Google Searches For Hand Sanitizer Spike

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, all types of sanitizing products are flying off store shelves -- so more consumers are searching for DIY solutions. (As more brands are responding to this need, however, be sure your formula, or a DIY product that you are promoting, follows the FDA's Guidance -- see more about this below.) 

Washing your hands for 20 seconds is as effective against coronavirus as using hand sanitizer, the CDC says, however, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are highly effective when you're not near a sink. Vanity Fair is even calling hand sanitizer a "luxury good," and LVMH is making it. 

The hashtag #handsanitizer has over 200k posts on Instagram. The image above is via Instagram/mariemeadefit.

Read on for Google's insights into what consumers want right now.

Google Searches Spike

Take a look and Google Trends, and you'll see that the search term "Hand Sanitizer" is on the rise worldwide, which is no surprise during a coronavirus pandemic. 

A partial screenshot of this graph is shown above, illustrating that from February 23rd through today, the term's "Interest Over Time" is scored at just above 75 -- and it's on its way to peaking at a score of 100.

What does a search term's Interest Over Time number represent? Search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time range. 

A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term, while a score of 0 means there was not enough data to assign a value for the term. The search term "Hand Sanitizer" scored 0 for all of 2019, through January 25th, 2020 -- before beginning its upward trajectory at the end of February. 

Where are the consumers living that are searching on Google for hand sanitizer? The US ranks at number three on the list, after Singapore and Malaysia, and followed by the UK and Ireland. 

The top five Breakout Search Terms related to Hand Sanitizer are Coronavirus; hand sanitizer coronavirus; hand sanitizer for coronavirus; hand sanitizer in stock; and does hand sanitizer kill coronavirus. 

Searching for DIY Hand Sanitizer

Taking a look at the "How to..." search term phrase, "How To Make Hand Sanitizer" ranks #4 on the list of Most Searched related to coronavirus during this past week.

The other "How to..." terms in the Top 5 are more expected, and are health-related. (The screenshot above left shows this list below, from Google Trends' Coronavirus section.)  

The Most Searched "How To..." terms related to coronavirus are:  

1. How to get tested for coronavirus 
2. How to treat coronavirus 
3. How to prevent coronavirus
4. How to make hand sanitizer
5. How to prepare for coronavirus

In addition, "make hand sanitizer" tops the list of related search queries, and scores a 100, which means interest has peaked. The term is followed by alcohol; alcohol hand sanitizer; and hand gel sanitzer. 

See Next: Marketing a Hand Sanitizer?

Beauty companies, retailers, indie brands, consumers, and even NYS are making hand sanitizers due to surging demands — but experts say stick to the FDA-approved formula explained in its new Guidance, read more about it in the Online Exclusive: Meeting the Surge in Demand for Hand Sanitizer During COVID-19.


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Updates on the Hand Sanitizer Shortage & FDA's New Guidance for Manufacturers: As the U.S. faces a hand sanitizer shortage, bloggers such as Lab Muffin help spread the word about the most effective alcohol-based formulas for COVID-19.