With around 40,000 searches being processed every second by Google, the internet giant can provide some interesting insights into the everyday lives of the people who use it.
They use this data to help them understand the intent of users, and improve the user experience by providing relevant information as quickly as possible. Every year, Google releases a compilation of moments that influenced and defined how users interact with search engine for the previous year.
This compilation provides insight on leading topics that users showed the most interest in, and more importantly, how users utilize search engines. This provides both Google and marketers with crucial insights to identify trends that can be used to best serve the user and essentially understand searcher’s intent.
South African Top Google Searchs 2017
Below you’ll find the top 5 searches made in South Africa for each of the categories that Google tracks.
General Trending Searches:
- Dumi Masilela
- Zimbabwe
- Cyclone Dineo
- Joe Mafela
- Karabo Mokoena
Personalities:
- Dumi Masilela
- Joe Mafela
- Joost Van Der Westhuizen
- Zodwa Wabantu
- Mandla Hlatshwayo
TV Shows:
- 13 Reasons Why
- Game Of Thrones
- Isibaya
- Uzalo
- Big Brother Naija
Question Based Queries:
- What is Dineo?
- What is Bitcoin?
- Who won the money fight?
- What role can the private sector play in poverty alleviations?
- How to lose belly fat?
Recipes:
- Oxtail recipes
- Sweet potato recipes
- Beef stew recipes
- Vegan recipes
- Creamed spinach recipes
Near Me Searches:
- Pharmacy near me
- Dentist near me
- KFC near me
- Jobs hiring near me
- Hardware store near me
Key Takeaways:
- Businesses should focus their efforts on optimising for more localised content, and incorporate information relevant to their location in their SEO optimisation efforts in order to capitalise on the “near me” searches.
- For food bloggers and the restaurant industry, the focus should be on providing as detailed recipe content as possible, in order to answer “how to” related queries. Google provides some guidelines here.
- On a more lighter side of things, we saw a lot of interest in local celebrities, which shows the growing interest we are starting to show in our own local scene.
- Finally, one question that really caught my attention regarded how the private sectors can help alleviate poverty. This is obviously a major issue in our country, and its inclusion among the top 5 searches last year seems to show that it is one that everybody, including the private sector itself, is taking more and more seriously.
You can check out the full list here.