Google has released Australia’s top trending searches of 2020, and the data shows how Australians navigated our way through a year unlike any other.
The overall searches reveal our collective worries about the world, with ‘US election’ overtaking ‘coronavirus’ as the top search term in 2020.
Still, the pandemic was firmly set in our minds, with three of the top 10 terms being related to the virus, including ‘coronavirus symptoms’ and ‘coronavirus Victoria’. As a result, searches for ‘Zoom’ came in at number four.
This year, the data shows that Australians were concerned with their health, safety and livelihoods. We wanted to know how to get tested for coronavirus, where to buy face masks, and how many people we could have in our homes.
In a year that began with raging bushfires, Aussies were also searching for ‘fires near me’ – which was Australia’s top Google search term of 2019. We were concerned about the NSW fires in particular, and the air quality in Melbourne.
With unemployment rising, so did questions about how to apply for Centrelink and JobKeeper, and people wanted to know if they could access their super.
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Crafting, contributing and comfort food
In 2020, Australians were also willing to get crafty. For the first time, a non-food item topped the list of trending recipes: hand sanitiser. We were also searching for DIY face masks, pottery kits and even… a DIY ventilator.
When it came to recipes, sweet and savoury baking was on our mind. We wanted to know how to make sourdough bread, donuts, macarons, crumpets and Anzac cookies. For heartier meals, beef stroganoff came in at number three, followed by the classic spag bol.
In a year characterised by so much global uncertainty, the trending searches show Australians were turning their attention closer to home and to people in need. We searched for ‘buy from the bush’, ‘buy Aussie now’ and ‘buy a bale’.
And when it came to tech topics, Google has helped settle the big gaming debate of 2020 – searches for ‘buy PS5’ outpaced searches for ‘buy Xbox Series X’.
