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 October 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.
Looking Back at October 2023
As we gather our notes from the search trends data of the previous month, we are left with melancholy thoughts. Many of the top searched phrases were about tragedies including Matthew Perry’s death, the Hamas terrorist attack, and the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. On the flip side, there were some more light-hearted topics that were queried including the Powerball drawing, the Emergency Alert Test, and the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift romance. We collected keywords related to holidays, politics, and sports to provide you with a pulse of what people are really interested in. Here’s our snapshot of the month in search queries.
Matthew Perry
As we have reported in previous recaps, the AMP team doesn’t normally report on celebrity deaths but this topic was the most searched of the month. When the headlines were published, people went to Google to learn more.
- Matthew Perry – 10/28/2023 – 10,000,000+ queries
- Matthew Perry cause of death – 10/28/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
The Days We Celebrated
There were four holiday-related queries last month that made our collection.
- Columbus Day – 10/8/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Friday the 13th – 10/12/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Halloween – 10/30/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Day of the Dead – 10/31/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
For Columbus Day, we believe many of the queries were related to retail sales and closures. Friday the 13th in October certainly drove more search interest than when it occurs in other months. Halloween and Day of the Dead were celebrated with Google Doodles but the latter drove queries when people clicked on the updated logo (hence a 10x increase in queries).
Become a Billionaire
Over the past few months, we have seen lottery queries spike – may it be Mega Millions or Powerball. Early in October, people had dreams of getting really rich really quick.
- Powerball – 10/3/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Powerball – 10/5/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Powerball numbers – 10/7/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
Most of those people did not win the large jackpot, unfortunately.
Did Your Phone Make a Loud Noise Too?
Reviewing the search terms in early November, we were reminded that there was a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
- Emergency alert test – 10/3/2023 – 500,000+ queries
The test happened on the 4th but you can see that people were preparing or seeking more information about it the day before. If you were on a video conferencing call (like we were), everyone’s phone made a noise at the same time.
Horrific Events
It’s never easy to report on the nightmare news that leads to search interest, but there were two keywords that made our list that deserve reflection.
- Israel – 10/7/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Maine shooting – 10/25/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
On the 7th, The terror group Hamas launched a surprise attack on over 20 communities in Israel. On the night of 25th, a gunman in Lewiston, ME killed 18 people and injured 13 more.
What’s Happening in the House?
In the US House of Representatives, there was a big shake up in the Speaker of the House position. In the beginning of the month, Kevin McCarthy was relieved of his job. Then, Jim Jordan was nominated but then withdrew his application. Finally, a new Speaker of the House was voted on and passed near the end of the month. Hopefully, they can move forward and avoid a government shutdown in November.
- Kevin McCarthy – 10/3/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Jim Jordan – 10/17/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Speaker of the House – 10/24/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
Big Tech Queries
There are two queries that were related to two of the big tech companies in October 2023.
- Pixel 8 – 10/4/2023 – 100,000+ queries
- Amazon Prime Day – 10/9/2023 – 200,000+ queries
The latest Google phone was announced on October 4th and the second of the Amazon Prime Days happened on October 10 and 11 although less popular in search volume than the previous “day” in July.
Taylor Swift
Google search interest in Taylor Swift’s love life continued to be high last month. Here are the queries that were related to her relationship with Travis Kelce.
- Travis Kelce on Taylor Swift – 10/4/2023 – 100,000+ queries
- Taylor Swift – 10/26/2023 – 500,000+ queries
Although the query volume was larger in September 2023 when news of this pairing broke, it was still notable last month. We will continue to monitor search queries as they relate to “Traylor”.
No Skittles In California?
Wait a minute, what?
- Skittles banned California – 10/10/2023 – 200,000+ queries
No, California is not Banning Skittles but there are ingredients/additives in other foods that Are being banned in California. Thankfully, you can still taste the rainbow in the Golden State.
Sports are always a popular category for search queries. As we have reported in past reports, sometimes sports-related keywords make up the majority of our collection. In October there are plenty of sports events to drive search interest so we broke them up into sub categories.
NBA Starts Again
- Jimmy Butler – 10/2/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- NBA – 10/24/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Celtics – 10/25/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Lakers – 10/26/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- James Harden – 10/31/2023 – 500,000+ queries
The beginning of the 2023-2024 NBA season kicked off last month and historically popular teams made the list. A couple of players also made the list – one for a new look on media day (Jimmy Butler) and one for being traded (James Harden).
MLB Playoffs
Major League Baseball had a nice showing in October 2023 as people followed the details of the league’s playoffs.
- Dodgers – 10/7/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Dodgers – 10/9/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Phillies – 10/9/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Astros – 10/10/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Dodgers – 10/11/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Braves – 10/11/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Rangers – 10/18/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Texas Rangers – 10/18/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Diamondbacks – 10/19/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- World Series 2023 – 10/23/2023 – 200,000+ queries
A pretty nice timeline that ends with a look towards the last matchup.
F1 Racing
The 2023 United States Grand Prix was held on the 22nd, but a free practice session was held on the 20th.
- F1 – 10/20/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
F1 has made our list a few times in the past few months so we boldly state that this type of car racing is gaining interest in the USA. Let’s look at the interest over the last 5 years:
There is some seasonality to this search keyword as we enter the winter season, but we expect a jump in query volume in February/March 2024.
It’s Not Just Colorado Football
The hype about The Colorado Buffaloes appears to have died down and we’re back to wider array of school-related keywords.
- Oklahoma football – 10/6/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Colorado football – 10/13/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Oregon football – 10/14/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Michigan football – 10/19/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Penn State Football – 10/21/2023 – 500,000+ queries
College teams will appear in our November and December reports – count it!
NFL Teams
The National Football League entered its second full month of the season and team-related queries took over the month. Check out the timeline from October 2023:
- Eagles – 10/1/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Chiefs vs Jets – 10/1/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Seahawks – 10/2/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Chicago Bears – 10/5/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Cowboys – 10/8/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Buffalo Bills – 10/8/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Chiefs – 10/12/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- 49ers – 10/15/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Buffalo Bills – 10/15/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Cowboys – 10/16/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Dallas Cowboys – 10/17/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Saints – 10/19/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Eagles – 10/22/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- 49ers – 10/23/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Eagles – 10/23/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Bills – 10/26/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- 49ers – 10/29/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Eagles – 10/29/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Detroit Lions – 10/30/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- NFL trade deadline – 10/30/2023 – 500,000+ queries
If your team didn’t make the list, maybe there was hope to be found at the trade deadline.
Or maybe not.
Watch The Eclipse
On Saturday the 14th, a solar eclipse was visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many South and Central American countries.
- Solar eclipse 2023 – 10/13/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
We feel that most people were searching to learn more about how to see this natural occurrence but maybe there was some interest in what kind of omen this particular solar eclipse was bringing as they searched on Friday the 13th. May it be an omen of better days ahead.
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