Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2009
Publication Title
Issues in Information Systems
Volume
10
Issue Number
2
First Page
82
Last Page
87
Disciplines
Business | Management Information Systems
Abstract
Historical search data, describing the volume of searches by topic and region, have recently become freely available. This provides a potentially valuable source of data useful for business intelligence about conditions external to the organization where data is sometimes sparse. As an experiment for a business application, Google searches on the keyword “foreclosure” were correlated with actual U.S. home foreclosures over the past 4 years. The resulting regression analysis shows a very good correlation, indicating that searches on “foreclosure” provide a very accurate estimate of trends in actual U.S. home foreclosures and may provide an early warning system. In a related non-business experiment, Google has recently reported success in showing that searches on the term “flu” track closely with worldwide outbreaks of flu.
Recommended Citation
G. Kent Webb. "Internet Search Statistics as a Source of Business Intelligence: Searches on Foreclosure as an Estimate of Actual Home Foreclosures" Issues in Information Systems (2009): 82-87.
Comments
Copyright © 2009 International Association for Computer Information Systems. Citation: Webb, G. K. (2009). Internet Search Statistics as a Source of Business Intelligence: Searches on Foreclosure as an Estimate of Actual Home Foreclosures. Issues in Information Systems, 10 (2), 82-87.