Last week, we did a blog post on the top categories visited by Canadian internet users. We followed that up with a post looking at the number of words used in queries. To follow this theme, today we are posting on what Canadians are searching for online. The following table shows the top search terms entered into search engines by Canadian Internet users in the twelve weeks to 30th May 2009. The table is divided into two columns to show the highest volume navigational search terms (meaning that most searchers had a clear intent to reach a particular website) and the highest volume generic terms.

As we have seen in other markets, the highest volume terms are navigational, indicating that consumers are using search engines to navigate the Internet. For the most part, searchers have a clear idea of where they want to go and use search engines rather than their browser's address bar to find the desired website.

The highest volume generic search term was "games. This is interesting for a few reasons:

• The highest volume French language search term was "jeux" (French for "games") meaning that the highest volume French and English language search term was the same.


• This is quite different from what we see from Americans. While the search term "games" ranks #18 among search terms sending visits to All Categories in Canada, it ranks #92 in the US.


• Interest in online games is not limited to that single term. Eight of the top 100 search terms in Canada were for games or gaming websites. Four games related terms appear in the above list of the top generic search terms.

Another interesting thing we noticed with this analysis is that 13 of the top 100 search terms are generic, compared to only 9 in the US. We did the analysis in Canada looking further down the list. The ratio of generic terms actually increases to 31 of the top 200 terms This could indicate a couple of things. It could point to lower brand loyalty among Canadians online. It could also indicate that in some categories brand loyalties have yet to develop.

We also grouped search terms by topic and found that after social networks, retail and banking were the most popular groupings. Among the top 100 search terms, 16 were for social networks, 14 for retail websites and 9 for banking. Among the 14 retail websites most were for second hand marketplaces, namely Kijiji, Craigslist, eBay and Lespac. Canadian Tire, Walmart and Home Depot also made the top 100 search terms.

We welcome ideas and suggestions for other topics you'd like to see covered in these posts. Feel free to use the comments section to send ideas.

Heather Hopkins

Heather Hopkins is Senior Online Analyst, Hitwise US. This piece was originally posted on Hitwise Analyst blog here.