Hot Searches - October 2014

Hot Searches – October 2014

This year, just one topic remained the same in the Hot Searches for October 2013 and October 2014 – Halloween. While Ebola was a serious health concern this month, other top search terms were more positive, with the Powerball, new movies such as Gone Girl, and the annual Bathurst 1000 making the list.

HALLOWEEN

Interestingly, while searches for Halloween peaked the day before and the day of the event, searches for Halloween costumes appeared consistently higher throughout the month, suggesting Australians were busy planning their Halloween costumes all month long. Top related searches also focused on party costumes, with easy, scary, kids and DIY costume and makeup ideas all being searched. Despite this, some Australians still haven’t quite embraced the holiday, with searches for ‘what is Halloween’ appearing in the top related search terms.

EBOLA

Ebola first came into the news after Australians started returning from Ebola-affected areas, such as West Africa, earlier in the month. The virus, which has been unlikely to infiltrate Australia, became the second highest search term, after the news broke. Australians wanted to know more about the Ebola virus, searching for the symptoms, information on what Ebola is, how it spreads and a cure. There are yet to be any confirmed cases of Ebola in Australia, although several tests have been carried out, with search results peaking on October 9 and 16 after a Queensland nurse and Brisbane teenager were tested.

GONE GIRL

The third most popular search term was for the newly released movie, Gone Girl. Searches peaked on a Saturday each week, as Australians planned their weekend visit to the cinema, although some of us skipped Hoyts and opted to watch Gone Girl online. Australians were eager to find out more about the film through reviews and IMDb. And while searches for popular cast members Ben Affleck and Emily Ratajkowski, were among the top related, the author of the book, which the film is based on, missed out on a spot in the top related terms.

POWERBALL

Australians rushed online this month to see the Powerball draw. Each week, results peaked on a Thursday as the winning Powerball numbers were announced, until October 16 when the search term reached its highest peak for the month due to the $50 Million Powerball jackpot. Despite NSW appearing frequently in the related search terms, the Lotto prize was split three ways, with winners in WA and Victoria.

BATHURST 1000

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 ran from October 9 to October 12, with results peaking on the final day. The V8 Supercar event attracts motorsport enthusiasts to Bathurst each year, and 2014 was no exception. Australians went online to find out the local weather and race start times, watch the races live and find out the results in real time.

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