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 April 2020.
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.
Yes, Banana Bread Did Have Its Moment
There are moments in time that you will always remember. For me, I will never forget how in April 2020, “banana bread” peaked in its search interest. Although it never made the top three queries in the month of April, it did have an impressive jump in query volume in the month of April. I'm not sure it will reach these heights again, but may we always take with us the knowledge that there is a use for that browning bunch of bananas sitting on the countertop.
The Top Trending Keywords
Beyond the search increase of fruit-based bread, here are the top queries we collected in April:
- IRS stimulus check portal- April 15th – 10,000,000+ queries
- Coronavirus tips – April 19th – 10,000,000+ queries
- NFL Draft – April 23rd – 10,000,000+ queries
- Coronavirus tips – April 23rd – 10,000,000+ queries
- Kim Jong Un – April 25th – 10,000,000+ queries
- Popular Google Doodle games! – April 26th – 10,000,000+ queries
Google Doodles make up half of the list, the “Coronavirus tips” query was triggered on two days in April along with the Doodle and announcement that “Popular Google Doodle games!” were going to be re-released to help with everyone's boredom on the 26th.
The IRS stimulus check portal received top queries on what is normally tax day and the nation's need for sports was sort of fulfilled with the virtual NFL Draft that began on the 23rd.
Lastly, queries about Kim Jong Un reached its peak on the 25th as there were multiple reports about his whereabouts and health condition.
Where's My Stimulus Check?
People were also trying to figure out the whereabouts of their Stimulus check in April. Of the 90 phrases we recorded in April, phrases related to Stimulus checks made up 10% of them, including the one that made our 10 million club above. Here are the rest of the keywords in the order of the date they were searched:
- Stimulus check IRS – April 2nd – 200,000+ queries
- Stimulus checks deposit date – April 5th – 1,000,000+ queries
- IRS stimulus portal – April 9th – 500,000+ queries
- Stimulus check 2020 direct deposit – April 10th – 200,000+ queries
- Stimulus Checks – April 13th – 5,000,000+ queries
- Stimulus Check Calculator – April 14th – 500,000+ queries
- IRS stimulus check 2020 – April 17th – 500,000+ queries
- IRS stimulus payments – April 21st – 500,000+ queries
It certainly makes sense that this topic had multiple entries into the top three queries throughout the month and how much the phrases varied from day to day.. It's a reminder of how needed the financial assistance is and that having thorough online resources available for people who are seeking information is crucial.
What Takes The Place Of Live Sports?
If you have followed this series of posts, sports is the most popular category of the top queried phrases in past months.. If there aren't any sports to watch, what do people search for? Thank goodness for documentaries and NFL players coming out for retirement:
- The Last Dance – April 19th – 5,000,000+ queries
- Rob Gronkowski – April 21st – 2,000,000+ queries
- Dennis Rodman – April 26th – 2,000,000+ queries
If TV ad buyers are looking for alternatives to live sports, documentaries are getting a good amount of search interest.
Singing Songs On TV
The top keywords in Entertainment were related to singers on television.
- Andrea Bocelli – April 12th – 1,000,000+ queries
- Disney Singalong – April 16th – 200,000+ queries
- One World: Together At Home – April 17th – 500,000+ queries
- Eddie Vedder – April 18th – 2,000,000+ queries
- Stevie Wonder – April 18th – 200,000+ queries
As we try to get through this together, the power of song is noticeable in our search queries. Live event TV that is geared toward family viewing appears to be driving search interest.
Holidays
One of the things that we picked up throughout the course of this project is the popularity of non-traditional holidays. For instance, Easter is an established holiday but did you know that National Siblings Day happens every April 10th and it's a top searched keyword for two years running?
In 2019, we recorded the phrase “national siblings day” as having driven over 1 million queries – just as it did in 2020. The Google Trends chart for this phrase shows that it was slightly more popular this year:
Although we can't tell with absolute numbers how many more queries Earth Day (April 22nd – 2,000,000+ queries) had over National Siblings Day, we can tell directionally that it still has a while to go until it's as popular. Both holidays have a nice year over year trend, so brand marketers should consider them for their April 2021 plan if there is an appropriate tie-in with either holiday.
Thanks for reading – Until next month.
