SNP dominate the public's online interest in Scotland

The SNP dominate the online searches in Scotland. Picture: LESLEY MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images

The SNP lead the online public interest in Scotland, data released ahead of the General Elections has revealed.

DigitasLBi have produced statistics relating to the most common search engine questions that have been posed by the UK public, with the nats prevailing in Scotland with 44 per cent of searches. Labour are second with 28 per cent, Conservatives third with 13 per cent and the Liberal Democrats and UKIP at 10 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

They also compiled the most searched political themes over the course of the election divided by capital city with Edinburgh’s citizens’ primary concerns appearing to be the NHS, Brexit and pensions.

The importance of the SNP’s social media presence is shown in that they are the only party to receive more traffic from their social media presence than searches for the party online.

SNP dominate the online searches in Scotland.

Across the entire UK, the Labour party dominate the search engines with 49 per cent of all internet searches related to them. The Conservative party are second with 21 per cent, ahead of the Liberal Democrats (14 per cent) and the SNP and UKIP on seven and nine per cent respectively.

The most searched political subject are party manifestos; party policies are ostensibly at the core of public intrigue and importance.

The most common query over the last week has been “who should I vote for?”. And judging by the cross-over traffic between sites, voters appear to be torn on where to stand in this election.

ComScore published a cross visiting report that detailed the party-to-party online traffic statistics:

:: Just under 14 per cent of those who visit the Conservative website also then visit Labour’s.

:: Almost 18 per cent of Labour’s visitors then go over to the Conservative site.

:: UKIP’s website shares the most visitors with approximately 33 per cent visiting both Conservative and Labour websites and just under 24 per cent and eight per cent also navigating the Lib Dem and SNP websites respectively.

The electorate appear to be engaging in the television debates as “who won the leadership debate?” is the second most searched question this week.

Difference between online searches and social media.

YouGov and BBC polls put the Conservatives ahead of Labour to varying degrees, but polls are not results and online data shows the questions that occupy the voters mind.

The research has also shown the curiosity of voters with a range of questions posed. Such as ‘Is Theresa May related to Brian May?’ ‘Is Nicola Sturgeon a Celtic fan?’ ‘Are Tories Labour?’ ‘Is Jeremy Corbyn a vegan?’.