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Happy news: people searched Google for a record number of “good” terms in 2018. Google recently released its list of the most popular search terms around the world this year and many of these searches were positive ones.
Google has also released a fun game to test your knowledge of popular search terms in 2018.
The Year in Search 2018 from Google Trends is a fun, interactive site that lists the top searches for countries around the world in 2018. You can also see which searches were the most popular globally in 2018.
This uplifting video from Google gives you an idea of the good things people have searched for this year.
To find out what search terms trended in a country, or globally, this year, head to Google Trends Year In Search 2018. At the top of the page you can select the country you want to see the 2018 top searches for.
These were the top searches globally in 2018:
Want to see top searches for other countries? Click on the word “Global” on the Year in Search page and choose a country from the drop-down menu. After you’ve chosen the country you can see the top results in the top categories. Google Trends will show you the top search terms in 2018 for each category.
The Year in Search shows the top searches people performed in different categories, such as:
- General
- News
- People
- Actors
- Athletes
- How To
- Beauty Questions
- Diet
- Fashion Brands
- Food
- GIFs
- Movies
- Musicians and Bands
- TV Shows
Note that different countries have different categories for top searches in 2018. For example, some countries list Loss as a category, while others don’t.
For example, in the How To category, the 2018 top searches for the United States were:
But in Australia these were the top How To searches:
(I hope Google guided curious Australians to this Wonder of Tech article => New Google App Shows Which Famous Portrait Looks Like You.)
Want to learn more about a search term? Click or tap on it to find out more about the search. Google Trends shows you which countries and regions searched for this term, the search term trend over time, related search terms and more.
For example, the search term “Royal Wedding” trended most in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.
If you want to see top search terms for previous years, look for “2018” in the upper right corner of the Year in Search page. Tap or click on the year to open a drop-down menu to choose other years.
Note that not all years have top search lists. 2010 and the years before 2006 do not have top search lists available.
Game of the Year
After you’ve had fun checking out the top searches around the world for 2018, you probably want to have even more fun. Google has you covered.
Head to Google’s Game of the Year and begin playing.
Tap or click Let’s Go to start the game. Note that the game instructions will be read aloud. Be sure to turn off the sound if you are playing at the office or some other environment when you’re supposed to be quiet.
You can enter your name (optional) and click or tap Play.
Google will ask you a series of questions about the most searched terms of the year. The game is an entertaining way to see if you’ve been paying attention to trends this year. Whether you have or you haven’t been aware of trends, you still may enjoy finding out some surprising facts about what people wanted to know more about.
Also included in the game are bonus rounds where you drag search terms left or right, depending on whether the terms were searched more or less this year.
At the end you receive a score for your performance in the game. Google invites you to improve your score by trying again.
Keep trying, you’ll get a different game if you play again.
Your Thoughts
Did any of the top searches of 2018 surprise you? Did you check the top searches for your country and globally? Did you play Google’s Game of the Year?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Sajid Akhter says
Hi Carolyn,
What a wonderful piece of information. It is nice to know the most searched words on Google. This will help us plan for the future.
Thanks for sharing this post. Have a good day.
Carolyn Nicander Mohr says
Hi Sajid, Yes, it was fascinating to see the most searched for terms on Google this year. Playing the Game of the Year is fun too!
William Denver says
Hi Carolyn,
This year has been full of ups and downs. But its fun to see that is wasn’t all that bad. Thanks for sharing this post.
Carolyn Nicander Mohr says
Hello William, Good point. It was refreshing to see that many people searched for good things on Google this year. I hope 2019 brings more good news.