Why are the Top 5 Lists so different?

A few weeks ago, Yahoo released its “Top 10 Searches of 2010” list, and the real story was that something other than a celebrity topped the list with the Gulf oil spill leading the way.  Well last week, Google released its “Top 5 Searches of 2010” list and the list looks quite different.

Google’s Top 5 Search Terms of 2010:

1. World Cup
2. Olympics
3. Haiti earthquake
4. BP oil spill
5. Ash cloud over Iceland

Yahoo’s Top 5 Search Terms of 2010:

1. The oil spill in the Gulf
2. The World Cup – Soccer
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Kim Kardashian
5. Lady Gaga

Hmmm, what can we learn from this list?

When we look at ways to market your business via the internet, there is always this question of “audience.”  Meaning where do we need to go to find internet users who are more likely to fit your profile.

These “Top 5” lists offer some insight into the differences between Yahoo and Google users.

My own personal observations are:

1.      Google has more of a global reach. Things like the Haiti Earthquake and ash cloud didn’t even make Yahoo’s Top 10.

2.      Google is more trusted for hard news. Given the absence of non-celebrity searches on Yahoo, you have to assume that people go to Google for details on more weight subjects.

3.      Yahoo has a younger audience. The Yahoo list screams “pop” interest with lots of celebrities, and even more of them in the 6-10 spot.

4.      Yahoo is a bit more “hip.” Yahoo’s portal is full of other news stories and related, fun activities.  So it doesn’t surprise me that their searches would be more geared toward people looking for popular or trendy information.

Yahoo Announces their 2010 Top 10 List

As a kid, I always remembered the end of the year as a time to hear the “Top Whatever” from the year.  Usually that meant top songs from the billboards and having to wait through hours of programming just to get to the #1 song.

Well, in 2010 life has certainly changed.  Now we like our Top 10 lists a little more interactive, and we’d like to be the first to hear about them when they are posted to Twitter.  But where does this information come from?  You may have noticed phrases like “trending searches” on your favorite search engine or website which show the top things people are searching for that day or week.

Top 10 internet search topics for 2010 (according to Yahoo):

1. BP – the oil spill in the gulf
2. The World Cup – Soccer
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Kim Kardashian
5. Lady Gaga
6. iPhone
7. Megan Fox
8. Justin Bieber
9. American Idol
10. Britney Spears

Clearly, lots of guys are using Yahoo

Based on the 2010 Yahoo list, you’d have to assume that there are LOTS of dudes using that search engine!  No listings for Tom Cruise or Hugh Jackman in the top 10; but instead there were lots of not-unpleasant looking women earning most of the interest.  Of course, that doesn’t include search interest in Justin Bieber but does he really count anyway?

Rankings are all of a sudden all over the place

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that Yahoo and Bing are merging.  Well sort of.

Yahoo is actually taking its search engine out behind the barn and putting it out of its misery.  They have decided to partner with Bing / Microsoft to provide all of their search results which started in the last few weeks.

What does this mean for you?

Keep an eye on your website leads and traffic in the coming months just in case you see any dips or rises due to these changes.

The results for Yahoo and Bing have been all over the board and changed drastically over the past month, a trend that we’ve observed in almost every campaign we monitor.  And if you normally get good traffic from Yahoo or Bing, there is a chance that could change immediately.

The process has already begun

Yahoo US has already taken the plunge, and you can actually see “Powered by Bing” under the search results.  You will also notice that search results for both Yahoo and MSN should largely be the same for all keywords for this same reason.

We are following this trend as it is still in the initial phases and is not totally completed.  It may lead to further changes.  And even though Yahoo and Bing make up a smaller amount of overall search volume compared to Google, it still has an impact your website rankings and internet marketing efforts.