The Demo Site

(January 5)

What Are You Searching For? Google knows. Behind that user friendly search page is a serious data machine. Big brother IS watching and big brother is Google. They own 70% of the Internet search market in the U.S., so it’s a good indication of what subjects people are looking for more information on.

So what did runners look for in 2009? Drum Roll please.

Here for 2009 are top searches related to “marathoning”.

1. half marathon
2. boston marathon
3. marathon record
4. world record marathon
5. derby marathon
6. olympic marathon
7. marathon winner
8. marathon training
9. chicago marathon
10. new york marathon

The half marathon is the number one spot makes perfect sense given the growth in popularity the distance saw in the last year. But “half marathon” wasn’t the fastest growing marathon term. So which “marathon” searches did show the most growth from 2008 to 2009? Google tracks that too.

1. nyc marathon 2009 +1,750%
2. chicago marathon 2009 +1,050%
3. boston marathon 2009 +850%
4. kara goucher +350%
5. kara goucher marathon +300%
6. nyc marathon +90%
7. seattle marathon +80%
8. marathon calendar +60%
9. half marathon +60%
10. ny marathon +50%

Kara Goucher taking up two spots fits with her rise in popularity. It’s initially a bit surprising not to see Meb Keflezighi’s name on the list in light of his fantastic NYC Marathon win. The fact that the race did not occur until November probably didn’t buy him enough time. I bet he ends up in the top 10 in 2010, especially now that he’s running Boston.

But what if you’re not the marathon type and enjoy the shorter races?

Here are the top10 searches for “2009” related to “running”.

1. running shoes
2. running back
3. running lyrics
4. nike running
5. nike
6. free running
7. trail running
8. running world
9. asics running
10. asics

Rising Searches

1. barefoot running +300%
2. under armour +100%
3. running warehouse +70%
4. mac running slow +60%
5. good running shoes +60%
6. running knee pain +50%
7. running calculator +50%
8. mizuno running shoes +50%
9. newton running +40%
10. mizuno +40%

The big headline here is that lots of people seem to be having problems with their Macs, which as a PC user I didn’t think was possible according to the TV commercials. Kidding, kidding. No story was bigger in 2009 than the barefoot running boom, so no shock that it takes home the top spot. I am a bit surprised to see Mizuno taking up 2 spots. As far as running marketing goes, they tend to fly under the radar. Clearly people were interested in seeking them out. No shock to see Newton on the list. They generated a lot of buzz online and on social media sites like Twitter.