Google has set up a new programme on its Finance page, intended to monitor search traffic across a range of sectors.

Domestic Trends incorporates 23 indexes to track the main economic contributors, including retail and automotive.

Writing on the Google blog, Hal Varian and Ayan Mandal gave the Auto-Buyers Index as an example, which indicates a 40 per cent rise in the industry in July 2009, following the US government’s Cash for Clunkers initiative.

Also of interest is the Luxuries Index, which follows searches such as ‘jewellery’, ‘rings’ and ‘Tiffany’. The index reveals yearly spikes each December for these items, but a decline can be seen over the last two years thanks to the recession.

These graphs, Mr Varian added, are useful as they provide simple comparison of actual stocks with Google Trends.

In recent news, those involved in online marketing services were offered a glimpse into customer searching habits by Google Insights, allowing them to expand keyword lists and various other marketing methods to adapt more effectively to consumer demand.

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