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 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+. 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.
Well, That Was Quick
We always feel like February comes and goes so quickly. Since it has less days than the other months, it makes sense. During its 28 days, we collected search queries from Google Trends. There were some big topics to query last month including the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the War in Ukraine. Overall, there were 9 keyword phrases that were queried over 10 million times in February 2022, which is only 2 less than the previous month. Maybe we just did more in less days last month.
Along with the aforementioned topics, we'll examine the top queried phrases related to the world of entertainment, politics, and the weather. Winter can bring some tough conditions and we need to know how to deal with them. Google seems to be the tool to help us learn more and figure out the best course of action. Here's our take on the search trends of February 2022.
Doodles To Noodle
You know the score: Google changes their logo to a clickable visual. Those clicks become queries to their engine and they get counted in Trends. These three phrases were triggered by Doodle clicks:
- Lunar New Year – 2/2/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Toni Stone – 2/8/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Dr Michiaki Takahashi – 2/16/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
The Lunar New Year made our list again. We saw it first as a Doodle on January 31st but the Doodle fun lingered into February. Toni Stone was celebrated on the 8th as she was the first of three women to play professional baseball. Her Doodle was published in honor of the 1 year anniversary of her induction into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame. Dr Michiaki Takahashi invented the first chickenpox vaccine and his Doodle coincided with what would have been his 94th birthday.
Holidays
February has some minor holidays. Let's take a look at the ones that made the daily top 3:
- Groundhog Day 2022 – 2/1/2022 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Valentine’s Day – 2/14/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
We went a little further to understand the popularity of these two holidays over time. Let's just say the data tells two different tales:
Groundhog Day is gaining popularity and riding a 2 year wave, with a peak in interest this past February.
On the other hand, Valentine's Day is decreasing in search popularity and has been on a 4 year skid. For Google searchers, a season-predicting rodent is better than a box of chocolates.
The TV & Movies Were Worth Searching For
February had an interesting mix of video entertainment that made the Google Trends daily top 3:
- Tommy Lee – 2/2/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Jackass Forever – 2/4/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Inventing Anna – 2/11/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Uncharted – 2/17/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- John Mulaney – 2/26/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Euphoria Season 3 – 2/27/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
For movies, Jackass Forever and Uncharted were released last month and drove interest on their opening nights. For TV events, The Pam & Tommy miniseries debuted on Hulu last month and drove queries for Tommy Lee. Inventing Anna was released on Netflix and piqued the interest of Google users. Towards the end of the month, John Mulaney, who is no stranger to the Google Trends daily top 3, made the list due to his hosting of Saturday Night Live. His entry on February 26th was his third appearance since May 2021. Lastly, the season 3 finale of the HBO original series Euphoria captivated searchers to learn more about the episode.
It's awards season so people want to know more about the performers getting nominated for and winning awards.
- Oscar Nominations 2022 – 2/8/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- SAG Awards 2022 – 2/27/2022 – 500,000+ queries
The Oscars had a down year in 2021 in terms of search interest. We'll monitor and report next month if the awards show had a turnaround in interest this year.
In The News
When news breaks, people search. The biggest news story in February was Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but there were other stories that triggered queries in Google.
- Jeff Zucker – 2/2/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Similac recall – 2/17/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- CDC mask guidelines – 2/25/2022 – 500,000+ queries
Jeff Zucker resigned from CNN because of his relationship with a colleague and Similac and other baby formula brands were recalled following complaints about bacterial infections in infants who consumed the products. Finally, after several months of COVID-related queries that were not so great, the CDC relaxing mask guidelines drove queries on the 25th.
Ukraine Invasion
It's been in the news and on our minds for a couple of months now. We present this timeline as a record of how the war has unfolded via search queries.
- Ukraine – 2/11/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Ukraine – 2/21/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Russia – 2/21/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Ukraine – 2/22/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Ukraine – 2/22/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Russia Ukraine – 2/22/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Ukraine – 2/23/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Russia – 2/23/2022 – 5,000,000+ queries
- NATO – 2/23/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Fox News – 2/24/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Russia invades Ukraine – 2/24/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- SWIFT – 2/26/2022 – 500,000+ queries
From this list, we saw some duplication in the list as the search volume was very high for this topic on the 22nd and 23rd. In the past, we have seen Google Trends have an issue with duplication of phrases, especially on keywords that have a huge spike in interest. We'll keep collecting the top 3 phrases of the day, hoping that the conflict comes to an end.
Politics Topics
Last month, there was a nominee for a new Supreme Justice.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson – 2/24/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Ketanji Brown Jackson husband – 2/25/2022 – 500,000+ queries
The AMP team found it interesting that not only did the candidate's name make the daily top 3 but also queries about her husband. We guess it's interesting that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is related to former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan through marriage.
President Biden's first State of the Union address drove queries on the 28th.
- State of the Union – 2/28/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- State of the Union 2022 – 2/28/2022 – 500,000+ queries
We wonder if users needed to refine their search to include the year since it seems as Google should have been able to give up-to-date results on the first query.
Tech Sector Keywords
From the world of technology, there were subjects that people queried to understand better and gain information.
- Samsung – 2/9/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Truth Social – 2/20/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Starlink – 2/26/2022 – 500,000+ queries
On the 9th, the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event took place and the new S22 series was unveiled. Donald Trump's long awaited social media platform launched on the 21th and Elon Musk launched Starlink on the 26th.
Winter Weather
Snow, ice, and wind are a big part of winter weather in the USA. Here are two weather related phrases that made the daily top 3:
- Winter Storm Warning – 2/16/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Snow squall – 2/18/2022 – 500,000+ queries
We don't think we have figured out the Winter Storm Warning query yet since it has appeared numerous times over the past few months. We thought there was a Google-enabled automatic query for the phrase, but it may be an aggregation of related phrases for the purposes of Google Trends Daily Trend reporting.
You can see that the volume on the topic has exploded only recently:
It's odd because there have been winter storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service before 2022. We are not sure why they are becoming a topic that Google is picking up on now.
Who learned the definition of a snow squall this year? It looks many people did.
This Year's Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing and although the TV ratings were down, there was enough search interest for the games and the athletes to report in our post.
- Winter Olympics – 2/3/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Shaun White – 2/3/2022 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Olympic medal count – 2/4/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Eileen Gu – 2/6/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Nathan Chen – 2/7/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- Eileen Gu – 2/8/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Shaun White – 2/10/2022 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Nathan Chen – 2/10/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Women’s figure skating – 2/17/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
The volume on the first query of this list was assisted by a Google Doodle. Other than that, interest in the games did spur keyword queries throughout their duration with specific athlete's names being the most searched for topics.
What Time Does That Big Game Start?
Every year, the NFL's championship game drives search queries. It is still the most popular sporting event in the USA and the search volume proves it. It may be popular, but people still need to verify when it's happening.
- Superbowl Kickoff time – 2/11/2022 – 500,000+ queries
- What time is the Super Bowl – 2/12/2022 – 5,000,000+ queries
Check out related queries from the past 3 years:
- Super Bowl time – 2/5/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Super Bowl 2020 time – 2/1/2020 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Super Bowl Time – 2/2/2019 – 1,000,000+ queries
The AMP SEO team thinks that knowledge of the kickoff time is important for party meal prep. You have to know when to start the chili or put the wings in the oven so they are ready for the game. Here are the other keywords related to the Super Bowl that made our list:
- Super Bowl 2022 – 2/12/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Mary J. Blige – 2/12/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Joe Burrow – 2/13/2022 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Super Bowl score – 2/13/2022 – 5,000,000+ queries
- NBC – 2/13/2022 – 1,000,000+ queries
Notable queries include Mary J. Blige, who was among several different performers of the halftime show, and Joe Burrow, the losing quarterback of the game. Both of them must have more star power than the others.
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.
Until next month.
