The report looks at simple volume for a given word or term, breaking the results down by country and category. Here is a look at the top searches in 2012 in the United States and around the world:
Top World Searches
None of the top three searches in the world are likely to surprise, with two covering celebrities and another a natural disaster.
Taking the number one spot on the list under rather unfortunate circumstances is Whitney Houston, the well-known and loved American pop singer who drowned in a bathtub earlier this year.
Second on the worldwide list of trending searches was Gangnam Style, the world’s favorite song of the year – or, perhaps, ever. The song’s video beat out Justin Bieber’s “Baby” on YouTube only earlier this month to become the most-watched video of all-time on the site with more than 850 million views, a testament to what people were finding when Googling about the track.
Finally, in third place, is Hurricane Sandy, the very serious hurricane that struck the east coast of the United States only last month, killing many and causing billions of dollars in damages.
Top U.S. Searches
Whitney Houston and Hurricane Sandy take the number one and two spots, respectively, in the United States, with the term “Election 2012″ claiming the third spot in honor of the hype surrounding this year’s presidential election that saw Barack Obama claim his second victory in that race.
Coming in fourth and fifth were the popular Hunger Games franchise of books and films that has taken the world by storm, and the name of New York Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin, the Chinese basketball star who shook up the NBA with his stellar play earlier this year.
Other Notable Queries
Other notable search queries that take the prize for popularity include the redneck reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Child, Duchess of Wales Kate Middleton, Apple’s latest iPad, and Amanda Todd, a young Canadian girl who committed suicide as a result of internet bullying, serving as something of a martyr for that cause around the world.
All in all, it was an interesting 2012! Check out Google’s full Zeitgeist 2012 report by clicking here.
Source:
http://www.techbusy.org/google-releases-top-searches-of-2012/