At the end of the year, Google has the tradition of releasing its much famed Zeitgeist report. It lists the most popular searches, trending topics and more on both a global and local scale. 2013 is a great year, with some melancholy and bizarre phenomena as well. From tragedies such as the Boston Bombings and the death of figureheads such as Nelson Mandela, to celebrities that going off the deep end (Miley Cyrus and Amanda Bynes) and those that sadly had their lives cut short.
However, regardless of whether it was a world tragedy, the insanity of celebrity, or even queries as to what exactly ‘twerking’ is, Australians were an inquisitive bunch. In today’s post, The Website Marketing Group will be listing nine major categories of questions (ten questions for each category) that Australians searched to Google. Take a look at the complete list below:
1. Top 10 overall searches
Celebrity deaths, royal babies, the election and more rounded out the top 10 overall Google searches in Australia.
- Paul Walker
- Cory Monteith
- Royal Baby
- iPhone 5s
- North Korea
- RFS
- AEC
- The Block
- My Kitchen Rules
- House Rules
2. Top 10 people
Once again, deceased celebrities topped the list for the top 10 people. In addition, politicians (both the recently deceased and Australian) and celebrities facing criminal charges all made it into the top 10. Even Amanda Bynes and her very public Twitter meltdowns throughout the year earned her a placement in the top 10.
- Paul Walker
- Cory Monteith
- Nelson Mandela
- Tony Abbott
- Oscar Pistorius
- Kevin Rudd
- Ricky Martin
- Amanda Bynes
- Kim Kardashian Baby
- Rolf Harris
3. Australian celebrities
Focusing on home turf, it appears as though Australians are still obsessed with Miranda Kerr. Discussion around Michelle Bridges (Biggest Loser trainer) grew and Tom Waterhouse took out the third spot, perhaps due to the controversy he caused early in the NRL season.
- Miranda Kerr
- Michelle Bridges
- Tom Waterhouse
- Delta Goodrem
- Sonny Bill Williams
- Liam Hemsworth
- Hamish and Andy
- Hugh Jackman
- Dami Im
- Iggy Azalea
4. Digital / internet lingo
On the digital front, social networks, internet currency and memes populated the majority of the top 10.
- Bitstrips
- Snapchat
- Bitcoin
- Vine
- Doge
- YOLO
- Statigram
- Grumpy Cat
- Giraffe Riddle
- Jailbreak
5. News items of 2013
Australians spent a lot of time searching a range of different news stories that defined 2013, including the Boston Bombing tragedy, the rising international tension with North Korea, the royal baby, and natural disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan.
- Boston Bombing
- North Korea News
- Royal Baby Name
- Typhoon Haiyan
- Costa Concordia
- US Government Shutdown
- Oklahoma Tornado
- Russian Tornado
- Angelina Mastectomy
- Texas Explosion
6. Politicians
No surprise here that the leaders of the LNP and the Labor Party took the top spots for Australians top politican searches for 2013.
- Tony Abbott
- Kevin Rudd
- Clive Palmer
- Sophie Mirabella
- Fiona Scott
- Bill Shorten
- Anthony Albanese
- Joe Hockey
- Julie Bishop
- Bill Glasson
7. Songs
Despite being a song that came out in 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” remained the number one result for Australians. Other songs such as Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” all made their way into the top 10.
- Gangnam Style
- Blurred Lines
- Wrecking Ball
- Thrift Shop
- Roar
- Acapella
- Gentleman
- Royals
- Same Love
- Impossible
8. What is…
“What is twerking?” – that was the main question on most Australians’ minds. Then there was also “What is love?” (baby, don’t hurt me…?) and the more usual enquiries regarding anxiety, depression and gluten.
- What is twerking
- What is love
- What is gluten
- What is depression
- What is Instagram
- What is Snapchat
- What is anxiety
- What is diabetes
- What is cilantro
- What is Tumblr
9. Where is…
If Google is anything to go by, then apparently a whole of Australians aren’t exactly sure where Perth is. That’s the number one result. Some of the other enquires make sense, but the Perth one is somewhat concerning.
- Where is Perth
- Where is Dubai
- Where is Gallipoli
- Where is Boston
- Where is Syria
- Where is Bali
- Where is Prague
- Where is Amsterdam
- Where is Singapore
- Where is Timbuktu