Why did Google tell you to look up Kenneth Frazier’s Wife?

Kenneth Frazier is in the news for quitting Trump’s Business Council – and that has led to millions of searches on Google. This happens every time an executive is in the news.

At Five Blocks we help brands and executives manage their online reputation.

We pay especially close attention to Google’s “Search Suggest” – the autocompletes – like the one for Ken Frazier’s wife..

Google suggests the phrases that are most likely to resonate with searchers – based on past experience.

In this way, Google Search Suggestions are a window into what people think about you and/or your brand.

Kenneth Frazier, The CEO of Merck,  isn’t alone in a recent study we conducted, over 40% of Fortune 100 CEOs’ names are associated with family-related terms in Google Search Suggest.

Meaning when searchers type in the name of the CEO, they see something like ‘family,’ ‘wife,’ or ‘son’ as one of the auto-completes suggested by Google.

 

This suggests that when searching CEOs many stakeholders want to know more about them and their families.

With our Fortune 500 clients we will often recommend monitoring each of the suggested quires and ensuring that the brand manages content will satisfy the searchers while making sure to respect the individual’s privacy.

It also may be interesting for companies to analyze the timing associated with the appearance of these search suggestions. Do searchers look at a CEO’s family at a time when they feel confident about the CEO? Is it in crisis? It’s even possible that the appearance of these and other suggestions may be associated with changes in sentiment toward the individual by company and are therefore related to rises or falls in share prices.

If your brand or key executives may need assistance managing your digital reputation – please contact us at services @ FiveBlocks.com.