Search Trends - Search Engine Marketing

I find it fascinating to compare keyword search trends to other non-search related statistics to see how they correlate. Today, Bill Tancer from Hitwise compares searches for "homes for sale" with existing home sales as reported by the National Association of Realtors. I find it particularly interesting since one of our clients is a Utah home builder, who targets some of the same keywords (even though Bill's data is for existing homes). The good news is that although searches have dipped pretty signficantly (as have actual sales of homes), it's on the upswing according to Hitwise...which is promising news for realtors, home builders, etc. Certainly there are regional differences based on the local real estate markets, but the overall trend nationwide appears to be upward.

As a sidenote. I hope Bill/Hitwise continue to come out with more of this type of analysis...this is good stuff!