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 March 2021.
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.
The Cruelest Month Is March
We know that T.S. Eliot, in his poem “The Waste Land”, stated that April is cruelest month, but we beg to differ–and we aren't the only ones. Here in the Northeastern part of the USA, winter sticks around too long and the thought of being cooped up in the house for another month is enough to make us loathe March. Last year, the lockdown started in March, so we can add to the list of bad stuff that happens in this month. Luckily, there were more things to distract us this year, like The Grammys, movie releases and NCAA basketball. Let's take a look at what drove people to search last month. Here are the top Google Trends keywords of March 2021, as analyzed by AMP Agency.
March 13th – Wha' Happened?
March is so cruel, Google Trends skipped a day.
For some reason, Google Trends didn't post any information for Saturday, March 13th. There appears to have been a glitch that lasted over 24 hours. From the screenshot, you can see that March 14th was also affected. Typically, for any date, the top 20 phrases are posted in the Trending Searches module. On the 14th, only the top 5 were reported. It's a good thing we don't use Google Trends in place of our calendar because we would be at least a day behind while writing this article.
Coming In Like A Lion
Along with the March 13th glitch, we had a doubled query count on the first of the month.
- Dr. Seuss – 3/1/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Dr. Seuss – 3/1/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
The announcement from Dr. Seuss Enterprises stating that they will stop publishing six of its books did stir users to search for more information but we're not sure why this query had to be published twice. March is so cruel.
What Keywords Were Searched The Most in March
There were four phrases that drove over 10 million queries in March 2021.
- Texas – 3/2/2021 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Meghan Markle – 3/7/2021 – 10,000,000+ queries
- St. Patrick’s Day – 3/16/2021 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Spring season – 3/19/2021 – 10,000,000+ queries
Texas was hit with extremely cold temperatures and massive power outages in the beginning of March. The Oprah Winfrey interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry was quite the bombshell and people wanted to learn more about it. This interview drove a number of related phrases that will be examined in the next section. The other two phrases were driven by Google Doodles where clicks on the altered logo are registered as queries.
About That Oprah Interview
As stated, the Oprah Interview had some lasting effects in the daily top 3 most searched keywords:
- Meghan Markle – 3/3/2021 – 200,000+ queries
- Piers Morgan – 3/8/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- CBS Oprah interview – 3/8/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Piers Morgan – 3/9/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Piersmorgan – 3/10/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
Before the interview aired, Meghan Markle was in the news because an investigation was started into her alleged bullying of two personal assistants that forced them to leave their positions. After the interview aired, the UK broadcaster Piers Morgan reacted to the story Good Morning Britain, which led to him walking off the set and quitting the show.
Other Holiday Queries
St. Patrick's Day and the first day of Spring were the most popular dates, driven by Google Doodles. Here's the list of the other top searched March holiday related keywords.
- International Women’s Day – 3/7/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
- St. Patrick’s Day 2021 – 3/16/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- St. Patrick’s Day – 3/16/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Leprechaun – 3/17/2021 – 200,000+ queries
- April Fools pranks – 3/31/2021 – 500,000+ queries
International Women's Day gained in search popularity year over year. Looking at the 5 year trend, there were more searches for the holiday in 2021 than in 2020 and 2019.
AMP Agency celebrated the day this year and you can read more about it in this post.
Entertainment
There were a few movies that were released during March 2021 that made the daily top 3. Also, the Grammys were held last month, which is unusual because they are typically held in late January or early February.
- Raya and the Last Dragon – 3/5/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Coming to America 2 – 3/4/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Grammys 2021 – 3/15/2021 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Justice League Snyder Cut – 3/18/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Godzilla vs Kong – 3/31/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
The four movies that are listed above had the highest search volumes in the month of March. We like to use the search interest in films on their opening days as an indication of how many people are going to watch, either in theaters or at home. It's curious that Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon did not make the 2 million plus query mark.
The 63rd annual Grammy Awards reportedly had less than half the audience tune in to watch the show live in 2021 vs. 2020. The search volume was down year over year but not by 50%:
According to the same reports, streaming of the event was up 83%. From our search data analysis, it appears that audience interest in the awards show is down but not dramatically so.
Politics
Thankfully, with no raid on the Capitol or impeachment trial this month, there were much fewer keywords related to politics making the daily top 3 in March 2021.
- Kyrsten Sinema – 3/5/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Covid relief bill – 3/10/2021 – 200,000+ queries
- Matt Gaetz – 3/30/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
The senior United States Senator from Arizona made headlines with her vote on the minimum wage bill last month. The H.R.1319 – American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 became law on the 11th and the announcement that Matt Gaetz is facing an inquiry from the Justice Department made headlines on the 30th.
NCAA Basketball
We guess they don't call it March Madness for nothing. The NCAA Basketball tournament was back this year and queries related to it took up a lot of the top 3 this month. Check out the timeline of these 15 keyword phrases as the tourney progressed.
- Michigan basketball – 3/12/2021 – 200,000+ queries
- March Madness 2021 – 3/14/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- NCAA Tournament – 3/18/2021 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Oral Roberts – 3/19/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Syracuse basketball – 3/19/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Abilene Christian – 3/20/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- VCU basketball – 3/20/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Oral Roberts – 3/21/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Illinois basketball – 3/21/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Michigan basketball – 3/22/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Oral Roberts – 3/27/2021 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Syracuse basketball – 3/27/2021 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Alabama Basketball – 3/28/2021 – 500,000+ queries
- Gonzaga basketball – 3/28/2021 – 200,000+ queries
- UCLA basketball – 3/30/2021 – 1,000,000+ queries
The maddest thing about the tournament? The champion isn't crowned until April. We'll have to wait until the next article to discuss it. So cruel.
Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, we invite you to learn more about our SEO services.
Until next month.
