Google and Yahoo Need to Use Geo-Targeting Better Display TV Listings
I’ve been checking out Google’s Hot Trends for awhile now, periodically checking in to see if there’s anything really hot in the tech world that would be a good idea to blog about, the idea being that if something is going “volcanic,” it’s not a bad idea to get a post up there and probably get some traffic out of it by being one of the few to write about something that is piquing the interest of so many people.
But one thing I’ve learned about Google Hot Trends: it is driven by television. The more you think about this, the more obvious it seems, of course: in order to go volcanic with a term, a large number of people have to be thinking the same way, and the only way that happens is through television.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the topics arise when, for example, a relief pitcher nobody has heard of has a great night in the World Series, as happened to Tampa Bay’s David Price in Game Seven of their series with Boston.
Also, a news story that is big may drive a lot of searches. Right now, the third biggest term on hot trends is “sociopath,” and a little sleuthing has revealed that this is probably from tonight’s episode of “Private Practice,” where the word is featured prominently in the plot.
A huge number of the other Hot Trends entries are simply names of TV shows with people looking for what time they are on, what network, etc. It seems like it would be a good idea for the search engines to recognize this and produce results that match up with these searches. For example, when I search Google for “Dirty Sexy Money,” it would be nice if it showed listings for the Los Angeles area at the top. It would be a good thing for Yahoo to add to Searchmonkey as well.
With more ads being geotargeted, why can’t things like TV listings and movie listings receive this treatment also? I like Yahoo movies, but wouldn’t it be simpler to make a search and have them know my general location and give me a list of local theatres? Same with TV, and probably easier since the local affiliates have a broader reach.
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