Here are the most Googled brands in the US, by state
Check out this incredible map by finance company Direct Capital that defines each US state by the brand that they Google the most. The results are pretty amazing.
Here is an incredible map by finance company Direct Capital that defines each US state by the brand that they Google the most.
The results in the map were drawn from a test of a list of more than 200 US consumer brand names using Google Trends. The brand that was most popular from the list within each state was designated as a ‘top brand’. You can find more information about it all here.
Check out the full infographic below:
This is really compelling and fanciful… if only it were true. It’s 100% completely false and misleading. Literally one minute spent on Google Trends debunks the entire map graphic.
For example, in WA State, Google is searched for 10Xs more than Microsoft. See for yourself: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=microsoft%2C%20Google&geo=US-WA&cmpt=q
In California, Google is searched 2.5Xs more than Yahoo!
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Google%2C%20Yahoo&geo=US-CA&cmpt=q
What tipped me off to even investigate? Hellman’s Mayo. C’mon. Check your facts before publishing this graphic with the title “Here are the most Googled brands in the US, by state”.
Hi David,
We didn’t create the infographic (although we do think it’s pretty cool) – it’s the work of Direct Capital.
You can read more about their methodology – which interestingly, is actually based on Google Trends – here:
http://blog.directcapital.com/business-insights/direct-capital-talk/the-top-brands-of-every-state/
Hope that’s helpful!
Thanks,
Katy
So I agree that using Google Trends is fascinating – if you put in the work. They quite evidently did not. The facts really don’t matter to you, I take it, as long as it makes for a pretty picture? I’m having a hard time comprehending your response. Quite clearly Google and Yahoo! are more popular in Washington State than Microsoft, Starbucks and Boeing combined. The data: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Microsoft%2C%20Starbucks%2C%20Boeing%2C%20Google%2C%20Yahoo&cmpt=q
Hi David,
As I said, we did not create the infographic, but we selected to feature it based on its relevance and interest to our audience – I’m sorry if you don’t feel this applies to you on this particular occasion.
The discrepancy you describe above is due to the fact that Direct Capital compiled their list from a pre-defined selection of consumer brands, rather than simply looking at searches for any given company name. This is clearly explained in in the methodology on their site (which is linked to within the article and in my comment above):
“The maps featured throughout this article were constructed by testing a base list of 200+ US brand names and their results in Google Trends. The states were assigned a ‘top’ brand for the brand that was most popular from our list in that region.”
I’m aware that this may not have been clear enough from our original introduction here, so thank you for pointing this out. I have now amended the article text slightly to avoid further confusion.
I hope that helps clear things up for you.
If you have any further questions about the details of the infographic, please feel free to contact Direct Capital directly for further clarification.
Many thanks,
Katy