Google Trends gets numerical

11th June 2008

Numerical data behind the search information accessible through Google Trends is being made available to the public, it has emerged.

Reuters reports that the service, which enables the comparison of search data from Google's database, is now to include a numerical component.

Launched two years ago, users can compare the performance of search terms over different geographical regions and languages using Google Trends.

The report notes that data from Google Trends shows a new lead in searches for Microsoft compared to those for Apple, amid press attention to its takeover discussions with Yahoo!.

Now, the numerical data behind such statistics can be exported into a spreadsheet by users, who can compare the performance of words and phrases.

Yahoo! is currently considering an amended version of a deal with Microsoft that fell through in May, CNet News revealed this week.

Any new deal is reportedly likely to have a lower impact than the arrangement that was being discussed last month.