Google’s annual list of top trending search terms shows what the world turned to Google for during one of the most historic years on record.
“2020 was the year we asked “why?”” – Google states in the introduction to its report.
People asked “why?” more than ever before as they searched Google for answers to all types of questions, which you’ll see in the following section.
Users broke records for the number of times “what day is it?” was searched for in a year. Searches for recipes also hit a record high.
Above all, coronavirus is the subject at the top of everyone’s minds. Many of the top searches reflect how people are adapting to the new normals of daily life.
Google’s report looks at trending topics across search, news, people, how-to’s, virtual activities, and more. The data can be viewed worldwide or filtered by 70 different countries.
Here you’ll find highlights from the top trending searches lists in the USA and worldwide.
Top Trending Google Searches in USA
First let’s look at the overall top searches in USA. To no surprise, coronavirus 3 out of the top 5 spots.
Overall Top Searches
Election resultsCoronavirusKobe BryantCoronavirus updateCoronavirus symptomsNext let’s look at the types of information people are seeking. Google is getting more granular this year by breaking up its ‘how-to’ search data into different categories.
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There’s now categories for beauty how-to’s, how to donate, how to make, how to help, and how to style.
Taking a look at the “how to make” category you can see how people are looking for ways to stay safe by making materials at home.
Top “How to Make” Searches
How to make hand sanitizerHow to make a face mask with fabricHow to make whipped coffeeHow to make a mask with a bandanaHow to make a mask without sewingThe top beauty how-to’s also illustrate how people are adapting to doing more things at home. And there’s a not insignificant amount of people searching for how to wash their hands.
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Top Beauty How-To Searches
How to cut men’s hair at homeHow to plop hairHow to color your hair at homeHow to wash your handsHow to style curtain bangsTeaching people how to do things at home, especially things they previously would have gone out for, feels like a strong category to create content around at the moment.
Google introduced another new category of top searches this year for “virtual” terms. As all in-person activities go virtual, this is what people are searching for most.
Top “Virtual” Searches
Virtual field tripsVirtual museum toursVirtual Kentucky DerbyVirtual learningVirtual NBA fansAdvertisement
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A look at the top searches in the “… during coronavirus” category shows that people were looking for ways to gain financially from the pandemic. Others were looking for new ways to do ordinary things, and others were simply looking to get jobs.
Top “… during coronavirus” Searches
Best stocks to buy during coronavirusDating during coronavirusDentist open during coronavirusUnemployment during coronavirusJobs hiring during coronavirusLastly, let’s look at the aforementioned “why” category, which saw record search volume this year.
Top “Why?” Searches
Why were chainsaws inventedWhy is there a coin shortageWhy was George Floyd arrestedWhy is Nevada taking so longWhy is TikTok getting bannedAdvertisement
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Top Trending Google Searches Worldwide
There’s many fewer categories of data available for the global searches segment. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting ones.
Top Overall Searches
CoronavirusElection resultsKobe BryantZoomIPLTop Concert Searches
Together At Home concertFire Fight Australia concertGarth Brooks drive in concertTravis Scott Fortnite concertBTS online concertTop Recipe Searches
Dalgona coffeeEkmekSourdough breadPizzaLahmacunTop Movie Searches
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See the full set of data here.
Is there anything more 2020 than presenting the data in story format? Because Google’s gone and done that as well.
More search highlights from 2020 can also be seen in the video below.