Bank on Changes to Search Trends This Easter

The Specials once sang about a Ghost Town caused by society. This could be the perfect song to describe the Internet over Easter and into May.

Because if the sun is shining and there are street parties in full flow, expect to find a sense of community last seen in the Seventies; a time when people didn’t rely on the Internet, a time before the Internet.

unprecedented amount of bank holidays in a three week period around Easter and early May is likely to have a major impact on search activity. So what does the Easter bank holiday, Royal Wedding and May bank holiday mean for search?

“The Internet Will Be Deserted!”

Some speculators have predicted that the last two weeks in April could cost British business up to £30billion.

Because Wills and Kate’s big day, 29th April 2011, has been made a public holiday and it comes after the Easter bank holidays, that week will only be three days long for a lot of businesses. As a result productivity is likely to be hit by people making the most of an eleven day holiday by booking off just three days. As a caveat to this though, travel search terms might enjoy an increase as people look for last minute deals and long weekend breaks.

Additionally, with the Prime Minister urging people to organise and join street parties, should the weather be good, more of us will be outdoors.

Ben Bisco, client services director at homejames, believes a combination of these factors could affect search. He said:

“Usual trends will be obscured, with people jetting off as they take advantage of the short weeks to give them long holidays with little impact on their leave allowance. The weather will also have a massive impact – if it’s sunny then the internet will be deserted!”

“There’ll Be Lots of Chatter Because We Are All Social Addicts”

However, the bank holidays, and in particular the Royal Wedding, could present businesses with a unique opportunity.

From a social perspective and through the medium of mobile, there is a suggestion that more people will be logging in and surfing via their mobiles. Mr Bisco also suggests that “people will have more time at home to tweet and Facebook.  There’ll be lots of chatter about the wedding, but will people still want to interact with brands? Probably because we are all social addicts now.”

Yahoo! is looking to tap into this potential goldmine of social activity by setting up a Royal Wedding website.

Potential Winners

As well as a possible increase in social engagement some specific industries might see an increase in search terms during the ‘down time’. Things like poker, bingo and sports betting could see search activity benefit from people having extra time on their hands and some top sporting events going on.

This mirrors a trend typically seen over the Christmas and New Year period.

The important thing to remember is that changes to search habits and volumes are to be expected. Additionally, it could be a great opportunity to leverage some social interaction as the Royal Wedding is likely to be a leading trending topic on most social platforms.