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.
