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As 2020 has brought us the first pandemic of the Internet Era, as well as other history-making news, Google has encapsulated the year in its annual Year in Search.
In keeping with tradition, Google has created a video about top search terms of the past year and compiled lists of the most popular search terms. But unlike previous years, Google’s 2020 Year in Search takes you through a journey to guide you through remembering this year.
About Google Year in Search 2020
No need to wait for history books to analyze this year. Google Year in Search 2020 gives us an overview of what the world cared about as people searched for news, knowledge, and inspiration.
Many of the search terms reflect the challenges, such as “where to buy masks” and “unemployment during coronavirus.” But many searches also showed the ways people wanted to support each other, such as “how to help Australia fires” and “how to donate blood.”
Because 2020 has been such an historic year, taking a closer look at the year seems fitting. So Google has created an interactive way to review the year with popular search terms highlighted in informational cards.
Google also offers its traditional lists of the top search terms by country, category, and popularity. You can take a deep dive into the lists of popular search terms that interest you the most. Many of the most popular searches were unique for terms that were new in 2020, such as “coronavirus symptoms,” “when will the lockdown end,” “mask emoji,” and more.
Check out => How Google Trends Can Help Guide You During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The 2020 Year in Search Cards
In addition to listing the top search terms for 2020, Google offers interactive cards for the biggest worldwide search trends of the year. The cards give more information about the search term and include a short video clip for a deeper dive into the term.
Below each card are two options guiding you toward what you want to explore next. Choose options such as “caring” and “inspirational” for an uplifting journey. Choose “intellectual” or “enlightening” options, for example, to get a more cerebral look at the year in search.
Get inspired by uplifting trends such how as twice as many people searched for “how to donate” as searched for how to save money.
Learn the encouraging news that the top career choice people searched for worldwide in 2020 was “nurse“.
One Google search card informs that “sunsets near me” searches were more popular than ever in 2020. Google explained that during the pandemic “people combined their newly commute-less workday with the soothing reassurance and calming beauty of the setting sun.”
You may want to explore the Google search cards twice to choose all the options and see every one of the search cards.
To begin your journey through the cards, go to the Google Year in Search 2020 page and tap or click one of the images.
You’ll see the first search term card and then can choose options to continue exploring the cards.
2020 Year in Google Search Lists
In keeping with tradition, Google also released its most popular search terms for the year in Google Trends. As with past years, you can see which terms were most popular globally as well as for individual countries.
Global Popular Search Terms in 2020
Globally, the most popular searches were unique to 2020:
People around the world were curious about other people during 2020:
As people hunkered down during the pandemic, they searched for TV shows:
United States Popular Search Terms in 2020
In the United States, which held a Presidential election this year, the pandemic and politics proved popular in many search categories.
People also searched for ways to navigate the new world of the pandemic. Searches for “…during coronavirus” were frequent in 2020:
“Where to buy” searches were trending in the U.S. during 2020.
People also searched frequently for ways to navigate this new pandemic world:
And in the U.S. in 2020, people searched for ways to help:
People in the U.S. also searched for ways to donate in 2020:
Google Year in Search Video
Google also created this 3-minute video that highlights the top search terms for 2020 and explains what those terms tell us about how the world handled the challenges of 2020.
The video shows how “why” was by far the most searched term of 2020. “In times of uncertainty, people seek understanding and meaning. This year, the world searched ‘why’ more than ever,” Google says.
As people tried to understand the pandemic world around them, they searched for terms such as “why is it called COVID-19?” “why is school closed?” and “why is the NBA postponed?” This video shows us how the world learned about changes to society in 2020.
Your Thoughts
Were any of the most popular searches around the world surprising to you? Did any of the most popular 2020 search terms in your country surprise you? Were there any searches you thought would be popular but weren’t on the lists?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn.
This is eye opening that the US Election doesn’t top the list this time due to COVID-19. In previous trends during election year, nothing else beats it to no.1.
I understand why COVID-19 vaccine is no way near top10 searches – we just started talking about it recently.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Andrew, Great point. There was so much news in 2020 that the world cared about. Seeing this list of most popular Google searches is always fascinating, but especially in 2020.
Yeah this is a hell of the year
Hello Jack. It certainly has been. Let’s hope 2021 brings us peace and prosperity.