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Google Unveils Flu Trends

posted by Melanie DAcchioli @ Friday, November 14, 2008 - 2:18 PM
On Tuesday, Google unveiled its newest product, Flu Trends. Flu Trends is a part of Google.org- the non-profit arm of the search giant. This new tool is based on the finding by Google that there is a significant relationship between people’s searches on flu-related queries and people actually suffering from flu symptoms.

Google states, “We compared our query counts with data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and found that some search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in various regions of the United States."

Google Flu Trends site displays shows areas of the country labeled with flu activity anywhere from "minimal" to "intense.” Additionally, the site features an overall analysis of the United States flu activity level, a flu shot locator, a CDC flu prevention message, and links to recent news articles about the disease.

The bottom line behind the emergence of Google Flu Trends as the latest in Google’s array of offerings is that it is further proof that when someone has a need- they search for the solution on Google. When someone has the flu, they search their symptoms on Google.

And now Google is responding to that need, before the need is even identified, by using its research and knowledge to show areas where the flu is most prominent, in just about as close to real-time as you can get.

Here at Overdrive, we have always stood by our feeling that when people have an immediate need for information or solutions to problems, their first instinct is to turn to Google.com and search for what it is they need. And usually, from that search, they’ll find the answers they’re looking for. Therein lies the value of search marketing- sending a message out to users exactly when they’re looking for you. Kudos to Google on the latest new tool!

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