As 2023 is coming to a close, what were the biggest trends as far as Google Search?
Note, this doesn’t mean the biggest searches but those terms which experienced the biggest increase in search volume vis a vis 2022.
Not surprisingly, the top trending news term was the war in Israel and Gaza. As Hamas invaded Israel, millions around the world went online to find out and understand what was going on.
The second top trending news term was Titanic submarine. This captured the world’s attention in June when it imploded. Every aspect of this story was surreal and perfectly summed up what life in 2023 is like.
Damar Hamlin was the person with the biggest increase in search volume. He is the Buffalo Bill who collapsed in the middle of the big game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sports features heavily in the top 5 with French footballer Kylian Mbappe in 4th position and Travis Kelce who became better known as Taylor Swift’s better half in 5th position.
The top 5 for sports terms were Inter Miami, the new home of Lionel Messi. The Los Angeles Laker, Al-Nassr FC, Manchester City and then the Miami Heat.
The top 5 searched parks in 2023 were Barcelona’s Park Guell, New York’s Central Park, London’s Hyde Park, Madrid’s El Retiro Park and Rome’s Villa Borghese.
Going around the world, there are some interesting differences in search. New York was the only place in the US with “yoga near me” as a top trending term.
LA was ranked first in the USA for trending searches for beef, in Mami the top trending near me search was “neurologist near me” while in Washington DC it was “Air quality near me”
Australia is still fond of the royal family and the most trending recipe was the coronation quiche recipe.
In the UK the 4th highest how to question googled was “How to get MY AI on Snapchat?” while the 5th highest was “How to get rid of Snapchat AI?”
All this shows how search is a reflection of the times. People are spending more and more time online and asking Google to explain what’s going on to them.