Sydney, Australia, November 28, 2012 – Yahoo!7 today released its annual search trend data for 2012 revealing some of the curious search habits of Australians.
Highlights:
Australians love their sport, the London Olympics was a top search in July, and The Australian Open, had the top spot in January.
Natural disasters were prominent in search, with Hurricane Sandy and earthquakes in Indonesia and Iran amongst the most popular searches.
Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson were the most searched female celebrities of 2012, with Brad Pitt and John Travolta their male counterparts.
Tennis stars were the most searched athletes in 2012, with Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal all making the top 10 searched athletes.
Searches for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were consistent throughout 2012, spiking during the U.S. election.
Year in Review – Most Popular Searches of 2012:
1. London Olympics
The 2012 Olympiad was the dominating search of 2012. A vast array of search terms relating to the Olympics Games secured it the top position, in particular the volume of searches for athletes and the latest medal count.
2. Kim Kardashian
Reality star Kim Kardashian is a perennially searched for celebrity, with her engagement to rapper Kanye West only fuelling the fire of interest.
3. Apple
The latest releases from Apple are always of interest, with the iPhone 5 a solid trend during 2012, but it was the strong performance of their stock price earlier in the year coupled with the failure of their iOS map product which truly brought the technology company into focus.
4. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
The Twilight couple went from power couple to hot gossip after Kristen was photographed engaged in tête-à-tête with Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.
5. Earthquakes
Indonesia was struck by two quakes over magnitude eight on April 11th, but it was the deadly quake in Iran’s Azerbaijan province that gathered the most online interest.
6. US Presidential Election
The build up towards the US Presidential Election was a global phenomenon, and was the subject of intense Australian interest. Searches for both Obama and Romney spiked throughout the election period.
7. Hurricane Sandy
The devastation on the east coast of the USA, as Hurricane Sandy took its toll, was heavily searched by Yahoo!7 users throughout November.
8. Israel and Palestine
Another late addition, the escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine has swiftly risen to feature in the list as an important event of 2012.
9. Brownlow Medal
The award for the ‘fairest and best’ player in the Australian Football League, the focus in 2012 was as much on the red carpet as it was on the medal itself, with the pre-event gala proving an exceptionally popular search term – more so than the winner himself, Jobe Watson of Essendon.
10. End of the World
A somewhat fitting end to the searches for 2012, the belief that the Mayans predicted the end of the world for December 21st 2012 has been a frequent search throughout the year, increasing in leaps and bounds as we approach the impending date.
Most Popular Searches of 2012, Month By Month
January
The standout search in January 2012 was the Australian Open. Players Bernard Tomic, Ana Ivanović and Lleyton Hewitt were of particular focus during the event.
February
With 2012 being a leap year, we saw an extra day sneak into February. Whilst the Grammy Awards made a valiant effort to take the top position, it was ultimately the passing of Whitney Houston that captured the public interest.
March
A good lemon tart – the runner up for March – might seem hard to beat, but it was the Queensland state election that took the honours for the month, with the candidates, results and coverage the primary focus.
April
April saw the disappearance of Madeleine McCann once again thrust into the spotlight, after a Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector stated that they believed Madeleine to be alive.
May
John Travolta topped the list for May, after allegations of assault by the star. Although the lawsuits were eventually dropped, the actor maintained the top position over the federal budget and chocolate cheesecake.
June
A second month of tennis domination for 2012, with the annual Wimbledon tournament solidly securing top slot for June, buoyed by related searches, such as the Williams sisters.
July
Justin Bieber claimed victory for July, the result largely driven by his visit to Australia, especially after the teen vocalist was ambushed by a fan during the taping of an episode of Channel 7’s ‘Australia’s Got Talent’.
August
It’s not surprising that the London Olympics dominated the search results for August, the opening and closing ceremonies the most popular events of the Games, with the medal tally and individual sport searches close behind. The Paralympics came in at second position to the Olympics.
September
September is the month of football finals, with a hair’s breadth between the AFL and NRL finals ranking ultimately giving the AFL grand final victory, slipping it into top position.
October
‘Misogynist’ and the Prime Minister Julia Gillard won out for October’s most searched, her strident speech in Parliament capturing the attention of the global media. Hurricane Sandy was a close second, as its search spike continued into the early parts of November.
November
Despite a couple of days left in the month to report on, the solar eclipse and December 21st end-of-the-world prediction have both been strong performers, but it is the Melbourne Cup which takes victory by a nose for November; the event, the odds and the winners all being the strongest searches that contribute to its win.
/ENDS
For further information please call or email:
Luke Cuell
PR Manager, Yahoo!7
tel: 02 8288 4817
mob: 0449 226 959
email: cuell@yahoo-inc.com
About Yahoo!7
Yahoo!7 (yahoo7.com.au) is one of the most comprehensive and engaging online destinations for Australian consumers and advertisers. Formed as a 50-50 partnership between the Seven West Media Group (ASX: SWM) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), Yahoo!7 brings together the successful Australian internet business, Yahoo! Australia & NZ, and the online assets and television and magazine content of the Seven Network, one of Australia’s leading media companies. The company also combines the strengths of Yahoo! search and communications capabilities and its global internet network, with Seven’s rich media and entertainment content and marketing capabilities.
