, display, video, or even mobile – into their plans from the start and making sure that their online ads are engaging Australians in real dialogue.”

Easton identifies the following tips to get you started:

1. Establish a website and invest in it. You can use ready-made sites with free tools such as Google Sites and Google Blogger or build your site from scratch.

2. Find out what parts of your site your customers like and what parts are turning them off. Google Analytics is a free tool that can help you understand where your visitors are coming from, how they’re finding your site, and what pages they’re visiting the most.

3. Increase visibility to attract potential customers. Google’s Webmaster Central helps site owners understand how they can improve their ranking in Google’s search results. And with Google AdWords, businesses can reach at the exact moment shoppers are searching for their products and services.

4. Measure, test, adapt. The beauty of online marketing is that you can get real time feedback about which keywords attract the most clicks, and use that data to adjust your marketing campaign.

5. Identify new opportunities. Insights for Search helps to grow your business by letting you compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and timeframes. You can see where customers are already searching for your service/product, and even compare search volumes by city.