Yahoo! Unveils Top 5 Fastest Growing Businesses in Search Marketing and Top 10 Most Popular Search Keywords for India and Asia Pacific Markets

• “Travel”, “Gaming”, “Retail” and “Investment” related keywords were popular among Asian advertisers and Internet users in 1^st half of 2010
• “Jobs”, “Travel”, “Matrimony”, “Broadband Providers” and “Mobile” top the charts in India

Yahoo! announced its annual “Top 5 Fastest Growing Businesses in Search Marketing” and “Top 10 Most Popular Search Keywords,” key indicators for enterprises’ online search marketing investments. In the first half of 2010 an integrated analysis was conducted on Yahoo! Search marketing data from five Asian nations (Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and India). The results showed that the most popular search keyword all across Asia in 1H10 was “travel”. This signifies a booming Asian economy and tourism market in the first half of the year. The second most popular search keyword in Taiwan, Singapore and India for the first six months of 2010 was “gaming”, thanks to the growing “stay-at-home” economy.

Many employment opportunities were created during the economic recovery. “Job hunting” ranked No.7 on Yahoo!Kimo’s* (Taiwan) top 10 search keyword list while “part-time job” ranked No.1 in South Korea. In Hong Kong, the first two hottest search keywords were “after-school tutoring programs” and “English training programs”. This implies consumers wanted to invest themselves for better career opportunities during the market uptrend.

Coming out from a recessionary phase, India’s trend is inevitable with the growth in the popularity of Jobs, Travel, Mobile and Matrimony segments. Local online job portal Naukri.com is ranked no 1 followed by Monster.com and Monster Jobs in the most popular search keyword list. Job portals turned out to be a major destination for Indian users and the search varies from different mediums. Trending well with the growth of the Indian economy and increasing telecom and broadband penetration is “Nokia Mobile” and “broadband providers”, which also features among the top keywords in India.

Overall, most of the top 10 most popular keywords on Yahoo!Kimo* were investment and consumer related keywords like “financial and economic services”’, “investment”, “retail”, “home purchasing”, and “3C products” while those in South Korea were consumer related words, such as automobiles, shopping centers, clothing and accessories, and brands. In Hong Kong, keywords relating to “interior design”, “renovation”, “banking”, and “software” were the most popular. The ongoing economic recovery indicates that the strong consumption power will continue throughout Asia.

The Indian users definitely took great interest in travel and tourism with “Travel” related search keywords also becoming popular, thanks to resurgence in the hospitality sector. Interestingly, there has been a significant shift in consumer behavior pattern as people in India have also started relying on Internet services to build relationships. Keyword trends clearly indicate that the first half of 2010 witnessed a considerable rise in “matrimony” keyword search due to the imminent wedding season in India.

Based on the “Top 5 Fastest Growing Businesses in Search Marketing” in the first half of 2010, “travel and tourism”, “education”, and “medical cosmetology” businesses were the fastest growing businesses in the search marketing market due to the booming travel business, great emphasis on education and training programs, and pursuit of beauty and health in various Asian nations.

With numerous users and insightful observations on consumers, Yahoo!’s Search marketing service is a great marketing tool consisted of “scale” and “science”. Through the precise and direct marketing approach, advertisers may find their potential consumers with the most interest in various products as consumers always search whatever they need online.

*Yahoo!Kimo is the official website of Yahoo! in Taiwan

About Yahoo!

Yahoo!'s vision is to be the center of people's online lives by delivering personally relevant, meaningful Internet experiences. Yahoo! attracts hundreds of millions of users every month through its engaging content and services and innovative technology, making it one of the most visited Internet destinations and a world-class online media company. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com)