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Google and Yahoo’s Search Terms of 2009

It’s hard to believe that today we entered the last month of the year.  This is the time of year where it seems Barbara Walters reviews just about anything and everything from the year.  From news events to the people that made headlines, and I’m sure In the weeks ahead, we will be seeing an abundance of reports and reviews from the past year.  We’ve already started with them.  Just last week, CNN showcased their Heroes of the Year show, while NBC aired ‘People of the Year.’

While the year were filled with high and lows, both Google & Yahoo have released the top search terms for 2009. 

Google’s Zeitgeist list goes into great detail, through various categories of some of the most searched items.  Worldwide, Michael Jackson was the top search term, followed by Facebook, Tuenti (a Spanish social media site) & Twitter at number four.  The US made Twitter the number one searched item on Google while Michael Jackson closely trailed behind.  Facebook, Hulu, & Hi5 topped of the top 5 results.  I think that says something about social media starting to dominate the world or at least the US.  President Obama promised the American people change in 2009 and having social media dominate the top search terms on Google, is a great change.  Speaking of the president, his rankings on Google actually dropped as he became the fourth most falling search term, while searches for Jon McCain went down drastically this year.

Googling for celebrity Twitter accounts also was popular this year, with Miley Cyrus taking the honor of having her account be Googled the most.  I’m almost certain Miley doesn’t really care being she deleted her Twitter account in October telling a Chicago radio station, “Twitter should just be, like, banned from this universe.”  Rounding off the top 5 most searched celebrity Twitter accounts are, Lance Armstong, Taylor Swift, Ashton Kutcher (who has more followers than anyone one the site), and Shaquille O’Neal.

One of the biggest headlines from 2009 was the Swine flu scare.  Search results for ‘Swine Flu’ practically sky rocketed over night.  Fox’s Glee was the most searched television show on Google, which isn’t surprising, since it has been a Trending Topic on Twitter every week when the show airs.  Lady Gaga’s song ‘Poker Face’ was not just one of the most popular songs of the year, but it was also the most searched song lyric.  Google also shares results throughout cities across the US and many countries from around the globe.

Yahoo’s results were similar to that of Google’s, however not as in depth and doesn’t include a social media site anywhere in the top 10.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that Michael Jackson was Yahoo’s most searched term.  Since 2005 Britney Spears dominated Yahoo’s search terms, however she moved to number five this year.  Twilight New Moon, WWE & Megan Fox also fit into the top 5.