So this morning, I was doing my usual weekly internet scour in search of juicy topics to blog about. 

Naturally, nearly every news article or blog post I came across was in some way COVID-19 related. 

No surprise there. 

With most of us confined to our homes for the foreseeable, we’re not really doing all that much that warrants talking about. 

When you’ve watched everything on Netflix, completed all your recipe books on hard mode and learned how to do a handstand yoga leg split, COVID’s pretty much all that’s left. 

Browsing my usual haunts for content inspiration, it suddenly occurred to me that as a search marketer, I hadn’t actually checked out what search topics are trending right now. So, I decided that was gonna be this week’s post and committed.

Fortunately for me, Google had already done the leg work. A few hours saved there counting up stats from Google Trends. You can check out the awesome resource here – it definitely makes for an interesting read!

While many of the topics were unsurprising – sneeze guards, hand sanitiser and disposable gloves were top 3 – I was literally left open-mouthed when I saw searches for motorboats made no 4 on the list, with a +1,000% increase in search queries.

To be honest, even now I can’t quite work it out. 

Perhaps the safety of the open water is where people’s minds have gone in the hopes of effectively socially distancing. Seems a little extreme, but each to their own! 

On the plus side, if you’ve ever wanted to set up a motorboat shop, now’s definitely the time. So, get on it while it’s hot. We won’t judge you…

If you, like us, are interested in how the pandemic has effected people’s browsing behaviour, I’ve included the top 30 list below. While most of it’s what you’d expect, there are definitely a few surprises in there.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a Shopify motorboat store to create…

COVID-19 top 30 trending search categories

1. Sneeze guards (+1,000%)
2. Hand sanitiser & wipes (+1,000%) 
3. Disposable gloves (+1,000%)
4. Motorboats (+1,000%)
5. Hair shears (+1,000%) 
6. Pet hair clippers (+900%)
7. Free weights (+900%)
8. Flour (+800%)
9. Yeast (+800%)
10. Bread pans (+700%)
11. Yoga mats (+700%)
12. Exercise bands (+700%)
13. Jump ropes (+700%)
14. Bicycle brake parts (+700%)
15. Bicycle trainers (+700%)
16. Jigsaw puzzle accessories (+600%)
17. Baking powder (+600%)
18. Pull up bars (+600%)
19. Dartboards (+600%)
20. Swingball sets (+600%)
21. Spas (+600%)
22.  Webcams (+600%)
23.  Needlecraft kits (+600%)
24.  Power towers (+600%)
25.  Exercise benches (+500%) 
26.  Flavoured alcoholic beverages (+500%)
27.  Breadmakers (+500%)
28.  Hair colouring accessories (+500%)
29.  Basketball hoops (+500%)
30.  Weight bars (+500%)