The Best Content to Create for the Mountain Biking Audience Based on Their Reddit & Organic Search Behaviour

Key Takeaways

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Top ranking searches and topic categories for Mountain Biking on Google Search and Reddit between Jan. 2021 to Dec. 2022: 

Keywords

• In the United States,  “mtb” still leads as the favored search term but had a sharp spike in July 2021, and July 2022. 
• Globally, “mtb” related search terms spiked during April 2021 and May 2021, likely due to the 2021 UCI MTB World Cup hosted at that time, but when comparing the months YoY, search interest has decreased -25%. 
• In the US, “mtb” still leads as the favoured search term but had a sharp spike in July 2021, and July 2022. This could be due in part to the 2021 Olympics being held at that time.

Google Search

• The most popular questions being asked on Google about mountain bikes are related to guides, hardware, gear, location, purchasing, and health.
• “Guides”, “comparison” and “bike frames” search queries occupied the majority of searches with 41%, 22%, and 11% respectively. Comparison queries focused on questions asking “which mtb is best?” while bike frame queries looked for information on specific styles of mountain bikes, such as hardtails. 
• Within “Hardware” based searches, “drivetrain”, “tires”, and “brakes” related queries occupied the majority of interest at 60%.
• Within “General Info” based searches, riders who are new to Mountain Biking search for broader types of content that help them access quick and cursory information.

Reddit

• The most popular questions being asked on Reddit about Mountain Bikes are related to Community, Riding, Hardware, and Gear.
• "Community" topics were dominated by "Bike Share" (28%) and "New Bike Day" (22%) related content.
• "Riding" topics were lead by "POV" (34%) and "Fails & Crashes" (25%). Threads of this nature focus heavily on sharing video-based content of them riding or other focused videos of overcoming features like jumps, drops, and technical features.

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Amongst Mountain Biking related search terms, "mtb" leads in comparison to the alternative phrases "mountain bike", "mountain bikes", and “mountain biking”.

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“MTB” related search terms had a spike during the months of April 2021 and May 2021, likely due to the 2021 UCI Mountain Biking World Cup hosted at that time. When comparing April and May YoY from 2021 to 2022, overall search interest has decreased -25%.

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In the United States, when comparing the same search terms, “mtb” still leads as the favoured search term but had a sharp spike in July 2021, and July 2022. This could be due in part to the 2021 Olympics being held at that time. 

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Within the United States from January 2021 to December 2022, “mtb” as a search term was most popular in the states of Delaware and Vermont. 

Opportunity: Look for influencers in these areas to amplify and support the Mountain Biking community. Additionally, support or sponsor local organizations that host tournaments, races, or take responsibility for trail building and maintenance.

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Although less popular than “mtb”, within the United States from January 2021 to December 2022, “mountain biking” as a search term is most popular in the states of Vermont and Utah. 

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The most popular questions being asked on Google about mountain bikes are related to guides, hardware, general info, gear, location, purchasing and health.

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Within “Guides”: “comparison” and “bike frames” driven search queries occupied the majority of searches with 41% and 22%respectively. Comparison queries focused on questions asking “which mtb is best?” while bike frame queries looked for information on specific styles of mountain bikes, such as hardtails. 

Opportunity: Guide-based searches often are looking for direct comparisons across all portions of mountain bikes, and are garner higher level of interest when both sides are discussed. Good examples of this are 3rd party websites conduct comparisons and structure it as blog content. 

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Within “Hardware” based searches, “drivetrain”, “tires”, and “brakes” related queries occupied the majority of interest at 60%. Drivetrain queries look for specific information like “mtb with gearbox” or “how mountain bike gears work”.

Opportunity: Given that there is a plethora of choices when it comes to Mountain Biking hardware, helping users build an understanding of what each part of the bike does and who manufactures those specific parts helps establish one as a thought leader in the mountain biking space.

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Within “general Info” based searches, riders who are new to Mountain Biking search for broader types of content that help them access quick and cursory information around the capabilities of mountain biking and other adjacent topics like riders, and events.

What Are Bike Conversions?: Conversion kits exist as a means for riders to take a type of bike and convert it to fit the functionality of another. For example, E-Bike conversion kits, MTB to Gravel Bike conversion kits. 

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When analyzing search intent within each category, “Guides” related queries tend to focus on specific tips and advice for the progression of a rider. “Hardware” queries veer in a similar direction but look for explanations behind specific pieces of hardware, such as how suspension or brake pads function. 

Opportunity: Mountain Biking has a notorious reputation for being dangerous and can result in new riders being intimidated in their progression. Creating content that outlines gear, riding styles, and trail types to improve a rider’s skill is another avenue to extend a brand into the position of a thought leader.

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Although less in quantity*, “gear”, “location”, “purchasing”, and “health” related searches are largely kept to questions about mountain biking gear is worth the investment, looking for local trails, or bottom funnel purchasing styled queries.  

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The most popular questions being asked on Reddit about Mountain Bikes are related to community (63% of threads), riding, hardware, and gear.

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Within “Community” based topics, 28% of share interest was classified into “Bike Share” related threads and “New Bike Day” themed posts occupied 22%. 

Opportunity: A core focus of community themed threads is sharing in the excitement around either finally purchasing or riding your new mountain bike. One way to engage users would be to have an accessible channel where it’s encouraged to share the new bike a rider has purchased.

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Within “Riding” based topics, “POV” and “Fails & Crashes” lead at 34%, 25% respectively. Threads of this nature focus heavily on sharing video based content of people riding or videos of overcoming features like jumps, drops, and technical features.

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Community Content: Members of the subreddit post various topics involving humour such as memes, posed pictures of their bikes, and other interesting 3rd party content. 

Bike Share

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New Bike Day

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Humour

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Content Share

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Ride Photos

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Riding Content: Active members post videos sharing their experiences in Mountain Biking alongside their achievements of successfully completing challenging features.

POV

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Fails & Crashes

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Jumps

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Drops

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Tech

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The time frame used for the analysis was Jan. 1, 2021 - Dec. 31, 2022. With a Geography of world wide.

Results are an aggregation of data from Google Trends and other data querying services.