Let's say you don't yet have a tattoo but want to get one of your favorite band. You likely are not completely sure what to choose, though. There are so many! So, you jump onto Google and you type in a few words like, "Of Montreal tattoo," and see what appears.
A recent study by German-based LLTattoo via Google Keyword Planner shows the group has done a lot of homework to see which bands globally have inspired the most tattoo searches. This does not mean that everyone has then gone out and gotten a tat, of course, but they at least were interested. A couple of things to keep in mind with the study, though: It was supposedly a global search and where LLTattoo is based.
Could their results be thrown off by where they are located? Likely. Also, the numbers they seemingly found appear extraordinarily low, even while based on a monthly average. More on that in just a second. Let's start with who ranks at the top.
Study about most Google searches for band tattoos is somewhat surprising
If you are a Pink Floyd fan, you are not alone. There are many other fans of the band and, maybe like you, they are looking to get a tattoo of the group. One thing that would have been helpful is if LLTattoo had added which specific tattoos are the main draws. Anyone could get a "PF" and call it Pink Floyd.
Still, the Brits ranked first, pretty well ahead of the second-place band which was Guns N' Roses. That band has more singular iconic imagery a circle of the band's name cut in the middle by opposing pistols and two roses. Even without the band's name on the image, one might say, "Oh! Guns and, well...roses."
The difference between the average monthly views of Pink Floyd (13,000) versus Guns N' Roses (10,675) was the same kind of difference between second-place GNR and sixth-place Linkin Park. In other words, a lot more people are searching for Pink Floyd tattoos than any other band, according to the study.
Rammstein is a surprising third at 10,558, but, again, that might have more to do with LLTattoo being based in Germany. Did their origin throw off the results? Rammstein is a popular band, but assuming tattoo searches turn into getting an actual tattoo, are more people showing off their Rammstein tats than every other band but two? That seems like a stretch.
Number eight might be the most disappointing group of fans. That is where Twenty One Pilots ranks. Surely, there are better bands to follow, right?
Pink Floyd, Guns N' Roses, and Rammstein were followed in the top ten by Metallica (9,367), Nirvana (9,150), Linkin Park (8,425), Slipknot (7,900), Twenty One Pilots (7,775), Iron Maiden (7,125), and Tool (6,200). All of those search numbers appear low in a global study. One might wonder what a study done by a different company might look like.