Learn to predict the present with Think Quarterly

In July, we launched our first issue of Think Quarterly, a publication that packages up the insights and ideas that we learn from both inside and outside of Google. Today we’re launching our second edition, the “People” issue. It explores the latest technologies connecting us and the big ideas driving society forward.

One way we can gain insight into people’s actions, intentions, and future actions is through their search behavior. When looked at in aggregate, queries can speak volumes. In “Predicting the Present”, our chief economist Hal Varian talks about how you can use publicly available tools like Insights for Search and Google Correlate to this end. In his words:

“If you type ‘weight loss’ into Google Correlate you find ‘healthy smoothie’ and ‘meal replacement.’ Not too surprising. But you also see terms like ‘vacation destination,’ ‘cruises to,’ and ‘wedding checklist.’ And if you look at the searches that occur three weeks after the ‘weight loss’ query, you see ‘weight loss plateau’ and ‘not losing weight’ at the top of the list.”

Hal’s team has uncovered a number of interesting relationships by analyzing query data. For example, here’s an infographic that shows the online and offline spending behavior of people throughout a typical week.

(click for full-size image)

For more, read the full article here. We hope you enjoy (and +1) it!

Posted by Andrew Truong, Inside AdWords crew