Watch our video to rediscover the events, people and topics that defined 2015 around the world:
Two cups and a silver medal
While Australia took the Asian Cup and Cricket World Cup, our loss to New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final ranked higher on this year’s top trending searches list (it’s okay, we still beat them in the cricket). More than half of this year’s top trending searches were sports related, with Aussies also following the personal stories of Ronda Rousey and Jarryd Hayne.
Sad news and new arrivals
The tragic events in Paris, the Nepal earthquake, and Cyclone Marcia were global news moments that captured our attention this year. A berries recall drove a global spike in searches for Hepatitis A, while Mick Fanning’s encounter with a Great White saw searches for “shark attack” reach an all time high. In lighter news, photos from the Pluto flyby and the arrival of another Royal baby made the Trending News Items list (though Charlotte couldn’t top George’s 2013 spike).
How did they do that?
‘How to’ searches are always particularly representative of the trends sweeping a country, but this year Aussies were concerned with the quotidian - how to write a cover letter, how to lose weight, how to make a paper plane, how to draw, and how to tie a tie.
Closer to home
We remembered the lives of Phil Walsh and Richie Benaud, and The Boy Next Door telemovie prompted many Australians to revisit Peter Allen’s legacy. Jarryd Hayne’s debut in NFL’s 49ers helper make him the top trending Aussie this year, with Malcolm Turnbull taking out the second spot.
Dubsmash, Lucy the Australopithecus and Chuck Norris
To better understand our world and ourselves, we asked questions like what is the meaning of life, who is Lucy The Australopithecus, and where is Chuck Norris. We also quickly searched for new digital lingo like Dubsmash, Periscope, OK Google and FUTBIN (just in case our friends asked us about these new crazes or wanted us to play Agario with them)...
Here’s the full list of our top 10 trending searches in Australia this year:
Trending Searches
- Netflix
- Rugby World Cup
- Lamar Odom
- Ronda Rousey
- Asian Cup
- Jarryd Hayne
- Jurassic World
- Paris
- Cricket World Cup
- Agario
You can find more on these top searches and others at google.com.au/2015
Trending Searches 1. Netflix 2. Rugby World Cup 3. Lamar Odom 4. Ronda Rousey 5. Asian Cup 6. Jarryd Hayne 7. Jurassic World 8. Paris 9. Cricket World Cup 10. Agario | News items of 2015 (Trending) 1. Paris 2. Bali 9 3. Hepatitis A 4. Cyclone Marcia 5. Charlie Hebdo 6. Greece 7. Pluto 8. Nepal Earthquake 9. Royal Baby 10. Mick Fanning Shark Attack |
How to… (Most Searched) 1. Tie A Tie 2. Make Pancakes 3. Screenshot On Mac 4. Make A Paper Plane 5. Write A Cover Letter 6. Draw 7. Get Rid Of Pimples 8. Poach An Egg 9. Lose Weight Fast 10. Make Money | What is… ? (Most Searched) 1. Netflix 2. Love 3. The Meaning Of Life 4. The Time 5. The Weather Today 6. A Noun 7. A Prime Number 8. Gluten 9. A Verb 10. All Purpose Flour |
Aussies (Trending) 1. Jarryd Hayne 2. Malcolm Turnbull 3. Ivan Milat 4. Phil Walsh 5. Peter Allen 6. Ruby Rose 7. Gina Rinehart 8. Sia 9. Richie Benaud 10. Mick Fanning | Global People (Trending) 1. Lamar Odom 2. Caitlyn Jenner 3. Paul Walker 4. Charlie Sheen 5. Jeremy Clarkson 6. Natalia Kills 7. Jonah Lomu 8. Chris Kyle 9. Lenny Kravitz 10. Christopher Lee |
Recipes (Most Searched) 1. Pancake Recipe 2. Slow Cooker Recipe 3. Chicken Recipes 4. Thermomix Recipes 5. Lasagna Recipe 6. Chocolate Cake Recipe 7. Quiche Recipe 8. Paleo Recipes 9. Pizza Dough Recipes 10. Banana Bread Recipe | Who is… ? (Most Searched) 1. A 2. Lucy The Australopithecus 3. Gossip Girl 4. The Stig 5. The Richest Person In The World 6. The Arkham Knight 7. The Prime Minister Of Australia 8. Bruce Jenner 9. Banksy 10. Charles DiLaurentis |
Where is… ? (Most Searched) 1. Xur 2. Tunisia 3. Mali 4. Gallipoli 5. Nepal 6. 800 Words Filmed 7. Home And Away Filmed 8. Perth 9. Chuck Norris 10. Bora Bora | Digital / Internet Lingo (Trending) 1. Agario 2. How Old Net 3. FUTBIN 4. OK Google 5. Snapchat Emoji 6. Netflix And Chill 7. Dubsmash 8. 2048 9. Selfie Stick 10. Periscope |
Trending Searches: What was hot in 2015? The "trending" queries are the searches that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2015 as compared to 2014.
Most Searched: What topped Google’s charts? The "most searched" queries are the most popular terms for 2015—ranked in order by volume of searches.
Hundreds of stories in depth
The 2015 Year in Search goes deeper than we've ever gone before. This year, we’re covering hundreds of news stories, sharing interactive guides and charts, and diving into the numbers by sharing things like how many times people searched for Adele (439 million, if you want to know!). See how all of the biggest stories of the year compared: Go to Google.com/2015 to explore the rest of the 2015 Year in Search stories and top trending charts from around the world.