Published in cooperation between Online Sweeps and Good Times
Sweepstakes contests are more popular than ever across the United States. That trend is visible in nearly every U.S. state.
California is no different, as residents are searching for information on sweepstakes contests at a rate that’s perhaps higher than ever. Phrases like “sweepstakes near me” are high-volume search terms in the last 30 days from Google users in the Golden State.
This article examines Google Trends’ analysis of California residents’ searches for the specific term “sweepstakes” over the past 30 days.
Californians Searching For Sweepstakes
The following insights are derived from a Google Trends analysis of the term “sweepstakes” among California searchers from the period of November 6 through December 6, 2024.
When comparing different regions for the same search terms, Google Trends assigns a score of 100 to the region that produced the highest search volume for the term. All other regions in the comparison get a score based on a percentage of search volume.
For example, if the Reno, NV metro area scores a 100, then that’s the area that’s produced the highest search volume for the term “sweepstakes” in the last 30 days. If the Monterey-Salinas area scores a 51, then that area has produced 51 percent of the search traffic that the Reno metro area has over the same period.
Keeping in mind that the Reno metro area includes parts of northeast California, the Google Trends scored look like this:
Search Term “Sweepstakes” on Google Trends in California (Nov. 6-Dec. 6, 2024)
- 100—Reno (metro area)
- 51—Monterey-Salinas
- 47—Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto
- 42—Fresno-Visalia
- 38—San Diego
- 37—Los Angeles
- 35—Eureka
- 34—Yuma/El Centro
- 29—Chico-Redding
- 29—Bay Area
The Reno metro area produced the highest search volume for “sweepstakes” by a pretty wide margin.
As an interesting note, “sweepstakes” searches in this region were quite low through the first two weeks of November, then suddenly spiked on November 21. The surge in interest sustained through most of the remainder of the time period studied here.
Compared to the Reno metro area, other regions of California showed pretty similar search volume across the board for “sweepstakes.”
Related Queries and Breakout Terms
Zooming out on California and looking at the state as a whole, several queries related to the term “sweepstakes” surged in interest in the state in the studied time period.
The following terms qualified as “breakout” queries over the given time period. “Breakout” terms on Google Trends are defined as terms that grew by more than 5,000 percent during the study.
Breakout Terms Related to Sweepstakes
- Sweepstakes near me
- Starbucks sweepstakes
- New sweepstakes casinos
- Ed McMahon sweepstakes
- Online sweepstakes casinos
- HGTV.com sweepstakes
- Luckyland
- Jackpota
- TLC sweepstakes
- Golden Dragon sweepstakes
- Wow Vegas
- Mega Bonanza Casino
- PCH Lotto
- Stake
- Coinbase sweepstakes
We see a clear trend of a sudden surge in interest for several different sweepstakes contests and formats at the same time from California searchers. California sweepstake rules are particularly strict, requiring sponsors to provide clear disclosures about prize odds, sponsor details, and ensuring that entries provide equal chances of winning
Let’s take a look at the traditional sweepstakes contests on the list:
Starbucks For Life Sweepstakes—One of the world’s most popular coffee brands is promoting its winter seasonal beverages with a massive sweepstakes contest. The grand prize comes in the form of “Starbucks for Life,” which grants the winner credit for one drink per day from Starbucks for the next 30 years. There will be five grand prize winners and more than 10 million prizes total in this contest.
HGTV Dream Home Sweepstakes—HGTV runs multiple sweepstakes contests year-round. The most popular of these contests is the annual Dream Home giveaway, and the 2025 version of that contest begins on Dec. 17. The winner of this sweepstakes wins a package that includes a $2.2 million dream home. $100,000 cash and a new 2025 Mercedes Benz. The odds of winning the grand prize in this contest depend on how many total entries it gets, and you expect that number to end up somewhere in the region of 150 million to 1.
TLC Giveaway Sweepstakes—Like HGTV, TLC offers sweepstakes contests throughout the year. Most of these contests are $5K Giveaways, with a grand prize of $5,000. The odds of winning these contests depend on the number of entrants.
In summary, the surge in interest for sweepstakes contests among California residents reflects a broader trend seen across the United States. Overall, this dynamic landscape of sweepstakes not only captivates participants but also underscores the importance of informed engagement in the exciting world of contests and giveaways.
