So much time, so many things to complain about … especially with all of the bad news hitting the airwaves lately.  Or, at least, that’s what many people seem to be talking about.

But is the word “negative” really all about complaining, negativity, and ‘walking down the shady side of the street?'

Judge for yourself, but the diversity within this list of common “negative” search phrases (search phrases which include the word “negative”) caught me by surprise.  It turns out that “negative” is a lot less unfavourable than assumed.  

While several of these phrases definitely include an adverse component (eg. “globalization negative effects”, “negative peer pressure”, “negative reinforcement”, etc.), others are completely devoid of disadvantageous sentiment (eg. “type o negative”, “negative calorie foods”, and “negative numbers”).  It seems that negative and positive are not always at odds with each other.

Interestingly, the SEM phrase “negative keywords” (which refers to a bid-type within pay-per-click advertising) did not appear in the top 10 phrase list above.  In fact, "negative keywords" only appeared waaaaay down near the bottom of a more exhaustive list of 2600 “negative” searches. I guess there aren’t that many webmasters out there looking for an easy way to reduce wasted spending on their advertising campaigns!

A few of the funnier searches included on the full list of 2600 searches include:

• “negative creep” – (We all know one!)
• “negative amortization” – (Good luck with that…)
• “negative stain” – (Perhaps from some spilled negative calorie food??)
• “negative pressure rooms” – (Sounds like a fun toy)
• “negative happy chainsaw” – (An indie Japanese movie, I believe…)

Negative or positive, this small glimpse into the world of search has once again proved curious and surprising!

Epiar 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.
 

Summer is just around the corner and when company’s coming you can expect cold beer and hot flames shooting out your trusty backyard grill. But while you put off refinishing your cracked cedar deck another year, you might also be considering what your next BBQ feast should entail. Timeless cookbooks and, now, the Internet might help tantalize those taste buds. Let’s examine what your amateur chef counterparts are searching.

As you could have guessed, the staples of outdoor cookouts topped the list. Chicken, ribs, pork and BBQ sauces are first to sear atop those red hot bricks of charcoal. Unfortunately for our vegetarians, no specific mentions of vegetable recipes made our list. While our top search of ‘BBQ Recipes’ must surely include some non-meat alternatives, it’s safe to say Babe and his compatriots might not enjoy this season as much as the rest of us.
 
If your curiosity for the Q hasn’t been satisfied, let’s take a look at some more interesting items that made our research.

• Graveyard BBQ, 53 daily searches
• Apparently, a dirtcore band featured in the first release of Guitar Hero.
• Dinosaur BBQ, 17
• A hard edged American restaurant chain accompanied by “genuine houserockin’, footstompin’ music…” at least according to their website. Serving up T-Rex sized portions.
• Aussie BBQ, 13
• Australians’ are not to be outdone when skewering wild game ala Crocodile Dundee
• Jack Daniels BBQ, 10
• Ribs infused with Tennessee whiskey can only enhance Saturday afternoons.

Epiar 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.

While in the midst of doing research on various projects, the most unexpected phrases keep popping up in our keyword lists – phrases that real people in presumably real situations obviously feel compelled to enter into search engines.

These phrases are bizarre enough on their own, but what really makes me shake my head and wonder is imagining the situations these poor, unfortunate, confused people must find themselves in the first place…

Bizarre Phrases that People Actually Type into Search Engines:

• My english teacher lost my essay (searched 18 times per day)
• Whole body donation (22)
• Shaving horse (27)
• Cow seeds (6)
• Underground soil (3)
• Natural dog (64)
• Husband doesn’t shower or wear deodorant (5)
• My husband wears my clothes (10)
• Why is my husband a jerk (6)
• How to flirt (179)
• Why is my honda goldwing to hard to push (15)
• Holiday meal with no teeth (4)

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.

Keeping with our theme of blog posts based upon seasons or holidays, and based on the hope that I will be able to spend more time on a patio with a cool drink as a result… today's post is centred on summer.

What are searchers looking for in relation to summer? Are they searching for classic summer cocktails or studiously inquiring about summer school classes?

It's turns out that searchers are doing neither. Looking at the Epiar market search data, we see mainly pop culture references float into the top 10: Justin Timberlake's song 'Summer Love', 'Summer Fashion' & 'Summer Dresses', the song 'Summer Nights' from Grease, the singer/ songwriter 'Donna Summer', and 'Rocket Summer' a power pop band from Texas.

More traditional summer activities round out the top 10 phrases: 'summer camps', 'summer jobs', and 'summer vacation'.

Epiar 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.

Harry Who?

We all know Harry is a popular name, but which Harry is the most popular of all?  According to search trends, "the boy who lived" is even more popular than the real life British prince: 

Surprisingly, historical Harry's such as magician Harry Houdini, US President Harry Truman, and singer-songwriter Harry Chapin remain popular well after their deaths.  Additional Harry's include "Dirty" Harry Callahan, a 1971 movie casting Clint Eastwood as cop Dirty Harry, the gourmet food company "Harry and David", and musicians Harry Belafonte, Harry Connick Jr., and Debbie Harry.

Epiar 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.