In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for February 2023. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month. The Shortest Month Although there are only 28 days in February, the month is packed with annual, exciting topics to search. With the holidays of Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day as two of the month’s anchors, this year the celebration of Mardi Gras occurred in February. Of course the biggest “holiday” is Super Bowl Sunday.  We have some great insights on that spectacle in this report. Other big topics that drove searches were the Chinese balloons, the Grammy Awards, the earthquakes in Turkey, multiple video games releases, the State of the Union address, and a food related query.  Lastly, the NBA had their All Star game and a few major trades had people Googling some player names.  Also, a rival search engine made our list of top queried phrases in February 2023.  Here are all our thoughts of the month that was in Google’s Daily Search Trends. Those February Holidays In the dead of winter, it’s nice to have some things to celebrate.  Let’s see how popular the holidays of February are this year. Groundhog Day 2023 - 2/1/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Valentine's Day - 2/13/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Mardi Gras - 2/21/2023 - 200,000+ queries As you can see from this chart, queries for Groundhog Day hit a 5 year high last month.   Interest in the holiday may have been aided by the news story about the death of Fred La Marmotte passed away hours before he was supposed to look for his shadow. Valentine’s Day was aided by a Google Doodle but its popularity has not recovered from the pandemic yet.  The 5 year search interest peak occurred in 2020.  On the flip side, Mardi Gras made the daily top 3 this year and has regained pre-pandemic query volume.   The World of Entertainment February had a good number of movie and TV show releases, a couple of award shows, and a concert tour announcement. Beyonce Renaissance Tour - 2/1/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Yes, Queen Bey is going on tour this year and the Instagram announcement was made on the 1st.  Later on in the month, other musical artists were celebrated at the Grammys.   Grammys 2023 - 2/4/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Harry Styles - 2/5/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Harry Styles performed at the show and won the Album of the Year award.  The Screen Actors Guild Awards show happened on the 26th and people searched to learn more. SAG Awards 2023 - 2/26/2023 - 500,000+ queries A couple of new movies that were released in February made the top 3 of Google’s Daily Trends: Ant-Man Quantumania - 2/16/2023 - 200,000+ queries Cocaine Bear - 2/24/2023 - 500,000+ queries The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie was released on the 17th and the Elizabeth Banks directed film was released on the 24th. Finally, there were three TV shows that were interesting enough to drive people to query Google to find more information. Last of Us - 2/19/2023 - 200,000+ queries Outer Banks - 2/22/2023 - 500,000+ queries We Have a Ghost - 2/24/2023 - 200,000+ queries Episode 6 of The Last of Us show was compelling.  No spoilers here.  Season 3 of the Netflix show “Outer Banks” was made available for streaming on the 23rd.  Also on Netflix, the show “We Have a Ghost”  was released on the 24th. Spy Balloons Over the first week of February, there were Chinese spy balloons floating over the USA.  Here’s how the ordeal unfolded on Google’s Daily Trends. China spy balloon - 2/2/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chinese balloon - 2/2/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chinese spy balloon - 2/2/2023 - 500,000+ queries Chinese spy balloons - 2/3/2023 - 500,000+ queries Chinese balloon - 2/4/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Alaska - 2/10/2023 - 200,000+ queries The last phrase, “Alaska” was connected to news that a high-altitude object was shot down by the US military.   A Big Month For Video Game Releases From time to time, Gaming topics make our report.  February 2023 was an outlier as we saw three big game launches garner enough search interest to pierce the daily top 3.  Hogwarts Legacy - 2/6/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Atomic Heart - 2/20/2023 - 200,000+ queries Sons of the Forest - 2/23/2023 - 200,000+ queries The team at AMP wonders if we will see more game titles in our future reports. Earthquake in Turkey The devastating earthquakes in Turkey drove users to Google in search of more details. Turkey earthquake - 2/5/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Turkey earthquake - 2/21/2023 - 200,000+ queries On February 6th local time, there were two major earthquakes that caused major structure damage and tens of thousands of casualties.  Then, just over 2 weeks later, there was another quake that was thankfully less intense but still made people want to learn more. It Ain’t Too Sweet We usually get excited about food-related queries, but not so much with this one. Erythritol - 2/27/2023 - 200,000+ queries The sugar substitute was reported to be linked to higher heart attack and stroke risks.   State of The Union The State of the Union address was a popular topic that span a couple of days last month. State of the Union - 2/6/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries State of the Union 2023 - 2/6/2023 - 500,000+ queries State of the Union 2023 - 2/7/2023 - 500,000+ queries The next week, Nikki Haley announced her presidential bid. Nikki Haley - 2/14/2023 - 500,000+ queries Sports Queries Not Related To The Super Bowl Sports are quite interesting.  Topics related to sports are always in the Daily Trends.  February has the biggest American sporting event of the year but there were other topics that drove searches that were not Super Bowl related. Tom Brady - 2/1/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Tom Brady announced his retirement again but it is for real this time, we think. The NBA is halfway through its season so that means it is time for trades and the All Star Game.  Some star players and the teams conducting the trade were searched for last month. Kyrie Irving - 2/3/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Kyrie Irving trade - 2/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries Kyrie Irving - 2/5/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Lakers - 2/7/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Russell Westbrook - 2/7/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Kevin Durant - 2/8/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Utah Jazz - 2/8/2023 - 200,000+ queries Kyrie Irving - 2/9/2023 - 200,000+ queries Russell Westbrook - 2/20/2023 - 200,000+ queries Clippers - 2/24/2023 - 500,000+ queries Russell Westbrook was moved from the Lakers to the Jazz and then finally to the Clippers.  The All Star game was popular this year with Mac McClung making a name for himself. Mac McClung - 2/17/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries NBA All-Star Game - 2/17/2023 - 200,000+ queries The young G League player won the 2023 slam dunk contest and became a search sensation. The Big Game The most impressive topic of February 2023 from a search volume perspective is the Super Bowl.  In an era where our consumption of entertainment is scattered and diversified, the NFL’s championship game still draws a mass audience on a yearly basis. Here are the top three most queried phrases from the day before the game. Super Bowl - 2/11/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Super Bowl 2023 time - 2/11/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries What time is the Super Bowl - 2/11/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries We took a screenshot of the top 4 keyword phrases.  Clearly the time the game starts is an important factor for a lot of people.  The AMP Agency team thinks this insight could be used for a marketing campaign that revolves around the preparation for the game.  Maybe you could build a tool that helps you schedule when chicken wings should go in the oven so they are ready for game time. The queries on Super Bowl Sunday are all about the entertainment. Rihanna - 2/12/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Chris Stapleton - 2/12/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Rihanna performed the half-time show and Chris Stapleton sang the National Anthem. Bing To close out, Google’s daily trends registered queries for another search engine last month. Bing - 2/8/2023 - 200,000+ queries On the 8th, Microsoft announced they were rolling out a new version of Bing search. This new version would have a component powered by OpenAI's GTP artificial intelligence. The full service can be found in the Edge browser.  Interesting times lie ahead for search with the introduction of AI.  We shall be here to observe and report as it unfolds. Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all of our clients and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.

Consent and Advanced PII in the Context of Conversations with an AI Over 100 million users have signed up to use ChatGPT since OpenAI’s generative AI product launched in November 2022.1 ChatGPT users have prompted the advanced LLM (large language model) with fun and innocuous inquiries, like coming up with the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Or using its generative capabilities to create playable table-top role-playing game scenarios. The possibilities seem endless. Many in the digital world recognize generative AI’s potential and contemplate how they can integrate it into their business; however, there’s a catch. The personal data inputted into AI chatbots can be compromised, creating privacy and consent risks. These engines introduce an added layer of complexity to your technology stack, which can impact your business and your user’s experiences.  The first concern is managing consent. When you input a chat prompt and receive an output, you’re feeding information into a collective algorithm.2 According to the makers of ChatGPT, they do not recommend divulging personal, confidential information or secrets.3 Not everyone will read the full terms of service and data privacy statements when interacting with AI chat, potentially forfeiting their confidential information to the collective model. The current implementation also does not overly warn users of the potential risks or provide clear instructions to avoid these risks. As people push the limits of the tech, there may be output prompts that deviate from the topic of focus, are factually untrue, or inappropriate for minors. There’s also the question of consent to communication preferences—as there seems to be few in current iterations of AI chatbots, especially when it comes to topics and subject matter. In traditional marketing channels, users can typically choose which channels they receive communications (SMS, email, etc.), the topics, and the frequency. GDPR, the regulation which protects data and privacy in the EU, dictates several stipulations to define marketing consent, to which current generative AI does not readily adhere. The framework states that marketing consent includes, but is not limited to: Consent must be clear and easily understood  Consent must be given freely with no deception or coercion Consent is a one-time, non-editable event for a specific item or action Consent cannot be posed in an overarching manner (i.e, “I consent to everything”) Consent must be a positive/affirmative action executed by the user Microsoft Bing released an AI chatbot that turned conversations into odd, alarming territories. A New York Times reporter released a transcript of his conversation with the chatbot wherein it claimed that he was not happy in his marriage and that the chatbot loved him.4 Snapchat introduced “My AI” in late February, which uses a modified version of OpenAI’s GPT technology for its Snapchat+ subscribers. The chatbot for Snapchat does possess some limitations—it won’t engage with topics concerning politics, violence, swearing, and academic essay writing (given the typical Snapchat demographic).5  Another issue that will come from implementing these new technologies is the question of monetization and topic promotion. If a user feeds personal identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) into its algorithm, AI chatbots can absorb that information. Some may argue it will be the user’s responsibility, but it isn’t as cut-and-dry. For example, a lawyer might input some information to generate contract language, unwittingly adding that personal information into the collective.6  As AI technology advances, there will be discussions on how PII is handled or monetized by third-party groups. For instance, would it be ethical for a generalized chatbot to promote a skincare product if prompted to describe an ideal nighttime skincare routine?  Understanding new technologies and their implementation, like the ChatGPT large language model, is how AMPXD stays at the top of our field. We analyze new technology and determine how you can integrate it into your existing platforms. As experts in data privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPPA, CAN-SPAM, COPPA, CCPA), you can feel confident about implementing generative AI into your technology stack in ways that don’t unknowingly compromise customer PII or PHI.  GDS brings together the sharpest minds in the industry to solve tomorrow’s marketing technology challenges. AMP XD has over 25 years of experience and a culture of accountability. We’re excited to be part of the conversation and find a solution to transform your business through generative AI capabilities.  1Engadget, “How AI will change the way we search, for better or worse.” https://www.engadget.com/how-ai-will-change-the-way-we-search-for-better-or-worse-200021092.html 2Forbes, “Generative AI ChatGPT Can Disturbingly Gobble Up Your Private And Confidential Data, Forewarns AI Ethics And AI Law.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/01/27/generative-ai-chatgpt-can-disturbingly-gobble-up-your-private-and-confidential-data-forewarns-ai-ethics-and-ai-law/?sh=71790ff97fdb 3OpenAI, ChatGPT FAQ. https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-chatgpt-general-faq 4Engadget, “Microsoft limits Bing conversations to prevent disturbing chatbot responses.” https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-limits-bing-conversations-to-prevent-disturbing-chatbot-responses-154142211.html 5ZDNet, “ChatGPT is coming to Snapchat. Just don't tell it your secrets.” https://www.zdnet.com/article/chatgpt-is-coming-to-snapchat-just-dont-tell-it-your-secrets/ 6Forbes, “Generative AI ChatGPT Can Disturbingly Gobble Up Your Private And Confidential Data, Forewarns AI Ethics And AI Law.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/01/27/generative-ai-chatgpt-can-disturbingly-gobble-up-your-private-and-confidential-data-forewarns-ai-ethics-and-ai-law/?sh=71790ff97fdb

In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for January 2023. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month. The Start of a New Year 2023 began with many of the same topics being searched as we had in 2022. If you don’t know already, the NFL is very popular. It was the most queried subject of the month, and more so this January because of a medical emergency of one of the players. We had a few weather events and tech company layoffs last month. We still can tell what the most popular TV shows and movies are by the volume of search queries. Lastly and sadly, police violence is still a reality and driving search queries. Here’s our analysis of the top trending keywords from January 2023. Two Holidays There were 4 keyword phrases that made the 10 million plus club last month.  Two of them were related to holidays: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day - 1/15/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Lunar New Year - 1/21/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Both of these holidays were celebrated with Google Doodles.  Here’s the updated logo for MLK day 2023:   The other two queries were related to the NFL and will be examined later in this post. Tyre Nichols On January 26th, the Grand Jury of the State of Tennessee indicted the five Memphis Police officers who are accused of charges related to the beating and death of Tyre Nichols. Tyre Nichols - 1/26/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Memphis police - 1/26/2023 - 500,000+ queries Tyre Nichols body cam - 1/26/2023 - 200,000+ queries Tyre Nichols - 1/27/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries The video footage from the traffic stop drew a lot of interest from people searching on Google.  Queries for this topic spanned across two days last month. Films and Shows The data tells us the most interesting movies and TV shows of January 2023 are as follows: M3GAN - 1/5/2023 - 200,000+ queries The Pale Blue Eye - 1/6/2023 - 200,000+ queries The Last of Us HBO - 1/15/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries That '90s Show - 1/19/2023 - 500,000+ queries The film M3GAN had its wide theatrical release and The Pale Blue Eye was made available for streaming on Netflix on the 6th.  The HBOMax show The Last of US had its debut on the 15th and That ‘90s Show premiered on the 19th.  Movie Awards After a hiatus, the Golden Globes were back this year and people were interested enough to query Google to learn more. Golden Globes 2023 - 1/10/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Everything Everywhere All at Once - 1/10/2023 - 500,000+ queries A few of the actors (Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan) in the film Everything Everywhere All at Once won awards at the ceremony.  Movie award season continued with the announcement of the Oscar nominations on the 23rd. Oscar Nominations 2023 - 1/23/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Check back for our March 2023 report where we will analyze the queries related to that award show.  Hopefully, it won’t involve any slapping. Tech Layoffs As we saw towards the end of last year, big tech companies had layoffs in January 2023, which led to search queries of company names. Salesforce - 1/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries Spotify - 1/9/2023 - 500,000+ queries We hope there won’t be more topics related to layoffs in the coming year. Weather Near the beginning of the month, wild weather drove people to query these keywords to learn more. Bomb cyclone - 1/3/2023 - 200,000+ queries California storm - 1/4/2023 - 200,000+ queries In other natural occurrence news, the appearance of a comet also piqued the interest of Google Searchers. Green Comet - 1/31/2023 - 500,000+ queries We hope you were able to see it. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) isn’t due back for thousands of years.  The Most Popular Sport in the USA Far and away, the US search audience queries about the National Football League more than any other professional sports organization.  Last month, 30 of the 93 phrases we collected were related to the NFL.  In this section, we present only the keywords that were queried over 1 million times in a day - starting with the ones that were queried over 10 million times. Damar Hamlin - 1/2/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Bengals vs Chiefs - 1/28/2023 - 10,000,000+ queries Damar Hamlin’s on-field medical emergency was a topic that went beyond sports and drove a large number of queries.  The keyword phrase related to the AFC championship game was the other topic that drove the highest reported query volume from Google Trends.  We guess people were not as interested in the NFC championship game. Here’s the rest of the NFL-related keywords:  NFL - 1/7/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Chiefs - 1/7/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Jacksonville Jaguars - 1/7/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Seahawks - 1/8/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries 49ers - 1/13/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Chargers - 1/14/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Giants - 1/15/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Kansas City Chiefs - 1/20/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Giants vs Eagles - 1/20/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Cowboys - 1/21/2023 - 5,000,000+ queries Cowboys vs 49ers - 1/21/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries 49ers vs Eagles - 1/27/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries Chiefs vs Bengals - 1/28/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries 49ers vs Eagles - 1/28/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Next month, we will have the recap on the Superbowl queries.  We wonder if people will be interested in when the game starts. It’s Not The World Cup The other football known as soccer here in the States is still popular.  Check out these 5 queries related to matches held in January 2023. Chelsea vs Man City - 1/5/2023 - 500,000+ queries Man United vs Man City - 1/13/2023 - 500,000+ queries Real Madrid vs Barcelona - 1/14/2023 - 1,000,000+ queries PSG vs Al Nassr - 1/18/2023 - 2,000,000+ queries Man City vs Tottenham - 1/19/2023 - 500,000+ queries It’s not at the level of the World Cup but still enough volume to make the daily top 3. NBA We saw a good number of queries related to the NBA.  Donovan Mitchell - 1/2/2023 - 500,000+ queries Lakers - 1/12/2023 - 500,000+ queries Celtics - 1/12/2023 - 100,000+ queries Celtics - 1/24/2023 - 100,000+ queries Knicks - 1/24/2023 - 100,000+ queries Lakers - 1/25/2023 - 200,000+ queries Warriors - 1/25/2023 - 200,000+ queries Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points on the 2nd.  The other queries were related to teams playing on that day. Did your favorite team make the list?   Wrestling Some may argue the validity of the sport, but Professional Wrestling made the daily top 3 twice last month. Jay Briscoe - 1/17/2023 - 500,000+ queries Royal Rumble 2023 - 1/27/2023 - 500,000+ queries Jay Briscoe was a Ring of Honor wrestler who passed away on the 17th. The other keyword phrase was related to their annual Royal Rumble event. Although the number of phrases related to Wrestling are small, they do pick up when there are big events or news stories related to this form of entertainment.  Looking Towards February The last phrase on our list was a forward-looking keyword. Black History Month - 1/30/2023 - 200,000+ queries As we look back at the first month of the year, it’s good to know that there is more to come in the near future. Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all of our clients and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.

AMP Agency was named Public Relations Agency of Record for Nature’s Bakery, a snack company focused on delivering wholesome bite-sized goodies to it’s consumers in the market. AMP Agency will be providing a full range of services to the CPG brand such as: media relations, product launch support, partnership management, and contributed content development.   "We are thrilled to be working with AMP Agency to expand our presence within the snack bar category and find new, exciting and meaningful ways to connect with consumers," said Vilma Livas, chief marketing officer at Nature's Bakery. "AMP's expertise in creative storytelling coupled with their ability to deliver results make them the perfect partner for us at this next phase of growth for our brand."   "AMP Agency is honored to be working with Nature's Bakery, a brand committed to providing better-for-you snacking solutions for families on-the-go, friends hitting their local trailhead and individuals looking to satisfy a mid-day craving," said Doug Grumet, general manager, AMP Agency. "We look forward to getting to work and leveraging our expertise to amplify the activities, launches and product stories surrounding Nature's Bakery and why they should be on everyone's shopping list." Read the news here.

The AMP Agency SEO team is dedicated to learning more about consumer behavior via search query data. Right after Labor Day, we put out a report that predicted what the top trends of Fall 2022. That season is over and now it is time to see how we did. Let’s examine some of our predictions from our report.  For our Fall 2022 report, we explored 8 consumer topic categories:  Fashion & Beauty Home Decor Entertainment Food & Drink Back to School Halloween Thanksgiving Black Friday Each category had 5 topics where we gathered historical data and tried to make predictions for the Fall season. In this post, we are reviewing the search query volume for certain topics and comparing it to our predictions. We are providing charts updated with 3 months of data (September-November 2022) that was released by Google’s Keyword Planner after we published the report.  Let’s see if our autumn predictions hit the mark.   Fashion & Beauty Loafers Each season brings new weather-appropriate shoes that are in style. Loafers were a popular shoe in the 80s and now they have made a comeback as the “it” shoe this past Fall. Last Fall, we saw a pretty big spike in search volume compared to previous years but we predicted there was going to be more popularity around loafers this Fall and we were right.   In July, when we made our predictions, the search volume for the keyword “loafers” was 165,000 versus 135,000 in July 2021. Seeing that search volume was already higher compared to last year's numbers, we believed we would see a new all-time high this Fall, and we did! This Fall “loafers” hit a new all-time high in search volume reaching 246,000 searches from October to November, a 22% increase in search volume compared to last Fall.   Black French Tip Nails With Fall comes “spooky season” which means some fun, Halloween nail designs begin to appear on everybody’s Pinterest nail inspiration boards. If you’re not one for intricate spooky nail designs, black french tip nails are a great way to tap into the Halloween spirit in a more subtle way. So did more people search for black french tip nails this Fall?   Last Fall, “black french tip nails” saw a decent increase in search volume with a peak in October 2021 at 49,500. By July 2022, we could see the search volume beginning to steadily increase to reach a new all-time high, with a 123% increase in search volume compared to July 2021. These numbers continued to climb with “black french tip nails” reaching a new peak in search volume in October 2022 at 60,500, surpassing last year's peak by 22%. In conclusion, more people searched for “black french tip nails” this Fall!   Home Decor Pumpkin Pillow With each season comes cute, trendy home decor and this season in Fall, home decor brought the pumpkin pillow! Pumpkins are the true staple of Fall with pumpkin desserts, drinks, patches, decorations, and more. But did the pumpkin pillow reach a lot more homes this year?   Since 2018, we have seen a steady increase in peaks each Fall. When we made our predictions in July, we were already seeing a 125% increase in search volume compared to last year which made us pretty confident in saying that the pumpkin pillow will be a trendy decor item this Fall, and we were correct. The keyword “pumpkin pillow” reached a new, all-time high at 33,100, which is an increase of 49% compared to last year's peak and an increase of 123% compared to the peak in 2020. So it looks like maybe the pumpkin pillow really did reach a lot of new homes this year!   Ghost Mug Last year, the Target ghost mug took over the internet, mainly by TikTok, when a user posted the cute mug online and people went rushing over to their local Target to get one, selling it out in stores across the country. Talks of the ghost mug began again over the summer and we believed this would contribute to a new all-time high in search volume this Fall. And we nailed it! Search volume for the keyword “ghost mug” hit a new all-time high this Fall at 27,100 searches, surpassing last year's peak by 50%! During the summer of 2022, search volume for the “ghost mug” saw an 83% increase compared to the previous summer of 2020 so we knew the “ghost mug” was destined to reach a new large peak this Fall.   Entertainment Salem, MA Salem, Massachusetts - The Witch City is a popular destination for tourists in the month of October.  Everyone wants to visit the haunted houses, the museums, and see the history of the city that is synonymous with Halloween. After a couple years of stagnant growth in search volume & visitors (likely due to COVID), we predicted that crowds would be out in full force this Fall.     Our prediction came true as crowds visiting Salem were at record highs in October, and the search volume showed that as well. Searches for “salem ma” saw over double the amount of searches the previous year, hitting the 1,000,000 mark for searches in the month of October 2022.   Cider Mill Cider-based drinks have been gaining popularity over the past few years, so why not learn how it’s made and visit a Cider Mill? Searches for the keyword “cider mill” had already been steadily increasing over the past few years, which shows that consumers wanted different beverage tour experiences outside of visiting a winery or brewery. We dug into the volume more to see if this trend would continue in 2022.     We had already seen search interest start to increase at the end of the summer, matching the highs of Fall 2021. Our prediction that visiting a Cider Mill would be a popular Fall activity came true as we saw search volume increase 83% over the previous October.    Food & Drink Pumpkin Spice Is the populace tired of Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkin-flavored food and drink items yet?  That was one question we wanted to answer. The data we had on-hand from Keyword Planner when we were researching topics for the Fall report was no, we are not sick of this flavor trend yet.  The data was leading us to believe that 2022 was going to be a strong year for pumpkin spice. Leading into the Fall months, “pumpkin spice latte” was queried more times in August 2022 than any other month in history. So much for getting tired of this trend.  The Pumpkin flavor search interest was a little higher in 2022 vs 2021, with more search queries in September than in previous years.   McDonald’s When we chose McDonald’s as a topic for our Fall 2022 trends, we had a notion that tough economic times drives interest in fast food or inexpensive food options. What we saw in the Autumn months was a sustained surge in search queries for the brand name “McDonald’s” with a small drop in the month of November.   Besides examining Google’s Keyword Planner data, which you can see in the chart, we started to look at Google Trends data more closely. Keyword Planner data only goes back 4 years so we wanted to know if we were seeing all-time highs for search interest in the brand. Google Trends data goes back to 2004, so it provides almost 20 years of data. Take a look at the ascension of search interest in the brand as reported by Google Trends:     The peak of search volume for this Fast Food chain happened in October 2022.  When you see a chart like this one, it’s easy to see that there is more driving search interest to McDonald’s than just economic factors (although it’s helping). Hats off to the McD’s brand managers’ efforts - it’s working.  Back to School Bento Box Lunch Box The popularity of these Japanese single-portion lunch boxes saw a gradual increase over time and did in fact peak this past Fall. With over 2.4 billion Tiktok views on the hashtag #bentobox in 2022, these useful lunch boxes even became a popular trend! Parents and adults of all ages packed lunches quickly and effortlessly using bento boxes.   Given the early Back to School preparation seen since July 2022, we already expected a high search volume for this query during the Fall. As we predicted, “bento box lunch box” saw an 11% increase in search volume compared to last Fall, reaching over 246,000 searches in September 2022.    Twin XL Bedding As every Fall season approaches, people begin to search for dorm bed sheets and dimensions given the extra-long mattresses that require special bedding. College dorm shopping, along with Back to School preparation, began early this year. We began seeing an increase in search volume for Twin XL Bedding and Twin XL dimensions since June.    As with many topics related to in-person school activities, this type of bedding saw a drop in 2020 but is now seeing a resurgence. Fall 2022 did not surpass the peak search volume in August 2021, however, it saw 48% more interest than in 2020 and an overall longer and more sustained interest throughout the Fall months.    Halloween Halloween Squishmallow Squishmallows have been gaining huge popularity over the past few years - these stuffed animal pillow hybrids come in all shapes and sizes, offering limited edition seasonal varieties for avid Squishmallow collectors. For those looking to expand their “squish army” with adorably spooky characters, Halloween Squishmallows have started to be released each year and we have seen search results reflect a growing interest.    In Fall 2022, we saw nearly identical interest as 2021, topping out each year at 201,000 searches in September. So although the squish army may not be expanding, it is maintaining steady ranks - we think Squishmallows are here to stay for a while.   Peaky Blinders Costume British drama series Peaky Blinders went on to its sixth, and final, season in 2022, capturing the interest of American viewers and providing plenty of Halloween costume inspiration from characters dressed as 1900s-era gangsters in sharp suits, newsboy caps, and waistcoats. The sixth season generated big buzz on social media, so we predicted the Peaky Blinders Costume would have even more interest than previous years. As we predicted, Halloween 2022 did see an increase in searches for Peaky Blinders Costumes - 22% more than October 2021. While season six is the final installment of the series, a Peaky Blinders movie is slated to be released, leading us to believe we may continue seeing this turn of the century fashion in Halloweens ahead.   Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Cocktails Over the past several years, we have seen significant interest in Thanksgiving cocktails, with inclusions of Fall flavors like cranberry, pumpkin, and apple cider. Although the peak of search interest was in 2020, we predicted 2022 would see a stronger “buzz” for these delectable drinks. This Thanksgiving there was a 22% increase in queries for Thanksgiving cocktails over last year. Although 2022 didn’t surpass 2020 numbers, it rose to meet them at about 165,000 searches each year, showing us it wasn’t just a quarantine phenomenon. We can’t wait to see what traditional Thanksgiving dinner concoctions pop up next year (gravy cocktail anyone?).   Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board As charcuterie boards in general become trendier, we have seen all manner of spins on them. This last Thanksgiving we predicted Thanksgiving themed boards would be more popular than ever, after search interest tripled in volume between 2020 and 2021.    Searches for Thanksgiving charcuterie boards reached an all-time high in 2022, with 20% more searches than in 2021 peaking at 110,000 searches. With a combination of people looking to add another element to the dinner table with a classic charcuterie board, and those looking for an expressly Thanksgiving themed spread, we hope Thanksgiving boards will maintain their popularity next year as well (we want to snack!).    Black Friday Boots (Thursday Boots) Black Friday marks the (unofficial) start of the winter season, and there’s no better time to buy that new pair of boots you’ve been eyeing. Searches for Boots saw a decrease in volume during the 2020 season, but have since seen increased volume into 2021. With more and more activities being open post-pandemic, we predicted that this trend would continue into the Black Friday season of 2022.     Search interest for Boots did see an increase based on October 2020 volume, however we didn’t see the interest reach the 2021 volume. Consumers were searching for individual boot brands such as Thursday Boots and Tecovas, as we saw both of those brands have increased search volume in October 2022.    Electric Toothbrush In previous years, we have seen small spikes in search volume for “electric toothbrush” in the summer months. We’ve determined this is likely due to June being National Smile Month and Amazon Prime Day in July. We also saw search volume have a sharp increase in October & November of previous years - most notably in 2021. Based on these trends, we predicted that search interest for “electric toothbrush” would continue to increase in 2022.     Unfortunately, our prediction here did not come true. It seems that unlike previous years, consumers saw deals on Prime Day that were too good to pass up and by Black Friday they had already made their purchase. Maybe next year the Black Friday deals on Electric Toothbrushes will be worth the wait.   That concludes our look back at this seasonal trends report.  We feel like we did pretty well.  Some topics weren’t as popular as we expected them to be but most of them lived up to expectation.  Secretly, we were hoping that the Pumpkin flavor thing was going to show some decrease, but the people have searched and the data doesn’t lie.  We will examine our Top Trends For Winter 2022-2023 in a few months.

In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for December 2022. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month.   The Final Report For 2022 When the calendar flips to the month of December, there’s a feeling of reflection that we, as writers of this blog series, feel we must express.  Capturing the top 3 queries from Google’s Daily Trends reporting module is a manual effort and because this effort takes time, our minds need to be focused on these phrases. We can’t escape the pondering of why these keywords were queried in Google.  At the end of the year, our thoughts drift to the wonder of what we learned. Have we learned anything from examining these top keywords? Looking back at the year, we observed behavior that’s similar to past years with little nuances that were unique to 2022.  For instance, people really like searching about sports but this year, the World Cup captivated Google searchers. You’ll learn more about World Cup queries in this report. When famous people die, their name typically becomes a top query of the day. Predictably, queries related to Queen Elizabeth II’s death were on another level in terms of volume. Lastly, the biggest takeaway was the searches for medical conditions.  If there was an announcement of a famous person having a condition, it drove people to search.  For example, when the family of Bruce Willis stated he was stepping back from acting on March 30th, 2022 because of his aphasia diagnosis, it was queried over 10 million times.  Last month, we had another query that fit this particular category, which we’ll examine later on in this post.    Top Phrases of 2022 12th Month The top queries of December 2022 are as follows: Kirstie Alley - 12/5/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries tWitch - 12/14/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Argentina vs France - 12/17/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Sadly, the first two are associated with deaths.  Kirstie Alley died on December 5th and the DJ Stephen "tWitch" Boss died on the 13th. The championship match for the World Cup occurred on the 17th and many people were engaged with the game on Google Search. December is for Holidays December is the month for holidays.  Let’s see which ones were searched for the most. Pearl Harbor Day - 12/7/2022 - 500,000+ queries Merry Christmas - 12/24/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Boxing Day - 12/25/2022 - 200,000+ queries Happy New Year 2023 - 12/30/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Pearl Harbor Day has been gaining search query popularity over the past two years. We were not surprised to see the query make the daily top 3 last year since it was the 80 year anniversary of the attack.  This year, the query volume for the phrase wasn’t as high as it was in 2021 but it was still enough to make our collection.  The new holiday query for this year was Boxing Day.  In our 4 year records, we never saw this holiday make the list.  2022 changed that. Let’s look at all the available data for this term.     The highest peak occurred in 2019 but slid a bit in 2020. Since then, search interest has been on the rise. Will we see a larger peak for this day after Christmas celebration in the USA in 2023? We will have to see!  Medical Condition Queries As it was stated in the look back at 2022, medical conditions of famous people drive search queries. Stiff person syndrome - 12/8/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries When Celine Dion revealed she was postponing her tour because she had Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), the need to know more was satisfied with Google Search. It’s important to know that when it comes to health information, Google is still the place to research. Popular Movies & Shows December 2022 had a few entertainment options that were worth noting: White Lotus - 12/11/2022 - 500,000+ queries Black Adam - 12/16/2022 - 200,000+ queries Emily in Paris - 12/21/2022 - 200,000+ queries Glass Onion - 12/23/2022 - 500,000+ queries The season 2 finale of the HBO TV show, “The White Lotus” aired on December 11th and people wanted to know more.  The Black Adam film was available for streaming on the 16th.  The third season of “Emily in Paris” became available on the 21st and on the 23rd, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was released on Netflix. In addition to these queries, Amazon announced that it secured the rights to the intellectual property of the Warhammer 40,000 game.  Warhammer - 12/16/2022 - 100,000+ queries Henry Cavill is set to star and serve as an executive producer in future shows and films. Special Elections and Other News The final election of the 2022 midterms was held on the 6th of December.   Georgia Senate Race - 12/6/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody on the 8th after being detained for months. Brittney Griner - 12/8/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Sorry if you were traveling last month on Southwest Airlines, but you probably know better than most that their canceled flights were a hot topic. Southwest Airlines - 12/26/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries The former pope passed away on the 31st, almost 10 years after resigning from the papacy in 2013. Pope Benedict - 12/31/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Greta Owned Twitter and Search We’re not sure if you follow the trends on Twitter. We don’t follow them as closely as we do for Google.  Last month, Greta Thunberg traded barbs with the former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate.  The viral exchange eventually led to Tate’s arrest in Romania.  Greta Thunberg - 12/27/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Greta Thunberg - 12/28/2022 - 500,000+ queries Greta Thunberg - 12/29/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries For three days straight, Greta not only owned Andrew Tate but also Google Search. NFL As usual, sports-related queries made up most of our collection from last month.  We broke up the list into 3 sections; NFL, NBA, and World Cup.  Here is the timeline for teams in December 2022:  Packers - 12/4/2022 - 500,000+ queries Detroit Lions - 12/4/2022 - 500,000+ queries Rams - 12/7/2022 - 500,000+ queries Dallas Cowboys - 12/11/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Buccaneers - 12/11/2022 - 500,000+ queries Patriots - 12/12/2022 - 500,000+ queries 49ers - 12/15/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Seahawks - 12/15/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries NFL - 12/17/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Patriots - 12/18/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Jacksonville Jaguars - 12/18/2022 - 500,000+ queries Jets - 12/22/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Dallas Cowboys - 12/23/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Green Bay Packers - 12/24/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Raiders - 12/24/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Chargers - 12/26/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Dallas Cowboys - 12/28/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Were people searching because their team won or lost in dramatic fashion?  The answer is both.  Here’s a list of NFL player names that made the list: Deion Sanders - 12/2/2022 - 500,000+ queries Jimmy Garoppolo - 12/4/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Kyler Murray - 12/12/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Russell Wilson - 12/25/2022 - 500,000+ queries J.J. Watt - 12/25/2022 - 200,000+ queries J.J. Watt - 12/27/2022 - 500,000+ queries Derek Carr - 12/28/2022 - 500,000+ queries An ex-player took another job (Sanders), a few players got hurt (Garoppolo, Murray), a couple of players didn’t play well (Wilson, Carr), and one player is retiring (Watt). NBA When it comes to American professional sports, the NBA is the second most popular in search interest (next to the NFL).  Did your favorite team/player make the list? Celtics - 12/10/2022 - 200,000+ queries Warriors - 12/14/2022 - 200,000+ queries Knicks - 12/20/2022 - 100,000+ queries Nets - 12/21/2022 - 200,000+ queries Luka Doncic - 12/27/2022 - 500,000+ queries The lone player name (Doncic) scored 60 points on the 27th. World Cup Finally, the World Cup was still the most popular subject this month as it was in November 2022.  Take a look at this timeline!  Can you follow the teams through the matches?   Cameroon vs Brazil - 12/1/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries South Korea vs Portugal - 12/1/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Costa Rica vs Germany - 12/1/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Netherlands vs USA - 12/2/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Argentina vs Australia - 12/2/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries England vs Senegal - 12/3/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries France vs Poland - 12/3/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries England vs Senegal - 12/3/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Portugal vs Switzerland - 12/5/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Brazil vs South Korea - 12/5/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Croatia vs Brazil - 12/8/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Netherlands vs Argentina - 12/9/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Morocco vs Portugal - 12/9/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries England vs France - 12/9/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries France vs Morocco - 12/10/2022 - 200,000+ queries Argentina vs Croatia - 12/12/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries France vs Morocco - 12/13/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Francia vs Marruecos - 12/13/2022 - 200,000+ queries Messi - 12/13/2022 - 200,000+ queries Argentina vs France - 12/14/2022 - 500,000+ queries Croatia vs Morocco - 12/17/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries The championship query is listed in the first section of this report and it received over 10 million queries on the 17th.  Interesting to note that the Spanish version of the France vs Morocco query also made the top 3 of the Daily Trends on the 13th. After the past two months, we have a better understanding of the USA’s interest in the World Cup and the diversity of the audience with a Spanish query making the report. Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we utilize search trends data for all of our clients and we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.

Social media is, as 2022 has proved, an ever-changing landscape. Based on trends, consumer insights and cultural shifts, a lot can change very quickly. While social media can be a moving target, and there will be much more to track in the months to come, these are our new year predictions for social media in 2023. Let’s see which ones we’ll still be talking about in December… Twitter & Emerging Platforms It wouldn’t be a 2023 social media forecast if we didn’t start off by mentioning 2022’s Twitter madness. One of the biggest takeaways from the Twitter exodus are the various emerging platforms that have come to life. Mastodon Social, Twitter’s “alternative” has been around for 6+ years which uses servers and allows users to follow topics and other users, similar to Twitter and Reddit. Hive Social is an emerging platform that focuses on the “simplicity” of social media, it's a mix of MySpace (music on your page anyone?!) Instagram (chronological photo posts) and Twitter, ultimately allowing you to express yourself without the pressure associated with social media.  Tumblr has made a big comeback with some users jumping from Twitter to the “microblogging” network.We’ve also seen a reemergence of personal newsletters and blogs/websites. Short Form Video Maintains Power Though we can’t say if Vine will make a comeback, we know that TikTok is not going anywhere. It’s no coincidence that Instagram has leaned heavily into Reels and short form video content in 2022. US adults spend on average 38 minutes watching video on social networks per day in 2022.  There's a few reasons why short form video content has such a grasp on audiences: The versatility (have you seen those clips that stop you in central park and ask what you’re wearing?) Viral audio options (fun opportunities to remix or duet with trending sounds) Gen-Z’s shortened attention span (Gen Z is most likely demographic to skip content—including ads—that doesn’t interest or entertain them) Auto play lowers the barrier of entry for engagement, and makes grabbing the attention of your audience easier. Shoppable Social Closely related to short-form video is social shopping, which will boom in 2023 with almost half of the US population expected to order something they saw on social media in the new year. There are major opportunities in the new year for advertising to get creative and gain the attention of Gen-Z (the generation most likely to shop on social). We’ve seen social media platforms rise to the occasion with Facebook Shop, Facebook Messenger for customer service and purchasing, TikTok adding  more shoppable solutions with new ad units, shopping tab to profiles, and exploring live shopping. Instagram building out their Shop Tab, and the seamless integration of card and shipping information. User reviews and hauls are also leading the movement of social shopping. Live shopping is going to become increasingly popular in 2023, with brands working directly with influencers and creators to produce live unboxings and hauls. A brands’ best bet to strengthen e-commerce on social? Build trust among consumers, focus on customer service and accessibility. What items, if anything, have you purchased on social media in the past year?   User-Facing Content Between the BeReal boom and shoppable social, consumers want products and experiences that are authentic and relatable now more than ever. The era of user-generated content (UGC) is here: Reviews, unboxings, tutorials and product reviews posted on social media have placed consumers in the influencer role. Influencers and content creators know and work towards this strategy, but brands are able to  go a step further with these genuine experiences and reviews by real consumers.    Mixed Media Experiences Content that combines online with real life experiences, which we’ve seen more frequently this year, will really gain momentum in 2023. Mixed media blends two different mediums and in 2022 we’ve seen a lot of interesting mixed media experiences, including: Pinterest launching Shuffles an invite-only collage-making app Burberry partnering with Minecraft to promote a special collection and in-game adventure #BookTok TikTok’s very own book club Concerts in the Metaverse  According to Instagram’s 2023 Trend Report mixed media will rule content creation. The next generation expects their favorite influencers to branch into new forms of media. For example, over 40% of Gen Z followers want to hear podcasts from their favorite social media creators in 2023.   Search Going Social In 2022, it was revealed that younger users are “often turning to apps like Instagram and TikTok instead of Google Search or Maps for discovery purposes.”(TechCrunch) 40% of Gen Z users prefer using TikTok and Instagram for search over Google. Information is shown in a more visually-appealing way on TikTok discovery video versus a plain-old Google search. TikTok videos tend to be quick, human and visually immersive - all factors that urge us to try something new. In 2023 we’re going to see this trend increase as users can find recommendations, local businesses, and store information and hours all through social media. TikTok just began to allow ads to appear in search.There is a lot of opportunity for TikTok and Meta to venture into search advertising and take advantage of these existing behaviors.  Here we go! 2023 is already off and running. What are you most looking forward to seeing on social media in 2023?

Taking a closer look at marketing’s favorite buzzword “Disruption”. “Zeitgeist”. “Thumb-Stopping”. We all have buzzwords that we wish we could tune out. Mine is “authentic” - a word that I’ve described as the corporate equivalent of “moist”. Yet it’s a difficult one to avoid. It seems that every organization, publication, and thought leader can’t get enough of the adjective. Businesses and brands are regularly tasked with the impossible mission of looking, sounding, or just being authentic. And with the new year comes new projects and briefs to chase this intangible goal. Here’s the problem: brands are corporate entities, not people, and have no business trying to be authentic. In fact, most attempts to crack the elusive code of authenticity and “be relatable” often hurt more than help (see: the endless stream of cringey TikToks from tone-deaf brands). I know what you’re thinking. “But look at the legacy of the Dove Real Beauty campaign! The rise of BeReal! Whatever DuoLingo is doing on TikTok!” There is a method to the madness, but it requires a closer look at larger trends.   Chasing an “authentic” human face Ever notice how the term “sellout” doesn’t get thrown around the same way it used to? That’s because the term has shifted from a pejorative to an ideal: 86% of young Americans want to be influencers, a role that comes not only with clout and followers but brand deals and sponsorships. Being chosen as a guest at a corporate event or becoming a brand ambassador has become the ultimate status symbol. Practically, the choice makes sense for both parties. Influencers can monetize their content, while brands gain a human face, an attentive audience, and relatable examples of how their products can be used.  Aside from speaking through influencers, many brands now use their community managers and other employees as human faces for consumers to connect to. A scroll through TikTok shows many branded accounts not speaking about their products or participating in trends, but bemoaning restraints from their legal teams or their constant need to post content. Again, these are people who act as stand-ins for a business. But what if businesses were simply transparent about what they were? In an age where every brand is trying to appear authentic by using internet speak and filming their mascots doing dances, the most radical thing might be to honestly share what your brand stands for or is up to on a day-to-day basis.   It’s okay to not be authentic If you’re reading this, I assume you’re one of Beyoncé’s 278 million Instagram followers, but just in case I can briefly describe her profile. Her grid is populated with stylized glamor shots, usually featuring only herself in designer outfits on sets, in mansions, and on yachts. Her photos rarely have captions and she follows no one. This behavior is a far cry from the mundane “authentic” mirror selfies and pleasant vacation photos posted by our friends. Yet it makes complete sense because Beyoncé is a multimillionaire and the most awarded singer in Grammy history.   Just as Beyoncé’s over-the-top social posts fit with her personal brand and lifestyle, so too can brands craft a presence that tells a story about who they truly are, all while being honest, distinct, and engaging.    Instead of “being authentic”, why not try… Being transparent Give people a look behind the curtain about how things work or the decisions your team is making. Better yet, give them a say in the decision-making process. Being helpful Answer questions or clean up confusion around your products, or teach your audience something genuinely useful to their day-to-day lives.  Being understanding Understand the tensions in your audience’s lives and how you can solve them. Keep a pulse on what’s relevant and valuable to them.

In anticipation for what 2023 will bring, AMP has already moved into building next year’s communication and influencer strategies for our clients. Anticipating trends in the market is the key to pleasing our clients and  appealing to their audiences and, most importantly, helping marketers position their brands as leaders within the space.  The AMP PR & Influencer Team predicts a shift in influencer marketing and public relations next year: PR must think beyond the media pitch, and one-off influencer marketing activations aren’t as valuable as longer-term partnerships.     Traditional pitching isn't enough anymore. According to Pew Research, newsroom employment in the U.S. has fallen 26% since 2008, even as the demand for online content has grown exponentially. As a result, media outlets have fewer full-time writers to satisfy demand, leading us to switch to the following pitching tactics: Editorial content drives trust:  Contributed content, bylines, and op-eds are a healthy part of any PR mix. Due in part to reporter burnout, we have seen an increase in the demand for contributed articles, which presents our clients with additional opportunities to share their expertise. Contributed articles offer insight and first-person perspective on relevant topics and are a  great way to position a brand as a thought leader in the industry. Data and analytics take center stage:  Media relations is about building genuine relationships and reaching the point where a reporter knows they can turn to your client as a resource. We have seen success in sharing data-driven stories to establish our clients as credible sources for future stories within the trade, lifestyle, and business media.  Tap into the power of podcasts: Podcasts are more popular than ever. Statista found that 62% of U.S. consumers listened to audio podcasts this year alone. This nontraditional form of media is an excellent addition to our client’s thought leadership strategy, not just because they are popular. Podcasts are a great way to get our clients more comfortable in interviews while reaching a concentrated and highly interested audience.  Long-term Influencer partnerships are beneficial for brands AND influencers. Long-term influencer programs are essential for brands looking to fully realize the value of influencer marketing. We have seen that long-term partnerships can be mutually beneficial for both parties and more impactful than working with partners through one-off activations in the following ways: Building audience trust: By working with partners on multiple campaign activations, brands can drive stronger audience interest and engagement. When partners share multiple posts in partnership with a brand they love, their audience can begin to build stronger, authentic connections compared to one-off sponsored posts. Additionally, repeat exposure is a great driver of brand recognition and consideration. Better collaboration: Through extended partnerships, influencers are able to gain a better understanding of brand voice and build that into their content in authentic ways (with less edits required). Extended relationships also allow brands and their partners to better understand each other’s ways of working which can make the creative flow and content review process even more streamlined. Better collaboration can also lead to more exciting, innovative ideas from influencers as they build more honest and open relationships with brand partners. Stronger Performance Metrics: Extended partnerships can help you better analyze and learn what content themes resonate with influencers’ audiences to drive content recommendations for future activations. Also, by working with partners across multiple campaigns you can create performance benchmarks rooted in data, which can help to optimize for future campaigns. When both parties are equipped with more actionable data, you’ll be impressed to see how your partners continue to elevate their content. Cost Efficiencies: When working with influencers over a longer time period, you can bundle influencer content packages and rates, which provide cost efficiencies from a fee and contracting standpoint. Many influencers charge a flat ‘per post’ or campaign fee, but when bringing partners on to a longer activation there can be more room to negotiate and come to a mutually beneficial place for both parties.   When considering how to capitalize on these trends moving into 2023, it's important to remember that a strong strategy always backs successful marketing. The best brands have a strategic plan crafted by professionals with a pulse on the industry and experience weaving creativity with proven results to drive success.

In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for November 2022. Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month. Long Story Short Elections and World Cup - that’s it. If you wanted us to boil down the full list of Google Search queries that happened in November 2022, we’d tell you those two topics were the top ones.  Of course, there is more to our search behavior than just voting and soccer.  If it were that easy, the AMP Agency SEO team could keep these reports down to a few lines each month. But no, life is not easy and we do have 90 keywords to sift through. The Powerball lottery was popular again this month until somebody won. There were tech layoffs and wild weather to learn more about. There were shows and movies to watch and Black Friday Deals to research. Lastly, there were other sports to follow besides soccer although at times, it didn’t seem like it.  Let’s examine the month that was with the search keywords as reported by Google Trends. 10 Million Queries of These Phrases In total, there were seven keywords that were queried over ten million times in a 24 hour period last month.  Most of them fit into other categories so we’ll discuss them later on in the article.  Here are the three phrases that sit outside our groupings: Takeoff - 11/1/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Aaron Carter - 11/5/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Veterans Day - 11/10/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Sadly, the first two were triggered by celebrity deaths. The AMP team doesn’t typically report on these types of phrases but their query numbers met the tool’s reporting maximum.  Google changed their logo on Veterans Day, which led to a large number of queries for the holiday. Powerball Fever Continues As it was in October 2022, the Powerball lottery was a popular subject last month.  Powerball - 11/1/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Powerball - 11/2/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Powerball - 11/7/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries That is, until somebody won. Then, people didn’t care as much.  When the jackpot is high, so is the search interest. Midterm Elections With Google’s help, the topic of the midterm elections was very popular in the first couple of weeks in November 2022. How do i vote - 11/3/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Where to vote - 11/7/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Election results - 11/8/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Where to vote - 11/8/2022 - 10,000,000+ queries Georgia election results - 11/8/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries The natural language questions that you see in the bullet points above were driven by Google Doodles that presented people with results on how and where they could vote. Big Tech Keywords Early in the month, the keywords queried about big tech companies didn’t have a happy intent. Twitter layoffs - 11/4/2022 - 200,000+ queries Meta Layoffs - 11/9/2022 - 200,000+ queries Both Twitter and Meta had layoffs that were newsworthy and led to people searching for information. On a more positive note, Spotify released its annual Wrapped presentation to its users. Spotify Wrapped 2022 - 11/30/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries According to Wikipedia, Wrapped is a viral marketing campaign and it has garnered a lot of publicity for the brand. The AMP team wondered if the popularity for this feature was increasing or decreasing: The peak interest occurred in 2020. SInce then, the popularity has waned a bit although the search interest in 2022 was higher than 2021. Hurricanes and Snowfall Wild weather calls for search to get the most up-to-date and accurate information.  Here are the keywords that people queried Google last month that were weather-related. Hurricane tracker - 11/6/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Hurricane watch - 11/7/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Buffalo Weather - 11/16/2022 - 200,000+ queries Lake effect snow warning - 11/16/2022 - 200,000+ queries As the hurricane season of 2022 came to a close, there was one more hurricane to track.  Named Nicole, the storm made landfall on November 9th. The Buffalo, NY area was hit by a storm where they were measuring snow totals in feet and not inches.  News outlets reported 80 inches of snow dropped from the sky. Are You Not Entertained? Beyond live sports, there are other things to watch.  Here’s a rundown of the most popular shows and movies. CMA Awards 2022 - 11/9/2022 - 500,000+ queries Alan Jackson - 11/9/2022 - 200,000+ queries Black Panther 2 - 11/10/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Yellowstone Season 5 - 11/13/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Spirited - 11/18/2022 - 100,000+ queries The Country Music Association Awards aired on the 9th and Alan Jackson won a lifetime achievement award.  The sequel to Black Panther was released on November 11th and the first episode from the fifth season of Yellowstone aired on the 13th.  Lastly, the Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds Apple TV film was available to stream on the 18th. Also, we’re not sure if you’ve heard, but Taylor Swift broke Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster - 11/14/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries We’re not sure if they will be fixed any time soon.   Thinking About The Time, The Moon, and The Economy We had to turn the clocks back an hour and people wanted to know more. Daylight Savings - 11/5/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries It would be nice to have one time and stick with it. The Artemis rocket finally launched and it happened a day before a lunar eclipse. Artemis launch - 11/15/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Lunar eclipse - 11/6/2022 - 500,000+ queries The topic of the Artemis has been popular since late August 2022 and there won’t be another total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025. The economy is on people’s minds and it’s evident in both of these keywords. Fed rate hike - 11/2/2022 - 200,000+ queries Black Friday Deals - 11/24/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries The rise in interest rates has driven people to search so much that we have reported this phrase in our July and September 2022 reports as well.  Black Friday deals are an annual top queried topic but it was interesting to see that other retailers did not make the daily top 3 this year.  Is there a lower interest in holiday shopping this year because of the economy? The Other Non-World Cup Sports Topics Major League Baseball’s World Series captured search interest this year. The two teams that participated both grabbed a daily top 3 most search keyword spot early in November 2022. Phillies - 11/1/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Astros - 11/5/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries People were also interested in the National Football League last month. Eagles - 11/3/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Panthers - 11/10/2022 - 500,000+ queries Cowboys - 11/13/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Seahawks - 11/13/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Packers - 11/17/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries NFL - 11/24/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Eagles - 11/27/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Gridiron football tends to be the most queried sport in November, but this year, we have the World Cup. World Cup Dominance Without comment, outside of the fact that almost a third of all of the keywords we captured for this article were related to the World Cup, here is the list of all the phrases, the dates that they were reported,and their query volume. Qatar - 11/18/2022 - 500,000+ queries Qatar vs Ecuador - 11/19/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries England vs Iran - 11/19/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Senegal vs Netherlands - 11/19/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries USA vs Wales - 11/20/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries World Cup - 11/20/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Argentina vs Saudi Arabia - 11/21/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries England vs Iran - 11/21/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries France vs Australia - 11/21/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Mexico vs Poland - 11/22/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Spain vs Costa Rica - 11/22/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Germany vs Japan - 11/22/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries England vs USA - 11/23/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Brazil vs Serbia - 11/23/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Uruguay vs South Korea - 11/23/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Portugal vs. Ghana - 11/24/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Argentina vs Mexico - 11/25/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries England vs USA - 11/25/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Portugal vs Uruguay - 11/26/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Spain vs Germany - 11/26/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Brazil vs Switzerland - 11/27/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries South Korea vs Ghana - 11/27/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Iran vs USA - 11/28/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Mexico vs Saudi Arabia - 11/28/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Ecuador vs Senegal - 11/28/2022 - 1,000,000+ queries Saudi Arabia vs Mexico - 11/29/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Japan vs Spain - 11/29/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries Poland vs Argentina - 11/29/2022 - 2,000,000+ queries Japan vs Spain - 11/30/2022 - 5,000,000+ queries It certainly has become a popular topic in search. 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