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Apple has already shared some of its 2018 highlights, as have Google Play and YouTube. Today, Google Search is stepping up to feed our hunger for data-infused year-in-review tidbits.
In what has become an annual tradition, Google has broken down the top trending searches on its search engine for the whole of 2018, doing so by various categories and regions. It’s worth noting here that many of the top-trending search terms in the U.S.-specific lists were similar to those in the global incarnation.
While two technology topics — iPhone 8 and iPhone X — made it into the Top Global Web Searches last year, smartphones made no such appearance this year. One local trend worth highlighting, however, does relate to technology or, more specifically, cryptocurrency. In a 12-month period that has seen Bitcoin value fall from a high of nearly $20,000 last December to below $4,000 today — is it any wonder the top trending question in some countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., was: “What is Bitcoin?”
Above: What is Bitcoin?
Deaths typically play a prominent part in Google Searches, and 2018 was no different.
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Seven out of the 10 Top Global Web Searches featured the passing of well-known figures around the world, including musicians Avicii, Mac Miller, and XXXTentacion, while comic book writer Stan Lee, chef Anthony Bourdain, fashion designer Kate Spade, and physicist Stephen Hawking also feature in the top 10.
The top overall search was the 2018 soccer World Cup, which was held in Russia.
Top Web Searches
1. World Cup
2. Avicii
3. Mac Miller
4. Stan Lee
5. Black Panther
6. Meghan Markle
7. Anthony Bourdain
8. XXXTentacion
9. Stephen Hawking
10. Kate Spade
The World Cup also came in first for news searches.
Top News Searches
1. (Soccer) World Cup
2. Hurricane Florence
3. Mega Millions Result
4. (U.K.) Royal Wedding
5. Election Results
6. Hurricane Michael
7. Kavanaugh Confirmation
8. Florida Shooting
9. Greve dos caminhoneiros
10. Government Shutdown
Looking at the Top People Searches reveals some interesting trends — U.S. actress Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry nabbed the top spot. But what is perhaps most notable across the various lists is that the U.S. president does not appear in any of them.
Top People Searches
1. Meghan Markle
2. Demi Lovato
3. Sylvester Stallone
4. Logan Paul
5. Khloe Kardashian
6. Jair Bolsonaro
7. Brett Kavanaugh
8. Hailey Baldwin
9. Stormy Daniels
10. Cardi B
Did people really search more often for Sylvester Stallone and Logan Paul than they did for Donald Trump, who was surely the most talked-about person on the planet? Even Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with Trump and was reportedly paid hush money to keep quiet, made the Top People Searches list.
Digging down into the methodology, however, reveals why Donald Trump wasn’t in there — the data isn’t based on the overall number of searches. Instead, the lists are built around search terms and topics that experienced the biggest spike compared to the previous year. Donald Trump was on the Google search trends list in 2016, the year he won the U.S. presidential election, but he wasn’t on last year’s.
We can therefore assume that Donald Trump has consistently been among the most-searched topics on Google for the past few years. And, in truth, these lists would be a little boring if they just featured the same old names every year.
