The NBA Finals begin today, and Google has released some new data on NBA-related engagement, and what fans are searching for in relation to the season’s penultimate match-up.
Which, if you watch the NBA, you may have noticed within games too. Google’s got a new partnership with the NBA, which sees Google sharing top trending search terms, which broadcast presenters have been sharing as part of the coverage.
Though most of the data that Google has shared on these trends has been pretty underwhelming.
For example:
“Search interest in ‘the NBA Finals’ is at an all-time high in Indiana and Oklahoma” (well, yeah, neither team has made the finals for a long time, so it makes sense that their fans would be interested.)
“Searches for ‘when was the last time the Pacers went to the finals’ and ‘when was the last time OKC went to the finals’ spiked +150% in the U.S. over the past week (again, neither has made the finals for a long time, so a pretty obvious stat)
I guess, there’s not a heap of amazing insight that can be gleaned from relative search trends, but most of the notes like this from Google have been pretty obvious.
It might be better if it showed related shopping activity on Google Shopping, or even individual player searches, showing who people think is going to be the most important factor in the series.
Either way, Google is providing some additional insight into related NBA searches, which could be worth noting if you’re looking to build a tie-in campaign around the finals.
Google’s also shared a map of relative search interest in the two finals teams:
Google NBA Finals search terms
Yeah, again, no real surprises, but it is worth noting the rising interest in the NBA finals, and the WNBA season (which recently kicked off), which could help you in your related promotions.
You can read more about Google’s NBA search trends here.