Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Bing Reveal Top Searches of 2014
Year-end lists of the top searches provide a snapshot of what people look for on the internet and how they use search engines. Such lists also provide an overview of the topics, events, issues and people that were most culturally relevant that year. For marketers, the top searches don’t necessarily represent keywords to be focused on; instead, they help keep SEOs informed about search trends, audience tendencies and where – or where not – to be focusing their efforts. Year-end lists have been released by Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Bing. While these sites vary in traffic, they’re all still in the Alexa top 25.
Top Searches For News
According to the American Press Institute, television is still the number one way that Americans get their news. However, 69 percent of people get news from laptops or computers, while 56 percent use a cellphone. Also, 51 percent of Americans get their news through a search engine, and 44 percent find it through social media. The news topics that were most popular this year were: Facebook (U.S.)
- Ebola
- Ice Bucket Challenge
- Robin Williams
- Superbowl
- Ferguson, MO and Michael Brown
- World Cup
- Gaza
- Midterm Elections
- Malaysia Airlines
- ISIS
- Ebola
- ISIS
- Malaysia Airlines
- Crimea / Ukraine
- Ferguson, MO and Michael Brown
- Gaza
- Scottish Referendum
- Oscar Pistorius
Bing
- World Cup
- Super Bowl
- Malaysia Airlines
- Winter Olympics
- ISIS
- Ray Rice
- Ferguson, MO and Michael Brown
- Ebola
- Brittany Maynard
- Ukraine
Top Searches For Celebrities
Celebrities have a history of topping year-end lists like these. Here are the people the got the most searches: Google
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Kim Kardashian
- Julie Gayet
- Tracy Morgan
- Renee Zellweger
- Jared Leto
- Lorde
- Matthew McConaughey
- Amal Amuddin
- Donald Sterling
Bing
- Kim Kardashian
- Beyonce
- Miley Cyrus
- Katy Perry
- Justin Bieber
- Joan Rivers
- Jennifer Lopez
- Kendall Jenner
- Kaley Cuoco
- Robin Williams
Facebook (Excluding Athletes)
- Beyonce
- Pharrell Williams
- Nicki Minaj
- Taylor Swift
- Jimmy Fallon
- Iggy Azalea
- Katy Perry
- Pitbull
- John Legend
- Kim Kardashian
Top Searches for Electronics
Google was the only search engine that announced it’s top consumer electronics queries. They were:
- iPhone 6
- Samsung Galaxy S5
- Nexus 6
- Moto G
- Samsung Note 4
- LG G3
- Xbox One
- Apple Watch
- Nokia X
- iPad Air
General Searches
Both Google and Yahoo ranked their top searches regardless of category. Strangely enough, they only share two phrases. Basically, if your content has anything to do with celebrities, you’re going to want to make sure you’re ranking on Yahoo. Google
- Robin Williams
- World Cup
- Ebola
- Malaysia Airlines
- ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
- Flappy Bird
- Conchita Wurst
- ISIS
- Frozen
- Sochi Olympics
Yahoo
- Ebola
- Minecraft
- Ariana Grande
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Kaley Cuoco
- Kim Kardashian
- Frozen
- Miley Cyrus
- iPhone 6
- Jennifer Aniston
As usual, the top searches for this year were dominated by celebrities and global news stories. Marketers may be able to garner some valuable information from this, such as audience age and interests. Check out more list categories from Facebook, Google and Bing.