Experian Hitwise released last month an analysis of web searches by Singapore Internet users over the past six months that has provided a host of interesting insights into Singaporean social habits relevant for marketers and commentators alike.
“Local web search patterns are a reflection on the interests and, in some instances the psyche, of Singaporean consumers.

These patterns have become a great tool to help marketers understand their target audience across verticals that are most relevant to their marketing campaigns,” said Graeme Beardsell, Managing Director for South Asia, Experian. “These insights identify key search trends among Singaporeans, providing marketers with intelligent and actionable information needed to market forward and improve audience engagement in the digital media space.”
Key social insights from Experian’s inaugural half-year online analysis are for instance:
  • Social networking continues to be popular among Singaporeans, with Facebook taking a 17% share of visits compared to search engines like Google Singapore, which held on to second place with a 14% share of visits.
  • Singaporeans revealed they liked Google more than Yahoo, with Google Singapore and Google.com taking the top two spots and holding over three quarters of the total share of visits to the top five search engines.
  • Forums just didn’t make the cut for Singaporeans, with social networking leading the way and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter taking a combined total share of visits of 66% in the top 10 sites for social networking and forums.
  • Facebook continued to maintain its social networking dominance as the top search term driving traffic to the computers and Internet category.
  • Singaporeans love anything visual with the top five entertainment sites searched for including Razor TV, xinmsn Entertainment, Channel NewsAsia and Tudou.com, with YouTube leading the pack with a 22% total share of visits.
  • Singaporeans showed great interest in Japanese comics, with the top ten animation and comic sites for Japanese manga. The top four sites: Manga Fox, MangaStream, AnimeCrazy.net and Mangareader together held a 41% of total share of visits.
  • Asian-made games experienced continued popularity among Singaporeans, with Maple Story, MapleSEA, Asiasoft Forums and Warriors of the Three Kingdoms being some of the most popular gaming websites searched.
  • YouTube took top spot as the most searched for term driving traffic to the entertainment category, claiming almost 3% of search clicks.

Beardsell adds, “With capabilities to help businesses convert data into insights, Experian Hitwise can play a vital role in helping marketers identify local opportunities in specific verticals to strategically conduct effective marketing campaigns. Thus ensuring sustained brand visibility and awareness among their target audience in an increasingly competitive environment.”