One of the more interesting aspects of search marketing is identifying trends and forecasts, and tapping into predictable surges in search volume. This is an annual event for most seasonal businesses, but can also revolve around less predictable economic factors, weather conditions, or major news events. Let’s take a look at how this can benefit a local business…
Halloween is right around the corner, and if you haven’t heard – it now represents one of the largest holidays for retailers. Just released Hitwise Search Intelligence™ data reveals the top 10 search terms from the complete list of 21,597 search terms containing the term ‘costume’. The results are ordered based on the volume of searches from across all major search engines:
Naturally, a costume shop would want tap into these potential ready-to-buy consumers by including all or most of these keywords in their campaign. This keyword research, along with effective bidding strategies often separates the high-return campaigns from the expensive ones.
The recent economic downturn has also presented some opportunities. There has been a significant up-tick in searches related to repair services, new car deals, credit counselors, bankruptcy, do-it-yourself items etc. Using Google Insights, take a look at the term ”sell jewelry”…
"sell jewelry" search volume
Bad news for those forced to sell their jewelry, good news for local pawn shops, brokers and jewelry stores.
Yesterday I met with a local boat dealership in CT. When I recommended that we prepare for his upcoming season by launching an online PPC campaign, he initially thought I was crazy. “December thru February are my slowest months”! Local Statewide search trends however suggest potential opportunity:
"new boat" search volume - CT.
Consistatly for the past five years, interest in “new boat” terms begins to climb during late fourth-quarter. As it turns out, apparently consumers start preparing and shopping for this new purchase well before the Northeast waters are ready for swimming! The moral of the story is, reaching potential buyers while they are in the “researching stage” will capture upcoming new sales.
So, when advertising online – consider the many factors that will affect your success, including search history, trends, forecasts, competition, upcoming seasonal factors and economic opportunities.
In Jan 2010, there were over 3.8 million searches for local carpet & rug cleaners online. This includes both Internet Yellow Pages sites, as well as local search sites. The majority of these searches are using the same 335 keywords and keyword combinations, including:
Posted by Rich H 
