Taking the pulse: Australia’s top Google searches 2010

Every year the billions of search terms tapped into Google.com.au paint a picture of what’s been on Aussies’ minds -- and this year we were mad about social media, intrigued by underworld figures, glued to the federal election, and curious which of our favorite celebrities died, divorced, or otherwise landed in the headlines.

Today we’re releasing our 2010 Google Zeitgeist results (Zeitgeist means “the spirit of our times”) and you’ll find a reminder of the year that was, plus plenty of fun oddities. (See: Justin Bieber searches.)

Chatroulette, the chat room which lets you chat with random strangers and change conversations at will, caught the imaginations of Aussies this year -- it’s the fastest rising search term in Australia for 2010. Also featuring in this year’s top ten list are ABC3, the World Cup and WikiLeaks.

Among the top news searches were major world events like the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti -- right next to searches for iPad and Android, revealing our love of all things cool and tech.

Love really was in the air in 2010 -- we went online for the inside scoop on the celebrity weddings of Anna Paquin, Chelsea Clinton and Hilary Duff. AFL remained as popular as ever in sports searches, staying in the number one position followed closely by NRL and cricket. Our state loyalties remained strong though -- AFL still peaked in the Northern Territory, Tassie and Victoria. And we continued to search for our favorite TV ads online, with [ipad ad], [kfc ad], and [libra invisible ad] rising fast.

And my personal favourite list -- top questions people ask Google -- shows that Aussies have a soft side. The number one question Australians asked Google this year?

[What is love?]

Here are our top search terms in Australia for 2010 -- we’ll be posting our global search terms later today, and we’ll tweet to let you know!

Fastest-rising searches 2010
1. chatroulette
2. formspring
3. ABC3
4. world cup 2010
5. tumblr
6. ancestry.com.au
7. event cinemas
8. omegle
9. wikileaks
10. jetstar

Most popular searches 2010
1. facebook
2. YouTube
3. google
4. ebay
5. hotmail
6. yahoo
7. real estate
8. maps
9. commonwealth
10. white pages

Fastest-rising news stories 2010
1. chile earthquake
2. haiti
3. ipad
4. iphone 4
5. vancouver 2010
6. melbourne storm
7. android
8. volcano
9. oil spill
10. world cup

Justin Bieber + searches 2010
1. justin bieber facts
2. justin bieber jokes
3. justin bieber kissing
4. justin bieber news
5. justin bieber parody
6. justin bieber smile
7. justin bieber sunrise
8. justin bieber tattoo
9. justin bieber tickets
10. justin bieber website

Top questions people ask Google - ‘What is …?’
1. What is love
2. What is energy
3. What is twitter
4. What is depression
5. What is bullying
6. What is democracy
7. What is Skype
8. What is Pi
9. What is veal
10. What is probate

Fastest-rising election stories 2010
1. australia election
2. bob katter
3. julia gillard
4. election results
5. voting
6. abc election
7. nla newspapers
8. greens party
9. labor party
10. poll bludger

Fastest-rising people 2010
1. Cody Simpson
2. Andy Irons
3. Justin Bieber
4. Julia Gillard
5. Lara Bingle
6. Katy Perry
7. Kim Kardashian
8. Jessica Watson
9. Andrew Bolt
10. Kevin Rudd

Fastest-rising advertising campaigns 2010
1. ipad ad
2. kfc ad
3. libra invisible ad
4. mazda ad
5. old spice ad
6. brut ad
7. kia ad
8. aami ad
9. qantas ad
10. perfect italiano ad

Most popular celebrity weddings 2010
1. anna paquin wedding
2. chelsea clinton wedding
3. hilary duff wedding
4. kate ritchie wedding
5. katy perry wedding
6. miranda kerr wedding
7. robbie williams wedding
8. royal wedding
9. megan fox wedding
10. kyle sandilands wedding

Most popular movies 2010
1. the crazies
2. resident evil afterlife
3. ben hur
4. percy jackson
5. iron man 2
6. mary poppins
7. the avengers
8. transformers 3
9. breaking dawn
10. jesse james

Most popular Do-It-Yourself searches 2010
1. diy bunnings
2. diy kitchens
3. diy fencing
4. diy wedding invites
5. diy super
6. diy projects
7. diy painting
8. diy wardrobes
9. diy tiles
10. diy renovations

Most popular diets 2010
1. dukan diet
2. lemon detox diet
3. soup diet
4. atkins diet
5. mediterranean diet
6. csiro diet
7. blood type diet
8. gluten free diet
9. vegetarian diet
10. low gi diet


Fastest-rising retailers 2010
1. woolworths online shopping
2. urban outfitters
3. shopbop
4. saks fifth avenue
5. dfo south wharf
6. nordstrom
7. rubi shoes
8. graysonline
9. zara
10. walmart

Posted by Kate Mason, Public Affairs Manager, Google Australia & New Zealand