You can watch the TV news, read a newspaper, or maybe drive down your street to see signs of the current financial struggles that many Americans are facing. You can also take a look at what Americans are searching for online. That’s what comScore has done, and today’s announcement confirms that we are what we search for.

Searches for terms related to the economic struggles rose dramatically during 2008, according to the comScore report.

As the chart shows, searches for job-related terms like “unemployment benefits” and “unemployment” were both up more than 200% in 2008. Housing-related terms like “mortgage” and “foreclosure” saw significant increases in search activity, as did personal finance terms like “bankruptcy” and “coupons.”

It’s a sad reflection of the times, and one that fits last month’s comScore news that job search was the fastest growing search category in 2008.

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Stats: comScore | Stats: Search Behavior

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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