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How many terms have you searched on Google in 2016? 1.2 trillion searches done on Google around the world in 2016 and Google Trends kept track of the most popular search terms. From Brexit to the Olympic Summer Games to Aleppo, Syria to the US Presidential election to terrorist attacks to celebrity deaths, 2016 was filled with news.
Many of us searched Google for more information about the news or about fun subjects such as HBO or ice cream. But have you ever been curious about what everyone else was searching for on Google?
Google Trends has developed a list of Breakout Trends, showing us the most popular searches. You can see which terms people searched for most on Google by:
[tip] See, Google Trends – Find Out What’s Hot! to learn more about Google Trends [/tip]
Click on a listed search term to learn more about the term, such as trending over time, interest by region and city, related topics, and related queries. You can compare one search term to another to see these stats for both terms. You can also add a third search term for comparison.
Google Trends shows you charts, maps and graphs so you can compare the search results for each term. See the results for 2016 or change the dates to view trends over time.
Overall Most Popular Search Terms on Google in 2016
The overall most popular search terms on Google were:
- Donald Trump
- Powerball
- Prince
- David Bowie
- Pokémon
- Hillary Clinton
- France
- Ramadan
- Orlando
- Academy Awards
- Chicago Cubs
You can filter the results by People, Places, Things and Ideas to see the most popular term for each category.
By Region
According to Google Trends, these are the most searched terms on Google by region in 2016:
Source: Google Trends
Tap on the globe in Google Trends to see a world map of regions represented by gray bars. Click on a gray bar to see the most searched term for that country in 2016.
You can also find top 2016 searches for each country on Google Trends or see a global list of most popular searches.
Google Trends also shows the most popular searches by topic, including:
- Global news
- People
- Consumer Tech
- Global Sporting Events
- Losses
- Movies
- Musicians
- TV Shows
This video from Google reminds us what a tumultuous time 2016 was.
US Google Searches
Wondering what each state in the US Googled more than any other state in 2016? This map shows you what each US state was more interested in than any other state:
Your Thoughts
Were you surprised to see which terms were searched most often on Google? Did you check your region to see which terms were most searched? Were there any terms you thought would be on the list but weren’t?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
* State Map of Googled Terms courtesy of Estately Blog. Used with permission.
Voice of America Learning English
Interested in learning English while learning about personal technology? Check out my weekly tech column at Voice of America Learning English. This week’s article is: Top Technology Stories of 2016.
Some of the lists are quite surprising to be one of the most searched terms of 2016. But some terms like Pokemon and Donald Trump are quite to be…
It’s very interesting… !!
Hi Khasrang, Good point. Some of these terms we would expect to find on the list, while others are a complete surprise. It will be interesting to see which terms make the list in 2017!
Hi Carolyn
Thanks for the update on Google Searches for 2016. I must admit that I have search for many of the same terms in 2016. I love the fact that the most searched word in Denmark is HBO 🙂 We don’t want news or politics, we just want entertainment
Hi Thomas, Yes, Denmark rocks, even with the most searched term on Google. With all of the news in 2016, Denmark clearly saw value in escaping to the world of HBO.
Hello Carolyn,
Thanks for the sharing latest updates of Google search term 2016. You cover almost all most popular Google search term in 2016, its great work from your side. Thanks
Hi Romon, Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed this article. Yes, some of these top terms were totally predictable, but others were quite surprising. It will be interesting to see which search terms are most popular in 2017!