2021 has been a very strange year, following an equally strange 2020. But only three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and an annual round-up of search data from Google presented in the year in search.
Aside from the pandemic, there has been a lot that happened in 2021 that perhaps you may have forgotten actually occurred this year.
And the start of 2022 means that Google’s round-up of the year in search 2021 was released, which showcases what everyone was thinking about, researching and searching for throughout the year.
Google may just be a search engine, but it also highlights the current zeitgeist, and what people actually care about at any given time. Google has become the go-to place for shopping, news, images, videos, travel information, financial information, weather, restaurant boookings, opening hours, and much, much more.
Whether Google is suggesting the top resultls to your query or directly answering a query within the search engine results page itself, Google has become a pocket assistant for everyone – whether used by voice or by traditional text.
So what were we searching for most in the UK, and around the rest of the world? We have picked out some of the more interesting data below.
The top 5 searches globally of the year were:
1) Australia vs India
2) India vs England
3) IPL
4) NBA
5) Euro 2021
6) Copa América
7) India vs New Zealand
8) T20 World Cup
9) Squid Game
10) DMX
The top 10 news-related search terms were:
1) Afghanistan
2) AMC Stock
3) COVID Vaccine
4) Dogecoin
5) GME Stock
6) Stimulus Check
7) Georgia Senate Race
8) Hurricane Ida
9) COVID
10) Ethereum Price
When it comes to the UK data, there is no surprise what the top overall search term was… Even if it does feel longer than last summer:
1) Euros
2) Premier League
3) Christian Eriksen
4) Covid vaccine
5) Prince Philip
6) Matt Hancock
7) Emma Raducanu
8) Sarah Everard
9) England vs Denmark
10) Sean Lock
The top questions people searched for in the UK over the course of 2021 were:
1) Is Facebook down?
2) Is WhatsApp down?
3) When will lockdown end?
4) What does COP26 stand for?
5) When will I get the vaccine?
6) Where does vanilla flavoring come from?
7) How many times has Italy won the Euros?
8) How many cases in my area?
9) What does impeachment mean?
10) When does Love Island finish?
The top searched for news events of 2021 in the UK were:
1) Covid vaccine
2) Matt Hancock
3) Sarah Everard
4) Afghanistan
5) GME
6) Kyle Rittenhouse
7) Gabby Petito
8) Green list countries
9) Lockdown
10) Palestine
A lot of UK citizens begin queries with “when” – such as:
1) When will lockdown end?
2) When will I get the vaccine?
3) When does Love Island finish?
4) When does lockdown start?
5) When does Love Island start?
6) When do shops reopen?
7) When will schools reopen?
8) When do gyms reopen?
9) When do hairdressers open?
10) When does the Olympics start?
A lot also start with “how many”:
1) How many times has Italy won the Euros?
2) How many cases in my area?
3) How many people live in the UK?
4) How many times has England won the Euros?
5) How many covid deaths today?
6) How many calories should I eat a day?
7) How many people died in 911?
8) How many vaccinated in UK?
9) How many episodes of Vigil?
10) How many seconds in a year?
The top searched for definitions in the UK also shows what has been topical over the course of the year:
1) Impeachment meaning
2) Emancipated meaning
3) Misogyny meaning
4) COP26 meaning
5) Woke meaning
6) Insurrection meaning
7) Pragmatic meaning
8) Incel meaning
9) Chis meaning
10) Sedition meaning
More people actually searched for “how to start a business” more than “how to get a job” – so this shows a change in mindset compared to te past. Entrepreneurs will likely be on the rise.
In February, more people searched for “how to buy bitcoin” than “how to buy stocks”.
2021 has been a very important year for online businesses, despite the fact we almost returned back to normality. SEO has never been more essential for online businesses, and hopefully the year in search data for 2021 gives you a flavour of how people search, what people search for, and it may get you thinking about the terms people may use to find your business or your content
For more information, check out the video below which goes into more depth on summarising the year of 2021.
