Each search engine has come out with their list of the top search terms for 2006, but they vary widely and were obviously heavily edited. The lists have faced scrutiny by various bloggers/publications (Here’s a good one from Search Engine Land). I poured through data from a reputable 3rd party source to come up my best estimate of the top 10 search terms for 2006, based upon search volume for the various engines, weighted by share of search volume.
Before I get to the list, here are links to the official top 10 search term postings:
- Top 10 Google Searches (Bebo, myspace, world cup…)
- Top 10 Yahoo Searches (Britney Spears, WWE, Shakira…)
- Top 10 MSN Lives Searches (ronaldinho, shakira, paris hilton…)
- Top 10 Ask Searches (myspace, dictionary, games)
- Top 10 AOL Searches (weather, dictionary, dogs…)
After pouring through data from Hitwise, here is the list I came up with for the Actual Top 10 Search Terms of 2006 (warning: they are not nearly as exciting as the false ones listed above):
Top 10 Search Terms of 2006:
- myspace
- ebay
- yahoo
- myspace.com
- mapquest
- hotmail
- my space
- yahoo.com
- www.myspace.com
Overall, “google” would have ranked higher, but people on Google generally know they don’t need to search for “google”–however, never overestimate the intelligence of people: it is still a high volume search term on Google search.
I based my list on actual search volume for the year, weighted by each search engine’s share of total searches performed. Now you see why the engines aren’t too excited to share the real lists (they generally cross-promote their competitors).
Note: “porn,” “craigslist,” and “dictionary” were also close contenders.