How do world events affect search behaviour?

For anyone working in SEO, whether it is your sole responsibility or one of many, factors which affect search behaviour are key to explaining changes in rankings and traffic levels to your site. We all know the importance of the search algorithmsand wait on tenterhooks for the newest update information, but it isn’t the only factor we need to pay attention to. World events have always had a major impact on user’s search behaviour, but since the pandemic these changes have been more drastic and have affected industries of all types. So, SEO has never been more important and more interesting!

Keep reading to see our insights into which key events affect search behaviour with example search data from Google Trends. As well as our tips for predicting and reacting to these changes to prevent them negatively affecting your business in the long-term.

The effect of COVID on search behaviour

Where else could we start? Over the past few years, it has affected everyone’s lives in some way. From lockdowns to working from home to hybrid work schemes. And of course, this had a knock-on effect on global search behaviours. Suddenly, searches focused on the location specific ‘near me’ phrase dropped in volume, whereas terms like ‘virtual’ and ‘online’ shot up. SEO specialists all over the world scrambled to learn what they could and implement changes and updates to their sites to better target these changing trends . And then lockdowns ended, and searches changed again. One of the clearest examples of a very recent global event which impacted search behaviours dramatically.

These events can also have a knock-on effect on our reporting going forward. With months of sales skewed by either increased or decreased demand, year-on-year comparisons can be difficult, and you could be left wondering why your sales of home gym equipment is selling so much less than last year. Of course, taking note of these global events and even marking them as annotations on your Google Analyticsdata can save you valuable time trying to find simple explanations.

The effects of politics on search behaviour

While COVID clearly shocked the world and affected many industries, sometimes global events have more of an impact in specific industries. One example from recent times is the war in Ukraine. Since the start, it has led to steadily increasing world energy prices as supply becomes more difficultto countries who rely on the exported fuels. This of course has changed our search behaviours. More of us are searching for phrases like ‘How can I save money on my energy’ or ‘Cheapest Energy Provider’. Whereas Covid’s affect was seen most clearly within specific periods, the uncertainty surrounding the war in Ukraine has led to similarly uncertain search behaviours.

Another example of a political event which changed search behaviours was Liz Truss’ run as prime minister in the UK. In that short time, she announced proposed changes which had a major knock-on effect on the value of the £, and again when she announced she was resigning. As a result, the search behaviours reacted accordingly. And this was true worldwide, not just in the UK as can been seen below in the trend data of relevant searches.

Worldwide interests:

United Kingdom interests:

The effect of sporting events on search behaviour

In the UK, sporting events bring with them countless traditions. From strawberries at Wimbledonto face paint and flags at the FIFA World Cup. So, it’s no surprise search volumes of these items increase whilst these events are hosted each time. And the same can be said of successes in these events worldwide. Success from athletes like Sky Brownhave led to major spikes in search interest of topics like ‘skateboarding lessons’, which proves just how inspiring these events can be on the worldwide community . Be aware of which major events are happening, and look at how they can support your marketing activity.

The effect of social trends and influencers on search behaviour

As Instagram and other social media platforms have continued to grow, social influencershave been shown to have an even greater effect than ever before. But it isn’t just the products or places they push that see spikes in search volumes. For example since 2015, there has been a steady rise in demand for the term ‘lip filler’ as shown below. This coincides with the increased use of social platforms in general, and represents a shift in overall world search behaviour .

And it’s not just social influencers. In 2011, Wayne Rooney had a hair transplantwhich put a spotlight on the industry, majorly increasing the interest in the topic worldwide at the time, as well as leading to a general increase over time.

Other external factors which can affect search behaviour

Obviously, we can’t list them all, but here is a quick rundown of some other factors to consider when analysing your data:

– Weather and Season: Has there been long periods of bad or good weather? Good weather will impact searches for BBQs, whereas bad weather will see obvious rises in searches for coats, umbrellas and the less obvious how to prevent damp.

– Public Holidays: We know, some of these are obvious, but they are still important to consider. Every country has its public holidays, and every country has its traditions that come with it.

– Special Events: These aren’t regular occurrences, but special celebrations or events which can affect the world as well as the individual countries they happen in. Recently in the UK, such events as the Queen’s platinum Jubilee and then her passing have both been felt globally.

– Popular movies, franchises etc: We all have a friend who started wearing a flat cap after seeing Peaky Blinders. And we’ve all been convinced by the not-so-subtle product placement within many movies and tv shows. But you can’t always know what’s going to be popular, and interests change the same way search behaviours do.

How to prepare and react to changes in search behaviour

Unless you can see into the future and predict exactly what’s going to happen, you can never be fully prepared. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to make these events work for you, rather than trying to react and come up with all the solutions at the last minute. Here are some of our top tips for dealing with unforeseen events which affect your search behaviours:

– Identify your key topic areas , and regularly check interest over time as well as your own analytics data. A drop in sales can often correlate with a drop in interest.

– Do your research and stay up to date with major world events. Even in niche businesses these events can have major effects or equally be huge opportunities.

– Annotate analytics data and keep records of events you think have affected your data. Ensure you have evidence from Google Trends showing interest over time, as well as how this relates to your site. Has there been a drop in users or page views?

– Partner with a proactive SEO Marketing Agencylike Next Chapter who can help you prepare and offer expert advice on SEO, PPC and all other areas of digital marketing.