18
2009
“Money Saving Expert” Martin Lewis the most searched-for personality in the UK
Martin Lewis, creator of the “consumer revenge” website Money Saving Expert was the most searched-for personality by UK Internet users during the 12 weeks ending January 3 2009. There were 11% more searches for Martin Lewis than US President Barack Obama, the second most searched-for personality over the period.
Ten most searched for personalities in the UK, 12 weeks ending 03/01/09
1. Martin Lewis
2. Barack Obama
3. Diana Vickers
4. Britney Spears
5. Leona Lewis
6. Cheryl Cole
7. Georgina Baillie
8. Miley Cyrus
9. Nicola Mclean
10. Katy Perry
Clearly British Internet users remain fascinated by celebrities, but they are also looking for more practical advice in these tough economic times. The combination of practical money saving advice, a popular website and frequent appearances in the media made Martin Lewis the most searched-for personality in the UK during the final three months of last year. During January 2009 www.moneysavingexpert.com was the 100th most visited website in the UK, while the site’s forums (forums.moneysavingexpert.com) ranked as the 10th most popular social networking site.
Other ways that UK consumers have been using the Internet to save money during the credit crunch include:
· A 143% increase in the volume of searches for retail discount vouchers over the Christmas period;
· A decrease in searches for holidays in Eurozone countries and the US, and shift towards cheaper locations such as Turkey, North Africa and India;
· An increase in searches for second hand goods and a growth in traffic to Classifieds websites;
· Visiting online banking websites more frequently to get the best deals and responding to changes in interest rates.
The then President-elect Barack Obama was the second most searched-for personality by UK Internet users during the 12 weeks ending January 3 2009. However, female celebrities from the worlds of TV and music account for most of the top 10. One in seven non-branded UK Internet searches is for a TV program or personality, while one in every 16 is music related
The boost that the UK entertainment industry has received during the awards season has also been reflected in the volume of US Internet searches for British musicians, actors and films. All five of the nominees for Record of the Year at the Grammys were British, and the award was eventually won by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss for their song “Please Read The Letter”. Last week there was a 15-fold increase in the volume of US searches for ‘robert plant’, while there were seven-fold increases for fellow nominees M.I.A. and Adele (who won awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). There was also a three-fold increase in searches for ‘coldplay’, winners of two Grammies for “Viva La Vida”.
American Internet users have also been searching for recent exports from the British film industry. After she won a Golden Globe, US Internet searches for Oscar nominee Kate Winslet increased eight-fold. Fellow British Oscar favourite – and BAFTA award winner – Slumdog Millionaire experienced a three fold increase in US searches after it won the Golden Globe for best film.
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Martin Lewis is certainly popular. But, not always for the right reasons. There are many people in the industry who don’t think he deserves his title.
You just need to look at the history of Wikipedia edits for his name to see the fight that has been going on for many years.
There is also an active debate on whether moneysavingexpert martin lewis is more money grabbing than anything else. He failed to file his company reports this year to hide from the press how much money he makes.
I wonder how many of those searches were made by Martin himself? I reckon he’s the kind of guy that Googles his own name on a pretty regular basis.
Also, why aren’t the very firms that he’s commenting on sponsor the term “Martin Lewis” to capitalise on this growing trafiic?
“There are many people in the industry who don’t think he deserves his title.”
If you mean people in UK finance industry, *they* are the cause of his popularity, and should get their own houses in order before they start throwing stones at his.
I think I speak on behalf of the majority of journalists and television producers who have crossed Martin’s paths in recent years, when I say he is one of the most arrogant men walking this planet.
According to Wikipedia he does not make any money from his website which is run as ethical co-operative in Shephard’s Bush and any revenue is donated to charity. It does say on his website it is free to use and free of ads.
> I wonder how many of those searches were made by Martin himself? I reckon he’s the kind of guy that Googles his own name on a pretty regular basis.
Actually he doesn’t just google his own name on a regular basis, he also encourages his users to do the same.
Here’s his last “I’m so great, please google me” post:
http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2008/12/11/making-google's-top-ten-above-hannah-montana-below-cheryl-cole… /
Here’s Martin’s comment on the data via his own blog.
http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2009/02/18/more-searched-than-obama-how-do-you-react/
hiya, Robin,
a bit of devil’s advocate:
From the top 10 you post, Martin’s is the only name not prone to typo.
I suspect if you compare searches for ‘obama’ against searches for ‘martin lewis’, the president would come out top.
Enjoying your stuff.
dan
Hi Dan – thanks for the comment.
We have taken this spelling issue into account. So, for example, Obama’s ranking takes into consideration both searches for ‘obama’ and ‘barack obama’.
Robin
very interesting – had done so myself through Google Trends & came up with the opposite answer:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=obama%2C%22martin+lewis%22&ctab=0&geo=GB&geor=all&date=ytd&sort=0
Dan – it’s worth remembering that we look at data from all search engines, not just Google. Therefore our results sometimes differ from Google Trends.
Thanks, Robin
My goodness, how bitter are some people? Did we not get our bonuses or something?
I really don’t care how much money Martin Lewis makes from the website – good for him. I really don’t care if he comes across as arrogant when he’s arguing for consumers rights. He & his team, and the contributors to that website, have saved a lot of people, a hell of a lot of money.
Heard about this “Martin Lewis” moneysaving phenomenon & his MSE website recently so decided to give it a try.
His website indeed is cleverly architected to woo the low-IQ’ed average Joes of the UK. Apart from the obvious money saving articles, there are lot of discussions/posts urging people to buy and spend; e.g. spend 100p to save 10p where he or she should really be spending no money at all!
The website appears like a collection of referral sites, the difference here is, instead of the usual click-through flashy eye-catchy animation banner ads, Martin Lewis provides links based on story-telling. The average Joe think these stories as “intelligent analysis” saving coin drops from wallet, which obviously is doing his bread winning job. For those who understand the internet referral market, it is quiet clear from the MSE website and its redirection mechanism that Martin Lewis “works for himself” for getting paid directly from his clients.
It appears like he works one-to-one with his clients by writing and promoting products within articles urging people to use his affiliate links that provide ‘personal recommendations’. This is indeed a different logical business model when compared to using third party referral companies like doubleclick or commission-junction. Personally, I do not see much of quality in his money-saving tips, though there is lot of quantity.
And yes, I think it has worked well for him so far ; hard work or hardly worked – he is celebrating his websites 6th birthday!.
For those of you slagging him off I would ask how many of you have worked so hard and made such a big difference to people? People are searching for help in imes of financial crisis.
As one of the apparently low IQ’d (questionable when in my case, you consider a degree, masters and post qualifying attainments…some of us are just crap with money but that doesent mean we’re thick!) people who use the site I KNOW that Martinand the team have worked hard to make a difference. And they have. While you can try, you cant take that away! What differences have you made today eh?!
Plus good on him if he’s made some money! I suspect that those of you, who dont even have the guts to post publically but as nameless individuals, are just jealous – wishing you had had the brains and the gall to do it yourself!
From these comments, Martin Lewis is like marmite you either love him or hate him. ‘Laura’ in the comments abouve seems to have been sent to comment here from Martin’s website and has reported back on on MSE her comment here and received his signature thanks. Good business practice to have a system is place to counter negative comment.
How perfect for our times that the country’s most popular celebrity is a credit card salesman.
The guy is great.
As long as he helps one person who then takes action on the suggestions then its worth it.
I think martin lewis has conned a lot of people with his persona.. he makes millions a month through his affiliate links…. offer some free advice then click to change your car insurance or gas and electricity… Much like most of the comparison sites.
Did you know that for each signup made through the links you get paid between 40-100 pounds per person.. do the maths…
The guy has positioned himself well..
You need to stand upto the plate and get the commisions for your self and save more money that these sites can save you.
Did you know that for each signup made through the links you get paid between 40-100 pounds per person.. do the maths…
Thanks so very much for taking your time to create this very useful and informative site. I have learned a lot from your site. Thanks!! I think you have done an excellent job with your site. I will return in the near future.
I really enjoyed reading this post, big fan. Keep up the good work and please tell me when can you publish more articles or where can I read more on the subject?
Plus good on him if he’s made some money! I suspect that those of you, who dont even have the guts to post publically but as nameless individuals, are just jealous – wishing you had had the brains and the gall to do it yourself!
I really don’t care how much money Martin Lewis makes from the website – good for him. I really don’t care if he comes across as arrogant when he’s arguing for consumers rights. He & his team, and the contributors to that website, have saved a lot of people, a hell of a lot of money.