[cc2k]

The numbers you are seeing are more correctly called "references" or "citations."

Those numbers are the number of pages which have the text you are searching for.

So that tells you who has the most web pages being written about them, or mentioning them. It's no surprise given the fixation the media and left wing bloggers have on Palin hatred that "Sarah Palin" shows a lot of pages mentioning her name.

There is also Google Trends which tells you long term trends for search terms.

Also check Google Insight which gives recent traffic and lets you compare search terms for interest both globally and regionally.

Finally, there's The Google Keyword Analyzer Tool. The keyword tool is another way to look at interest, and it will tell you what Google thinks are "related keywords" to the search terms you give it.

Of the three, Google Insights is probably the best graphical representation of "interest" in a given term or topic. Also note that Google Insights gives more details and actual numbers if you sign in with a Google account (gmail or other Google login).

[Minus_The_Bear]

Google Trends Palin vs. Obama

[2ndDivisionVet]

Should be easier to raise that $2 million dollars for her campaign than I thought...

[2ndDivisionVet]

FYI: Mrs. 2ndDivisionVet told me tonight that her company, Sears Optical, will very soon carry “Sarah Palin-style” eyeglasses, for much less than Kazuo Kawasaki charges. Almost every Sears store has an in-house optical store.

[el_texicano]

Yea and AMEN!!!