People are not just Googling about the pandemic!

John Murray

With 2020 being a year defined by the outbreak of COVID-19, it can be easy to think there’s nothing else to talk about and that everyone’s use of the internet is being dictated by their virus-related needs and questions.

On the contrary, a look at Google’s daily Trending Searches paints a very different picture. Over the last seven days, only two of the days’ number one trends have been coronavirus-related, and one of them only vaguely so – Monday’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ trend. This shows that although the virus weighs heavy on all our minds, there are search engine optimisation opportunities being created by it that businesses can use.

Since Google trends are often mirrored by Facebook and Twitter, it’s always useful to keep an eye on what people are searching for and consider this as part of your blogging and social media strategy. For example, bars and restaurants that are part of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme should consider social media posts using the hashtag #EatOutToHelpOut during the early part of the week, and perhaps post blogs about some of their offerings, which can be fed through to Facebook and Twitter with the same hashtag.

Elsewhere, one of the biggest trends has been football, with the FA Cup Final, Wolves, Rangers, Brentford and even lowly Harrogate Town all featuring highly in the trends over the last week. As the sport has such a fanatical following, a lot of media companies advise their staff to prioritise football news where possible. An otherwise dry, corporate story about a sponsorship deal, for example, is always likely to get far more traffic if it pertains to a football club, such as a new shirt or stand sponsor being named.

While we shouldn’t take the health and economic impact of COVID-19 lightly, it is important to remember that life has not ground to a halt, and opportunities still exist. For advice on how to make the most of a time when an online presence is crucial, we’re here to help at Engage Web.

About
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John Murray

Content Editor at Engage Web

John studied English with Creative Writing at university and went on to write for newspapers in both West Yorkshire and Chester. A published poet, short story writer and music blogger with a flair for quick pun-delivery, John is a genuine word nerd and a member of a Scrabble club, so it was only natural that he went on to work in a wordy position.

Engage Web

People are not just Googling about the pandemic!