Announcement
Google Highlights Hot Australian Searches in 2008
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 Brother and The Dark Knight got 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)
1. 3
2. 7
3. 21
4. 131500
5. 90210
On the lighter side of the financial crisis....
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
