Google has released the most searched topics on the search engine over the past 15 years. A look at the list reveals that, among other things, South Africans use the internet to find the answer to pressing questions, stay informed on topical issues, connect to government services, keep up with their favourite public figures and look for work, food, entertainment and health-related information.
As Google celebrates the 15th anniversary of Google Trends, here is a look at some of the top Google searches in South Africa over this period:
Top searched questions, past 15 years in South Africa
- Where to stay?
- How to make money fast?
- How to make love?
- What is love?
- What is my IP?
- How to make pancakes?
- How to download from Youtube?
- How to kiss?
- How to lose weight?
- How to lose belly fat?
Top sports events and tournament searches, past 15 years in South Africa
- La Liga
- Champions League
- English Premier League
- PSL standings
- Rugby World Cup
- Serie A
- FA Cup
- England Championship
- Europa League
- Nedbank Cup
Top searched South Africans, past 15 years in South Africa
- Cassper Nyovest
- Cyril Ramaphosa
- Julius Malema
- Jacob Zuma
- Bonang Matheba
- Zodwa Wabantu
- Black Coffee
- Babes Wodumo
- Senzo Meyiwa
- Pearl Thusi
Top current affairs searches, past 15 years in South Africa
- Load shedding
- Coronavirus South Africa
- National treasury
- Election Results
- Heritage Day
- Boko Haram
- Hoërskool Driehoek
- Curfew South Africa
- Ramaphosa’s Wife
- Chesterville Durban
Top job searches, past 15 years in South Africa
- DPSA vacancies
- Career Junction
- Job Mail
- Gumtree Jobs
- Eskom vacancies
- Government vacancies
- Transnet vacancies
- Jobs in Pretoria
- Best jobs
- DPSA circular
Top searched government services, past 15 years in South Africa
- Home affairs
- Department of labour
- Department of Education
- E-filing
- Department of Home Affairs
- Post office
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Tshwane
- City Power
- Department of Justice
Top searched educational services, past 15 years in South Africa
- My Unisa
- Google Scholar
- UP portal
- Puff and pass
- University of Pretoria
- Google Classroom
- Department of Education
- UJ Ulink
- TUT ITS
- Rosebank College
Top searched international celebrities, past 15 years in South Africa
- Kim Kardashian
- Chris Brown
- Justin Bieber
- Lil Wayne
- Christiano Ronaldo
- Donald Trump
- Ariana Grande
- Taylor Swift
- Lady Gaga
- One Direction
Top searched “lyrics”, past 15 years in South Africa
- All of me lyrics
- Hallelujah lyrics
- Adele hello lyrics
- Despacito lyrics
- Thinking out loud lyrics
- Amazing grace lyrics
- Panda lyrics
- Drunk in love lyrics
- Say something lyrics
- WAP lyrics
Top food related searches, past 15 years in South Africa
- Romans Pizza
- KFC menu
- Nandos menu
- Debonairs pizza
- Ocean basket
- Chicken licken menu
- Food lovers market
- Pizza perfect
- Uber Eats
- Burger King menu
Top health-related searches, past 15 years in South Africa
- Banting diet
- Pregnancy signs
- Apple cider vinegar
- NHLS login
- Symptoms of coronavirus
- Chicken pox
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Lower back pain
- Citro soda
- Blood in urine
Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what South Africans have been searching for. Google processes more than 40 000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide. ‘Top searches’ indicate searches that topped Google’s charts while ‘Most searched’ queries are the most popular terms for the past 15 years, ranked in order by volume of searches. Live Google search trends data is available at https://www.google.co.za/trends/hottrends#pn=p40