In 2015, people’s search interests on Google were very varied, spreading from former NBA star like Lamar Odom and MMA fighter Ronda Rousey to this year’s blockbuster, “Jurassic World,” and last year’s Oscar winning movie, “American Sniper.”
Many searchers wanted to know how to use the new Snapchat update, while others were asking Google, “What is Charlie Charlie?”
Google released more than 40 categories for its year-end lists, ranging from the top trending searches to the top trending people, “How-to” searches and travel questions.
“We define the trending queries as the searches that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2015 as compared to 2014,” says a Google spokesperson. Google says tracking trends for the year, versus its top searches, is a better way to determine the topics and people that grew in popularity compared to last year.
For Google’s top trending searches of the year, Lamar Odom, “Jurassic World,” “American Sniper,” Caitlyn Jenner and Ronda Rousey led the list.
While Lamar Odom topped the list, Google’s top trending searches highlight an interest in movies this year, with “Jurassic World,” “American Sniper” and “Straight Outta Compton” all making the top 10. (But, oddly, even with all the movie buzz, “Star Wars” didn’t rank.)
Paris was No. 6, and two video games — Agario and Fallout 4 — ranked, as well.
Odom, Jenner and Rousey also topped the list for Google’s top trending people of 2015. Beyond athletes, Google’s top trending people included Hollywood celebrities, people in the news and one musician, Adele.
What were we most confused about this year? According to Google, in 2015 more people asked “How to use the new Snapchat upate?” more than any other “how to” question.
Tech-related “how to” questions dominated the list, with “How to upgrade to Windows 10,” “How to get the new emojis,” “How to authorize a computer on iTunes” and “How to use Apple Pay” all ranking in the top 10.
The Charlie Charlie Challenge surged in popularity this year, making both the “How to” top trends list and “What is…” top trends list. While I had never heard of the yes-no question game until writing this report, my 11-year old daughter was able to explain it to me.
Other “What is…” top trending searches showed we were not only curious about the games our middle-schoolers are playing, but also about the hacked website built for adulterers, Ashley Madison, ebola and ISIS.