Google Unleashes 2022 ‘Year In Search’ Review—‘Wordle’ Overrules The Queen
As we look back on the past 12 months, there’s no shortage of headline-grabbing events that occurred, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In spite of all the ups and downs, one thing remained constant: the world’s love for Wordle, with the quiz game topping Google’s Year in Search 2022 as the most searched term of the year.
Second and fifth place went to the World Cup—but not the one that’s currently taking place—rather, the Cricket World Cup, with India vs England and India vs South Africa being among the top five searches this year.
Ranking third was Ukraine, which dominated the news in the earlier part of the year as it continued its battle against invading forces; followed by Queen Elizabeth in fourth place, who passed away on September 8, 2022.
When it came to actors and prominent people, the same top three names appeared on both lists—Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Amber Heard, while prominent anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic was the most widely-searched athlete.
According to Google, 2022 was another year where pop culture left its mark on the masses, with “how to become a fighter pilot” one of the most asked questions on Google Assistant, no doubt thanks to Top Gun: Maverick.
Each year, #YearInSearch provides a unique look into what inspired us and intrigued us, all over the world. 2022 was defined by our collective search for new possibilities. See what the world was searching this year. https://t.co/A64QBswvMw
— Google (@Google) December 7, 2022
This year, the search engine introduced a new local hub platform that allows users to look into interesting trends from all across the United States by simply a particular city or zip code.
For example, Anchorage, Alaska, and Des Moines, Iowa, recorded “quilt shops” as one of the top “near me” searches, just as residents in Parkersburg, West Virginia, looked for “dog parks.”
Cats reigned supreme on Google Lens, which helped many users better explore the world around them by identifying the animals and objects. The top-searched creatures included the domestic short-haired cat, tabby cat, and polydactyl cat.
Curious to see what the most popular searches were in each country? Head over to Google’s Year in Search 2022 to check it out.
