2011 in Review: Top Searched for Items on UK Bing and MSN #Trends #PPC #SEO

Chances are that by now you’ve read one or more ‘end of year lists’. Our MSN team polled their readers and Bing looked at its search statistics to offer you an insight at what our audience has been looking for in 2011. Is there anything advertisers can learn from these trends and how do you predict future trends specifically relevant to your business?

What’s the allure of lists?

People (or journalists) seem to like lists. Maybe we feel the need to review what’s been before moving on with something new. Perhaps journalists and bloggers alike feel that lists offer quick ad copy without compromising too much on content when they are short for time at the end of the year. It could be that we like lists because there is so much information around. End-of-year lists say ‘it does not matter you did not keep up with the latest in musical/literary/travel/politic/advertising trends this year. Read our list and you’re up-to-date in fact you may as well have been relaxing on a remote island all of 2011.’

The top tweets, commercials, brands, photographs, books & music of 2011

A quick ‘sweep browse’ of the web offered the ‘The year according to Twitter’ (by the 1^st of December) The most contagious brands of 2011, the best news photos of 2011 the top 100 bestselling books of all time, the best commercials of 2011, the best music of 2011, the best films, the best of sign language accumulated during traveling even the ‘20 unhappiest people you meet in the comments section of end-of-year lists’ The images shock (how much did happen in one year?!) The ads entertain and inspire. The books and films require catching up during which time you’ll be missing out on the best of 2012 – just read the ‘best of 2012 lists’ on a remote island in 2013..

Vintage style clothing – one of the 2011 search trends

What got the British public searching in 2011?

Lists however can offer insights too. MSN & Bing analysed the top search terms and polled users of MSN UK, to reveal what really got the nation going in 2011. Some poll and search statistic results are mostly entertaining but some offer insights which advertisers can turn to the benefit of their (search) advertising.

The poll shows for example what the most searched for fashion houses were in 2011. If you sell any of these brands it is doubly worth the effort to ensure they are called out in your ad copy. Good old fashion items were dusted off and thrown back into the limelight: in women’s fashion espadrilles were back in the picture this year together with men’s army boots and broques, ray-bans, wedges and vintage style clothing. Some years brand new fashion items enter the market (remember meggings and jeggings?) You may not have created ad groups and keywords around these yet – lists remind you. Similarly it’s wise to keep an eye on the trends in the tech & gadget market. The popular items of 2011 will be popular for a while (thus worth the effort of creating keywords, ad groups, campaigns) whilst keeping an eye on new trends (adding model numbers, brands etc.) is advisable.

Bing’s most searched for fashion house of 2011

1. Ralph Lauren

2. Ted Baker

3. Chanel

4. Gucci

5. Vivienne Westwood

6. Armani

7. Louis Vuitton

8. Hermes

9. Lacoste

10. Diesel

Bing’s most searched for fashion items

1. Vintage

2. Ray Bans

3. Retro

4. Barbour Jacket

5. Wedges

6. Toy Watch

7. Backpacks

8. Brogues

9. Espadrilles

10. Men’s army boots

Bing’s Most Searched for Gadgets

1. Kindle

2. Xbox 360

3. Ipad2

4. Iphone4S

5. Nintendo 3DS

6. Windows Phone

7. Blackberry Playbook

8. Blackberry Dakota

9. Android

10. Kinect

Bing’s most searched for artist of 2011

1. Rihanna

2. Justin Bieber

3. Lady Gaga

4. Beyoncé

5. JLS

6. Katy Perry

7. Britney Spears

8. Selena Gomez

9. Adele

10. Jlo

Find all the trends on the UKBing blog or on MSN

Forecasting Future Trends

If you are keen to keep an eye on specific trends relevant to your business have a look at the free excel add-in Microsoft Advertising Intelligence. One of the interesting functions it has is showing the trends for certain search terms over time. This blog posts explains in an easy way how to use it.

Interested in advertising on Bing? Find out how here.