Search engines have become the new encyclopaedias for Internet users and the key queries typed on Google speak volumes about the concerns of the French. Alioze is particularly interested in parents’ research, to find out more about the habits and questions of families. These indicators are valuable for children’s and youth brands to tailor to their target audience.
Strangest questions parents ask Google
Search engines are also the place to ask all the questions that you don’t dare to ask in public. Parents are no exception to this behavior and expect Google to provide straightforward and immediate answers. The English website Mamamia asked 100 parents to give the most surprising requests they had made on the search.
Different categories of topics emerge: anatomy, housework, parenting behaviours and questions about fictional characters.
Here are some of the wackier questions:
- “How do I help my child poop?”
- “Why is my child eating crayons/dirt?”
- “How much paint is safe to ingest?”
- “Is my child normal?”
- “Do they serve alcohol at Disneyland?”
- “At what age can I send my child to school?”
- “How do I mask vegetables in my child’s food?”
- “Did the creators of this cartoon write on drugs?”
So don’t hesitate to reassure parents about everyday details and answer trivial questions, once you’ve overcome your shyness! Parents have a lot of questions about practical matters, but also about behaviour.
According to Google Trends, every night around 1am, there is a spike in key queries typed that start with, “how do I help my child with…”. Proof that parents are looking for the best for their children.
Trends in parents’ search methods at Christmas
One of the most dynamic periods of the year is of course Christmas. It is therefore interesting to know the habits of customers on Google at this time of year.
More and more adults are finding gifts on the net and ordering for their children online.
- 46% of customers use their mobile to discover new products at this time of year.
- 60% end up buying the items they discovered on the Internet.
- 55% of customers look for practical information about physical stores on the internet.
- 81% of customers are looking for discounts.
- 71% choose e-shops with free delivery.
Parents would be sexist
Another element to know, and not the least, about the orientations of family research on the web: parents would be mostly sexist! Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, an economist and former Google employee, has analyzed millions of searches on the American giant, which he makes public in his book, Everybody Lies…and You Too!
For the author, the data provided by Google delivers essential information on social behaviour and reveals the contradictions and lies of Internet users. Regarding our main topic, Seth shows that parents do not raise their boys and girls in the same way.
For example, the question “Is my daughter overweight?” is asked twice as often as “Is my son overweight?” If the study was conducted in the United States, compare the two key queries in Google Trends and you will see that this trend is also true in France.
Parents’ most common searches by children’s ages
Wedodata, a print and web dataviz agency, has created a fun comic strip that puts parents’ Google searches into images. Depending on age and gender, the questions and worries are not the same.
Indeed, the query “my 7 year old daughter is overweight” appears well in a meaningful search, whereas “my 7 year old boy doesn’t want to read” or “behaves like a baby” will be more successful. We may also find that parents are often concerned about the behaviour of their one-year-old daughter or son who “doesn’t eat much” or their two-year-old who “rejects me”. So many concerns and issues that you will have to try to address by offering your product or services.
If you would like to be assisted in choosing your positioning in relation to your customers, contact Alioze, the communication agency specialising in the children and youth sector
Sources:
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- bilbokid.com:
- parents.fr :
- about.google :
- rtl.fr
- wedodata.com