Most people searching for information about Brexit in Google’s engine are clicking on links that send them to either the BBC, The Guardian or The Independent, according to data released
Thursday.
Publishers are reaping the benefits of clicks from search engines to their sites.
With more than one million Google searches monthly in the United Kingdom for terms
related to Brexit news, the U.K. government web site is the most frequented search advertiser on the subject with many linking to its Get Ready for Brexit campaign, according to Searchmetrics. The research also found that the “Lib Dems” political party is the most prominent.
The second-most
visited site related to Brexit information is The Guardian, with a market share of 12%. The Independent follows with 9%, Wikipedia and The Telegraph each have 4%. At the bottom of the list are CNN, the Financial Times, and Politico.
advertisement
advertisement
The Guardian
also took the top spot in Google search results for the largest number of Brexit-related keywords. The Guardian is followed by the Independent, Express, Telegraph, The Sun, The Times, and Daily
Mail.
News boxes listing top stories show integration into 40% of first-page results. Landing in Google News boxes requires optimization techniques. The Guardian also took top ranking in this
area. The Guardian’s stories display 20% of the time — more than double the figure for the Independent at 9.5%, and the BBC at 9.2%.
Searchmetrics estimates that image boxes
display for around 24% of first-page results for Brexit, with images from The Daily Express the most popular serving up in nearly 10% of all Image boxes. The Guardian comes in second, appearing in 9%
of Image boxes, followed by the BBC website at 8%.
Video results served up for about 20% of searches for Brexit issues, and the majority were populated with videos hosted on YouTube.
Google AdWords search ads serve up above the organic search listings on the first page for 84% of searches on Brexit-related topics.
Some 47% of results
have search ads appearing underneath the organic listings.
The majority of search ads for Brexit issues are from the government’s gov.uk website, many of
which link to its “Get Ready for Brexit” campaign. Other advertisers include voicemag.uk and ft.com.