In our continuing series of examining Google Search Trends to gain insights into the top keywords queried in the USA, we present our findings for August 2023.
Every day, we capture the top three keyword phrases in terms of search volume as reported by Google Trends (US Only). Each term has an estimated query volume attached to it, which we also record. The number scale tops out at 10,000,000+ with a lower limit of 200,000+ (sometimes 100,000+). After the conclusion of the month, we look at the phrases we collected along with their volumes to get an understanding of what drove queries for the month.
The Curiosities of August 2023
In August 2023, the most searched topics were varied. Some we could have predicted like the return of college and professional football, but others we could not including many natural and weather-related occurrences. Taylor Swift made our collection twice during the month along with other entertainment topics. The world of gaming had a month as three keywords related to that industry made our list. The former president’s legal troubles continued and sparked search interest in his latest indictments. Every Inter Miami game seems to be tracked by Google’s search audience and we’ll dive into the timeline of those queries. Lastly, once in a blue moon we see searchers wanting to know more about our planet’s natural satellite and we’ll examine that topic to wrap up the month. Let’s get into it!
The Most Queried Keywords
There were three keywords that drove over five million queries in a day. The first phrase was connected to the fire on the island of Maui. The second phrase captured the interest of the Finals game of the Women’s World Cup where Spain was victorious and the third was related to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-3 lander touching down on the moon
- Maui Fire – 8/9/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
- Women’s World Cup – 8/19/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
- ISRO – 8/22/2023 – 5,000,000+ queries
It’s been a while since we have recorded a phrase that has driven over 10 million queries in a 24 hour period. We’ll see if this trend continues for the remainder of the year.
Things That Entertain
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has been a major success and with new dates released and the USA leg of the tour wrapping up, her name as a keyword made our list.
- Taylor Swift – 8/3/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Taylor Swift – 8/10/2023 – 200,000+ queries
We will see if she continues to drive queries as she takes the stage again in November for three nights.
Here’s a rundown of the most searched shows and movies last month:
- Only Murders in the Building – 8/8/2023 – 100,000+ queries
- Heart of Stone – 8/10/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Ahsoka – 8/22/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- One Piece live-action – 8/31/2023 – 200,000+ queries
Only Murders in the Building kicked off its third season on Hulu and the show Ahsoka from the Star Wars universe premiered on Disney+ on the 22nd. The Gal Gadot film Heart of Stone was released on Netflix along with the show One Piece, which is a remake of an animated TV series based on a Japanese manga series.
Big Month For Gaming
We usually see maybe one query related to gaming in a month. In August 2023, we saw three. Two were related to game titles and the other phrase was the name of a famous gamer.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – 8/3/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Kai Cenat – 8/4/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Starfield – 8/30/2023 – 500,000+ queries
Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on the 3rd and the preload for Starfield preload began on August 30th for XBox on Steam. Kai Cenat, an American Twitch streamer, held a giveaway in Union Square, Manhattan on the 4th and it devolved into a riot. He was arrested on a few charges including inciting a riot.
Yep, Still Didn’t Win
As we had in July 2023, we had more lottery fever in August.
- Mega Millions Drawing – 8/4/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Mega Millions drawing tonight – 8/8/2023 – 200,000+ queries
The Mega Millions drawing on the 8th had a jackpot winner, which was estimated to be around $1.55 billion.
Terms of a Political Nature
With two indictments and the release of a mug shot, Donald Trump’s last name made our list three times in August 2023.
- Trump – 8/1/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Trump – 8/14/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Trump – 8/24/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
With 2 million queries, it appears that people really wanted to see his mug shot. There were other political topics that were queried last month. Here’s the list of the rest of them.
- Ohio Issue 1 – 8/7/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Republican debate – 8/23/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Prigozhin – 8/23/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Mitch McConnell – 8/30/2023 – 500,000+ queries
On the 7th, voters in Ohio struck down Issue 1, which is a measure to immensely raise the signature and approval thresholds for citizen initiatives to amend the state constitution. The first debate of the Republican candidates for president in the upcoming election was held on the 23rd. Also, Yevgeny Prigozhin was reported to be killed in an airplane crash after leading a short-lived rebellion against the Russian military in June. On the 30th, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell had another episode where he froze up as he did on July 26th.
We Have Both Kinds of Football
Know this: If Lionel Messi plays for your team, people will search.
- Inter Miami – 8/2/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Inter Miami – 8/6/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Inter Miami – 8/11/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Inter Miami – 8/15/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Inter Miami – 8/23/2023 – 500,000+ queries
The Miami International Football Club had 8 matches in the month of August. The dates of 5 of them drove people to search for more information about them and the team. We think this pattern will continue throughout the MLS season.
You know that summer is almost over when the NFL queries start up again. Here’s the breakdown from the preseason:
- NFL – 8/3/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Patriots – 8/10/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Dallas Cowboys – 8/12/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Eagles – 8/12/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Chiefs – 8/13/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Eagles – 8/17/2023 – 100,000+ queries
- Washington Commanders – 8/21/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Steelers – 8/24/2023 – 100,000+ queries
- Trey Lance – 8/25/2023 – 500,000+ queries
Did your team make the list? If so, it has a loyal and search empowered fan base. For Trey Lance fans, he was traded on the 25th from the 49ers to the Cowboys.
College football started its season at the end of the month and Google was there for it. We collected these two phrases in our list.
- College football – 8/31/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Nebraska football – 8/31/2023 – 200,000+ queries
As we have seen in the last 4 years, gridiron football will be the most popular sports topic until the Superbowl (February 2024). Stay tuned for a large number of team-related keywords.
Natural Occurances
Beyond the wildfires in Maui, there were hurricanes, an earthquake, and celestial visions to be searched. Here is a rundown of all them.
The Perseids were on display between the 11th and 13th and people wanted to know how they could see them.
- Meteor shower – 8/11/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Meteor shower – 8/13/2023 – 200,000+ queries
Hurricane Hilary impacted the US west coast last month. See the timeline of interest from the 16th through the 20th.
- Hurricane Hilary – 8/16/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Hurricane Hilary – 8/17/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Hurricane California – 8/17/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Hurricane Hilary tracker Live – 8/18/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Tropical Storm Hilary – 8/19/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
- Hurricane Hilary Tracker – 8/20/2023 – 200,000+ queries
As the storm made landfall, there was an earthquake that occurred at the same time. What a coincidence.
- Earthquake – 8/20/2023 – 500,000+ queries
On the US East Coast, Hurricane Idalia was the storm that drove people to search.
- Hurricane Idalia – 8/27/2023 – 2,000,000+ queries
- Hurricane Idalia path – 8/27/2023 – 500,000+ queries
- Florida Hurricane – 8/28/2023 – 500,000+ queries
Lastly, with the second full moon of the month, people queried for three straight days to learn more about the “blue moon”.
- Blue moon – 8/28/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Super Blue Moon – 8/29/2023 – 200,000+ queries
- Blue Moon 2023 – 8/30/2023 – 1,000,000+ queries
With all that is happening in the world, it’s nice to think we still have time to look up and take in the view.
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