Super Bowl 2014: How We Searched

I know, I know. Kids today are all about the hashtags and the Twitters; but it turns out, we’re pretty good multi-taskers and are still really into searching, too. As has been the case all six years I’ve been looking at how the Super Bowl impacts how we search, we use Google (and Bing and […]

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I know, I know. Kids today are all about the hashtags and the Twitters; but it turns out, we’re pretty good multi-taskers and are still really into searching, too. As has been the case all six years I’ve been looking at how the Super Bowl impacts how we search, we use Google (and Bing and Yahoo) to get more information about everything from snack recipes to players.  The more I watch the stats, the more I imagine that everyone is just sitting at home in front of their televisions, laptop at the ready, and every time someone appears on screen, everyone types at once: tell me more about this!

As always, we searched for the commercials (see my in-depth post on Marketing Land for what went right and what could have gotten better), but what else did we search for on game day?

Recipes!

Super Bowl Food Searches

Super Bowl Start Time (of course)

Just like every year.

Google Trends: Super Bowl Start Time

In 2012, I noted that the NFL finally got it right, and set up a page to answer the question that clearly is on everyone’s minds. This trend continued last year (when Google also started providing the answer right at the top of the results). But this year, it was just like 2011 all over again. The NFL site didn’t say anything about the start time of the game and so the page with last year’s start time showed up on the second page of results. Oh, NFL, how you missed out on all those potential visitors, clearly your target audience.

What Time Does The Super Bowl Start

People

You thought I was exaggerating before, but just look at Google Trends. Anytime anyone showed up on TV to wear a big fur coat and toss a coin, or sing a song, or randomly introduce players even though no one has any idea how he’s related to football, we searched.

Google Trends: Super Bowl People

Google Trends: Super Bowl People

Skittles!

Fine. Maybe we mostly searched (and bought and ate) Skittles in Seattle.

Skittles

What matters is that I was able to enjoy a refreshing Skittles-based cocktail while watching the NFC championship game before our entire city ran out.

Skittles Seattle

Skittles Cocktails

(Go hawks!)

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Vanessa Fox
Contributor
Vanessa Fox is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. She built Google Webmaster Central and went on to found software and consulting company Nine By Blue and create Blueprint Search Analytics< which she later sold. Her book, Marketing in the Age of Google, (updated edition, May 2012) provides a foundation for incorporating search strategy into organizations of all levels. Follow her on Twitter at @vanessafox.

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