Google Highlights Hot Australian Searches in 2008
Announcement
SYDNEY, Australia, 3 December 2008
- Stephanie Rice, Barack Obama and Miley Cyrus were hot
- Everyone wanted an iPhone and to find out about Madonna’s divorce
- Australia, Big Brotherand The Dark Knightgot us searching
With the end of the year in sight, it’s time to reflect on what made 2008 special. Today we’re releasing lists of the most popular search terms that Australians have been typing into Google.com.au in 2008, as well as the fastest rising searches of the year.
Also, we’re showing which States and Territories searched most for various specific queries in 2008 – showing that NSW tops the table for searches for mortgages, Victoria leads on searches for Gordon Ramsay and Queenslanders search most for The Veronicas.
As Australia’s most popular search engine, Australians use Google to search for what’s new and interesting, so these queries, when seen in aggregate, tend to be a good reflection of what’s on everybody’s minds.
The lists are calculated by aggregating the most popular and fast-rising search queries being typed into the Google.com.au search box.
Plus, this year, with all the news about the financial crisis, we’ve used Google’s new Insights for Search feature to ask whether in 2008 Australians searched more for the "GFC" or KFC. Subprime or Optimus Prime? Wall Street or Sesame Street? Freddie Mac or Big Mac?
Enjoy reading and analysing these results. You can visit google.com/zeitgeist2008 to see more worldwide lists.
Media enquiries:
Rob Shilkin,
Google Australia,
02 9374 4000
rshilkin@google.com
Andy Sommer,
Spectrum Communications,
02 9954 3299
andys@spectrumcomms.com.au
The Top 10 Australian searches of 2008
- Games
- Sydney
- YouTube
- MySpace
- Facebook
- Google
- eBay
- My
- Weather
- Hotmail
The 20 fastest rising Australian searches of 2008
- iPhone
- Facebook
- Google Maps
- YouTube
- wiki
- ANZ
- wow
- Maps
- Sarah Palin
- Underbelly
- beijing 2008
- stephanie rice
- Barack Obama
- Cloverfield
- Miley Cyrus
- Firefox 3
- The Dark Knight
- Heath Ledger
- Gossip Girl
- Zero punctuation
TOP 10 ON TV (most searched TV shows)
- Big Brother
- Simpsons
- Heroes
- Family Guy
- Underbelly
- Home and Away
- Australian Idol
- Gossip Girl
- South Park
- Neighbours
TOP 10 MOVIES (most searched 2008 movies)
- Australia
- The Dark Knight
- Indiana Jones
- Iron Man
- Hancock
- Cloverfield
- Kung Fu Panda
- Sweeney Todd
- Quantum of Solace
- Tropic Thunder
TOP 10 CELEBS (most searched celebrities)
- Barack Obama
- Chris Brown
- Miley Cyrus
- Heath Ledger
- Britney Spears
- Chuck Norris
- Paris Hilton
- Rihanna
- Sarah Palin
- Madonna
TOP 10 OLYMPIANS (most popular Olympics-related searches)
- Stephanie Rice
- Usain Bolt
- Grant Hackett
- Michael Phelps
- Eamon Sullivan
- Leisel Jones
- Melissa Wu
- Libby Trickett
- Lauren Jackson
- Cadel Evans
TOP 5 WEDDINGS AND DIVORCES (most searched celebrity weddings and divorces of 2008)
- Kyle Sandilands wedding
- Ashlee Simpson wedding
- Guy Sebastian wedding
- Ellen deGeneres wedding
- Beyonce wedding
- Madonna divorce
- McCartney divorce
- Pink divorce
- Brett Lee divorce
- Ricki Lee divorce
TOP 10 SHARES (most searched ASX shares)
- Telstra shares
- BHP shares
- IAG shares
- AMP shares
- ANZ shares
- CBA shares
- NAB shares
- NIB shares
- Woolworths shares
- Rio Tinto shares
TOP 10 CRISES (most common "crisis" searches)
- Financial crisis
- Time crisis
- Credit crisis
- Cuban missile crisis
- Economic crisis
- Subprime crisis
- Final fantasy crisis
- Mortgage crisis
- Water crisis
- Food crisis
TOP 10 SHOPS (most searched retail stores)
- Harvey Norman
- Target
- Coles
- Myer
- Ikea
- Kmart
- Bunnings
- Big W
- Woolworths
- Freedom
TOP 10 OVERSEAS CITIES AND COUNTRIES (most searched cities and countries outside Australia)
- New Zealand
- China
- Singapore
- London
- USA
- Beijing
- Japan
- Paris
- New York
- France
TOP 10 ANIMAL SALES (most searched for animals for sales)
- puppies for sale
- dogs for sale
- kittens for sale
- birds for sale
- cats for sale
- horse sale
- ponies for sale
- fish for sale
- chickens for sale
- rabbits for sale
TOP 10 POLITICIANS (our most searched Australian politicians)
- Kevin Rudd
- John Howard
- Julia Gillard
- Brendan Nelson
- Malcolm Turnbull
- Wayne Swan
- Paul Keating
- Anna Bligh
- John Brumby
- Peter Garrett
TOP 5 NUMBERS (most searched for numbers)
- 3
- 7
- 21
- 131500
- 90210
On the lighter side of the financial crisis….
GFC v KFC
Wall Street v Sesame Street
Subprime v Optimus Prime
Freddie Mac v Big Mac
TOP STATE / TERRITORY SEARCHES (which State/Territory searched the most for specific keywords in 2008)
- Star Wars: SA
- Baz Luhrmann: NSW
- Hugh Jackman: NSW
- Rove: Victoria
- Obama: ACT
- Chardonnay: ACT
- Sarah Palin: ACT
- Andrew Symonds: Queensland
- Nicole Kidman: NSW
- Pizza: Queensland
- Mod Oz: Victoria
- Toys: NSW
- Cheap flights: Northern Territory
- Rickroll: SA
- Lolcats: SA
- Superannuation: Northern Territory
- Shares: Northern Territory
- ASX: WA
- Interest rates: Queensland
- Mortgage: NSW
- Sorry: SA
- Investment banks: NSW
- NBA: Tasmania
- Broadband: Queensland
- Wiggles: NSW
- Hi-5: NSW
- Muppets: ACT
- Bali: WA
- Chris Judd: WA
- Veronicas: Queensland
- Latte: Victoria
- Cappuccino: SA
- Mocha: Victoria
- Flat white: NSW
- Hot chocolate: ACT
- Bailout: WA
- VB: Tasmania
- V8: Northern Territory
- Online shopping: WA
- Jamie Oliver: SA
- Gordon Ramsay: Victoria
- Nigella Lawson: NSW
- Anzac Day: Tasmania
- Gabriella Cilmi: Victoria
- Mullet: Queensland
- Mohawk: NSW
- Facelift: Victoria
Labels: Australia new announcements
