Clues, the Yahoo product that provides information on search trends on Yahoo searches, has just gotten a big upgrade. Their new version includes an upgraded interface, regional search data, and trends for separate demographics.
The Yahoo Clues New Features
While Yahoo Clues has been around for a long time, it’s often been overlooked. The trend data, after all, only went back a month, and the top overall trends were often the only visible data points. According to the Yahoo Search Blog, there are four major features in the new version:
- An updated design that provides quick links to Top Trends, which shows the most searched for terms, and Trend Analysis.
- An improved heatmap that shows how search data is faring in specific regions.
- Global reach, with all English searches from around the world showing in the trend data.
- Improved information, including 12 months of trend history, three times as many search terms, and the ability to search through data for specified groups.
The New Yahoo Clues Heatmap
The trends you can examine for “specified groups” include residents of specific regions, searchers of various demographics, or people searching for terms related to a specific category.
More than one specification can be set, allowing users to set the gender, age range, region, and other data simultaneously. Information on the most searched for terms then populates, and users have access to contextualizing information (what searches look like in other regions, what topics are trending for a specific key term category, etc.).
This highly tunable trend data is a huge leap forward for Yahoo. The data now present will allow webmasters to hunt for very niche search information. Local business sites will likely get the most out of the advances, since they can tune precisely to the search terms and trends of those in their region.
Ready to use the tool yourself? You can access all the new features at the newly upgraded Yahoo Clues beta site.