Google has developed a formula to predict hot online search topics. The formula attempts to characterize the predictability of a Trends series based on its historical performance.

Google Trends, a free online service that shows what search subjects are gaining or sinking in popularity, has been around for some time. But now engineers at Google’s lab in Israel have come up with a forecasting model while studying whether past and current search patterns hold reliable clues to what people will search for in future months.

These findings resulted in a new forecasting feature added this week to Google’s Insights for Search.

More than half of the most popular search queries at Google are predictable as far as 1 year ahead, with a margin of error of about 12%, according to the Israel lab engineers. With categories such as health, travel & food and drink being particularly predictable, this tool could prove extremely useful in these markets, and could help advertisers decide how to disperse their budgets most effectively in future online campaigns!