It’s December already – and yes, it’s crazy how fast the year has gone by. A fun thing to do at this time of the year is to look at the most popular searches on the web. And we can thank Yahoo for once again collating the data. It’s the 11th year Yahoo has been crunching the numbers and this year, they’ve created 50 Top 10 Lists on a range of interesting categories. I’d like to draw your attention to a few of them.
Let’s start with the Top Searches Overall on Yahoo in 2012
Election
Iphone 5
Kim Kardashian
Kate Upton
Kate Middleton
Whitney Houston
Olympics
Political polls
Lindsay Lohan
Jennifer Lopez
Are you surprised? I have to say, aside from the Olympics, I’m surprised at the lack of sports searches on this list. But the picture changes when you look at the top searches on mobile devices.
Top Searches on Yahoo Mobile
Iphone5
Scrabble word finder
Fantasy football
Olympics
Hurricane Sandy
American Idol
Kim Kardashian
NFL scores
SF Giants
Mega millions
As a wordy person, I’m happy to see Scrabble word finder high on the list. And from looking at these two lists, I’d speculate that men are more likely to search by mobile device whereas women are more likely to search from desktop. If this is correct, and your business targets men, then you’d better make sure you’ve got a great mobile site.
Top ‘What Is’ Searches On Yahoo In 2012
what is SOPA
what is love
what is the hunger games about
what is KONY
what is a zip line
what is obama care
what is scientology
what is a blue moon
what is tapenade
what is the electoral college
Top ‘How To’ Searches On Yahoo In 2012
how to make a diaper cake
how to buy facebook stock
how to build a deck
how to boil an egg
how to cook corn on the cob
how to cook swiss chard
how to make salsa
how to get rid of bags under the eyes
how to make cake pops
how to cook pumpkin seeds
SOPA, by the way, is the anti-piracy bill currently before Congress. I think my favorite is ‘how to boil an egg’. Despite all our technology and know how, this remains a challenge for the age.
There are obsessions – Korean pop sensation PSY and Gangnam Style comes in at #9. Time breastfeeding cover was heavily searched. Las Vegas will be happy that it’s the #1 search for top travel cities in 2012. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. On the Who is list…who is leaving Grey’s Anatomy comes in at #5. The top searched scandal – kate middleton photo scandal. I’m sure that will be replaced in 2013 with kate middleton baby bump photos. Where is Monica Lewinsky is a popular search question making #2 on the where is list, along with Where is Ecuador, perhaps because of Julian Assange seeking asylum at the embassy in London. An amusing factoid – archery was typed into search engines this year thanks to the popularity of the film ‘The Hunger Games’ and perhaps, the Olympics. Kony2012 had a big run – both during the launch of the documentary and when its creator had a breakdown. Has anyone kept up with the fate of the child soldier’s since then?
As Yahoo summarizes, searchers are interested in gadgets, entertainment and celebrity, along with sports and breaking news. So, there you have it. 2012 are viewed through the lens of search engines. Any predictions for 2013?
Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/865021
