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A Year in Search

Google Releases Top Searched Terms of 2008 in the United Kingdom

Global website shows top terms from 36 countries

Today, Google announced its annual Zeitgeist, a look at 2008 through the collective eyes of the world on the web. The 2008 Year-End Zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on global searches, as well as searches conducted in the United Kingdom and 35 additional countries.

Point your browser to www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/ to read about the year’s top gaining search terms as well as the most popular entertainment, sport, political economic and local topics as determined by Google users.

The fastest rising search terms in the UK

  1. iPlayer
  2. Facebook
  3. iPhone
  4. Youtube
  5. Yahoo Mail
  6. Large Hadron Collider
  7. Obama
  8. Friv
  9. Cam4
  10. Jogos

The most searched terms in the UK

  1. Facebook
  2. BBC
  3. YouTube
  4. eBay
  5. Games
  6. News
  7. Hotmail
  8. Bebo
  9. Yahoo
  10. Jobs

Most searched politicians in the UK

  1. Gordon Brown
  2. David Cameron
  3. Barack Obama
  4. Tony Blair
  5. Sarah Palin
  6. John Mccain
  7. George Osborne
  8. Alistair Darling
  9. Boris Johnson
  10. Nicolas Sarkozy

Fastest rising recipe searches in the UK

  1. cupcake
  2. meatballs
  3. rocky road
  4. crumble topping
  5. eaton mess
  6. pork belly
  7. rhubarb fool
  8. lemon posset
  9. honey comb
  10. beer batter

Fastest rising finance-related searches in the UK

  1. icesave
  2. hot uk deals
  3. natwest
  4. hmrc
  5. hbos
  6. money saving expert
  7. halifax
  8. barclays
  9. rbs
  10. lloyds tsb

The hottest tickets of the year in the UK

  1. Oasis
  2. Leonard Cohen
  3. AC/DC
  4. The Ashes
  5. Steve Coogan
  6. SOS
  7. Oliver
  8. Gladiators
  9. Tina Turner
  10. Nickleback

In addition to telling us what people are curious about in the UK, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics were of interest across the globe. This year, for the first time since its inception in 2001, we have taken a deep dive into global search information across more than 30 countries and published our findings all in one place: the Google Zeitgeist 2008 website. This year’s global fastest rising searches show interest in global events such as the Beijing Olympics and Euro 2008, with a number of American politicians and international social networking sites showing up as well:

The fastest rising queries globally

  1. sarah palin
  2. beijing 2008
  3. facebook login
  4. tuenti
  5. heath ledger
  6. obama
  7. nasza klasa
  8. wer kennt wen
  9. euro 2008
  10. jonas brothers

Zeitgeist Explained

Google reveals the internet “Zeitgeist” (German for “the spirit of the times”) through an exploration of the millions of search queries we receive every day. In addition to the Year-end Zeitgeist, which highlights the top trends of 2008, we also have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past and present search trends. Google Zeitgeist tools can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur over time. These tools are available year-round for you to play with, explore, and learn from: www.google.com/zeitgeist

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

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