3 search trends to know

Are your Mother’s Day paid search campaigns ready? If not, now is the time. Microsoft Advertising today released new data and tips that provide some useful consumer search insights.

Although search queries typically peak the week before Mother’s Day, searches start picking up five weeks before the holiday. That would mean queries already started increasing on April 3. If my math is correct, that was a week ago. So if your campaigns haven’t started yet, you’re already a week behind consumers, according to Microsoft.

Hare three trends from last year that search marketers need to know in 2022.

Trend 1: Most popular queries. For the past three years, these have been among the top “Mother’s Day” queries:

• Mother’s Day gifts
• Mother’s Day images
• Mother’s Day cards handmade
• Mother’s Day gift box
• Happy Mother’s Day gif
• Printable Mother’s Day cards
• Mother’s Day rings
• Mother’s Day shirts
• DIY Mother’s Day gift ideas

Trend 2: Gifts. As is typical, flowers, sweets, cards, and jewelry were among the most popular gifts for Mom in 2021. Here’s some data from Microsoft:

• “Flower arrangement” searches spiked 57% year-over-year (YoY).
• Greetings cards, flowers and special outings (e.g., meals or restaurant gift cards) were the top three most popular Mother’s Day gifts.
• Restaurant-related searches increased 46% YoY the week of Mother’s Day. Microsoft noted this was significantly higher compared to the three years prior to 2021.
• Jewelry searches increased 26% YoY the week of Mother’s Day. 

Trend 3: Local. The second most clicked gift last year was spas – and more than 20% of mothers surveyed said they would like a spa visit in 2022, Microsoft said.

Spas are an example of this local buying trend. More than half of those surveyed by Microsoft said they planned to shop at a local store or restaurant for Mother’s Day. But don’t worry – the same people said they still plan to search online first for information, offers and deals.

Why we care. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest retail holidays of the year. To maximize profit, it’s critical to always optimize campaigns based on what consumers are searching for, and when. Hopefully, this data will help get you started on the path to higher conversion rates and more revenue. Most important of all, don’t forget that Mother’s Day is May 8 – and quality time really is the greatest gift of all.

About The Author

Danny Goodwin is Senior Editor of Search Engine Land. In addition to writing daily about SEO, PPC, and more for Search Engine Land, Goodwin also manages Search Engine Land’s roster of subject-matter experts. He also helps program our conference series, SMX – Search Marketing Expo. Prior to joining Search Engine Land, Goodwin was Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal, where he led editorial initiatives for the brand. He also was an editor at Search Engine Watch. He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.