Luxury spending by people seeking the absolute finest is nothing new, but this type of shopping only happens in small, exclusive, foreign boutiques, right? Or do people search for luxury items online too? If so, in what volume, and what products or services are they actually seeking?

Recent research by Epiar Inc. took a look into these questions, analyzing the top 5900 phrases relating to the word “luxury” as entered into search engines. Out of these 5900 phrases, the following topics rose to the top of public demand:

Please click here for a complete listing of luxury phrases.

Luxury Hotels, Condos, Travel & More

High numbers of geographic references appeared throughout luxury-related searches (relative to search behaviour in other fields of inquiry.) In the top 2700 searches which included a Canadian or American geographic reference, searches for homes, villas, condos, and other real estate were balanced by searches for travel aids such as hotels, cars, and rentals.

In fact, luxury cars were one of the highest-searched items found in this study. Some searches seemed to be for purchasing a car, while others (such as “luxury car hire uk”) were in search of rental cars that include a chauffeur!

On a separate topic, a prominent theme emerged surrounding bedding, suggesting that people will spare no expense to ensure a good night’s sleep. Also included in this group of searches were several requests for luxury dog or cat beds – sounds like a good deal for some lucky Fido or Boots!

Epiar Inc. is an Edmonton-based internet market research and search engine optimization company. Please contact us for more information or to commission your own research reports.

With a growing public awareness of the connection between toxic chemicals in our immediate surroundings and our overall quality of life, it is no surprise that increasing numbers of people are choosing organic products as one way of cleaning up their lives and personal health. Despite increased prices and imperfections in the commercial organic certification system, there is little doubt that demand for organic products is hot and on the rise.

Recent research by Epiar explored the nature of online search surrounding organic products of all sorts, detailing the top-searched 5800 phrases that include the word “organic”. Surprising trends emerged which show substantial public interest in a wide variety of products and information extending well beyond mere organic fruits and vegetables!

Of interest to green business ventures, the following topics appeared the most frequently along with “organic” in popular search:

Please click here for a complete listing of the top 5800 organic search phrases.

Organic Baby Products – Organic Clothing, Cribs, Food, Bedding, etc.

Surprising numbers of searches were discovered which focus on organic products for children and babies. Presumably, these phrases were entered by parents who want “the best” for their children, in search of organic products to reduce their child’s exposure to toxins through “inorganic” substances. This trend extended well beyond food products, including the following precise search phrases:

• Organic baby products (searched 131 times per day)
• Organic cotton baby clothes (114)
• Organic baby food (110)
• Organic baby bedding (82)
• Organic baby apparel (80)
• Organic baby toys (56)
• Organic baby gift basket (56)
• Organic cotton baby layette (38)
• Infant organic formula (23)
• Toddler organic t shirt (16)
• Organic baby crib mattresses (14)
• Organic baby futons (12)
• Organic baby skin care (10)

Click here for a complete report on organic baby and child product searches – an exciting potential business opportunity for some smart organic webmaster!

Speaking of organic products, it must be nearly time for dinner…

Epiar Inc. is an Edmonton-based internet market research and search engine optimization company. Please contact us for more information or to commission your own research reports.

Millions of people are looking for downloadable material, but what type and for what use? Are people searching for music, games, software, images, articles, or other downloads? Recent research by Epiar looked into these questions, providing potentially useful information for webmasters wanting to add resources to their sites that the public is proven to seek in high numbers.

Within the top 14,000 download-related phrases entered into search engines, the following topics appeared the most frequently:

Please click here for a complete listing of the top 14,000 download phrases.

Taking a Closer Look

Without surprise, searches for downloadable music were prominent. Within these searches, music, songs, and mp3s were among the most popularly searched items. Likewise, high search volume was also present for movies and ringtones.

Searches for Hindi music and movies were surprisingly high - another example of how search frequency research often highlights unexpected facts and trends!

Search activity surrounding computer software was also high (for Microsoft products in particular), as were searches for games. In what ways might software developers or open source advocates capitalize on knowing what people are searching for?

As for the question of how to best monetize downloading activity, there is little doubt that most searchers do not want to pay directly for their downloads. In fact, free was one of the most prominent themes found within this entire study, appearing in approximately 45% of the search phrases. With an estimated 145,000,000 annual searches for all of the phrases included in this study, that’s a lot of opportunities for enterprising and creative webmasters to capitalize on!

Epiar Inc. is an Edmonton-based internet market research and search engine optimization company. Please contact us for more information or to commission your own research reports.

Retailers and entrepreneurs have all had to wrestle with the following questions at some point in time: Assuming I want to sell something, what line of products should I carry? What type of widgets is the market asking for? What unmet opportunities may exist within this market? Once I’ve decided on a general type of widgets to carry, which product features & widget sub-sets are the most likely to sell and should I be sure to have in stock at all times?

Taking a small bite out of this ongoing question, recent research by Epiar explored the nature of online demand for wholesale products. For someone with a half-empty warehouse, an active ecommerce site, and uncertainty over how to grow their operation, the following type of market research could provide some very interesting guidance!

When looking through the top 5900 search phrases that include the word “wholesale”, the following words rose to the top of the list:

Please click here for a complete “wholesale” internet market research report.

Candles and Jewelry: Getting Specific on Product Demand

Taking a closer look at two of the top products requested in “wholesale” internet searches, excellent detailed information for business owners appears. Wholesale candle outlets, for instance, would be well advised to carry scented soy and beeswax candles, information on aromatherapy, and candle making supplies. Moving these products or web content to the front of the web site or simply including them for the first time could create very positive quarterly reports!

Likewise, someone operating a wholesale jewelry business would want to include magnetic jewelry, body jewelry, jewelry for costumes, and products made of sterling silver in prominent places on their web site. That is, assuming they want to carry items the public is looking for…

Allowing search demand to inform which products or accessories to carry has proven to be extremely profitable for several Epiar clients, including businesses which carry hundreds or thousands of products. Simply connecting the dots of supply and demand (which is mapped and calculated using hundreds of thousands of pieces of information) has helped clients realize exponential increases in sales and customer satisfaction. Imagine what impact comprehensive internet market research could have on your line of products (and your bottom line!)

Epiar Inc. is an Edmonton-based internet market research and search engine optimization company. Please contact us for more information or to commission your own research reports.

Presumably, everyone reading this post can understand the English language; at least, for the most part. While most of the words used in common situations are understood by the majority of people, several words and topics also exist that leave people secretly thinking, “What on Earth does _____ mean?” In fact, many conversations include technical terminology, references to pop culture, academic jargon, partially understood terms, or other lexicographically disestablishmentarianistic words not known to everyone around the circle. But how do people look up the meanings of these words later on, and which definitions are sought the most often online?

Recent research by Epiar explored these topics, seeking to answer the following salient questions: For which words do people most commonly turn to the internet for definitions? What trends emerge when examining this group of words? What insight can be gained by knowing which words people most commonly search?

Of the top 9000 phrases entered into search engines which include the word “define” or “definition”, the following words appeared the most frequently:

Please click here for a complete list of the top 9000 definitions people searched for as measured in this study.

Adding Definition to the Definitions

Overall, the top 10 relevant phrases which searched for a definition were:

• first name definitions (searched an estimated 772 times per day)
• word definitions (518)
• definition of technology (496)
• definition of software (482)
• medical definitions (454)
• definition of culture (426)
• blog definition (416)
• definition of science (410)
• legal definitions (408)
• definition of communication (404)

Computer technology searches were quite prominent throughout the study, including:

• domain name server definition (334)
• definition of html (286; an appropriate number, wouldn’t you say?)
• definition of operating system (232)
• definition of cache (230)
• definition of application software (208)
• definition of windows xp (186)

Similarly, searches relating to business and money represented a large portion of searcher curiousity:

• define money market account (268)
• definition of public relations (226)
• definition of management (220)
• definition of marketing (220)
• financial definitions (184)
• definition of investment (164)

Searches relating to physical health were also high:

• definition of physical education (236)
• definition of sport (220)
• define aerobic activity (198)
• definition of obesity (166)
• definition of physical fitness (160)
• definition of holistic (142)

Fun searches also emerged, such as:

• definition of recreation (362)
• definition of love (262)
• definition of play (258)
• a definition of entertainment (248)
• definition of leisure (232)
• definition of art (214)

Surprisingly, searches for obscure academic terminology were relatively low. Clearly, the existence of big words with complex meanings doesn’t mean that mass culture wants to know about them! Still, I was excited to see 84 searches a day for “definition of rhetoric” – 84 curious minds a day intimating hope for contemporary culture’s acute adult trivium and quadrivium deficiency!

Connecting the Dots – From 1’s and 0’s to a More Clearly Defined Meaning:

New lists of digitally gathered words and topics like these seem to spark the question: What does all this information mean? From the standpoint of cultural anthropology, how does the availability of information that details zones of linguistic uncertainty and human curiousity impact a thorough analysis of contemporary culture? In what ways can this information all be applied? Perhaps most importantly: who, aside from a handful of leading-edge businesses, is actually currently taking advantage of this new social data, and to what end?

In the age of the “Shift-F7” thesaurus, the decentralization of informational authority and pop culture, the rise of the 30-second attention span, globalization’s linguistic Darwinism, and the accelerated proliferation of new gadgetry, how will the English speaking world maintain its hold on understanding its own language over time? Are hermeneutic homogeneity and lists of common words that multitudes misunderstand set to expand or diminish into the future? What impact will these changes have on educational systems or other organizations concerned with promoting the public good?

Just one of the many non-technical areas of inquiry being stretched by new information which springs from the digital revolution…

Epiar Inc. is an Edmonton-based internet market research and search engine optimization company. Please contact us for more information or to commission your own research reports.