Page 36 - Decoding Decisions ~ Making sense of the messy middle

36 CHAPTER 3 INVESTIGATING THE MESSY MIDDLE

For example, when we look at overall searches for the “best” restaurants and
places to eat, as well as the best bars and pubs, we can see that these are all
consistently growing over time (figure 8).

Figure 8

best places to eat best restaurants best bars best pubs
Search term Search term Search term Search term

100

75
SEARCH INTEREST 50

25

0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Rising UK search interest in the “best” places to eat and drink.

And in the example from the travel and tourism category, all of these “best”
searches are recognisably exploratory in nature (figure 9).

Figure 9
best places best beaches best hotels in best things to do
Search term Search term Search term Search term
100

75
SEARCH INTEREST 50

25

0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Rising UK search interest in the travel category for the “best” places to visit.

Data source: Google Trends, United Kingdom, 1st January 2011–1st January 2020, All categories, Web Search
Data source: Google Trends, United Kingdom, 1st January 2011 - 1st January 2020, Travel category, Web Search