Another Year Bites the Dust

‘Rebecca Black’ comes in at number one for the fastest rising Google searches of 2011. This 13 year old became an instant celebrity with the release of her pop single “Friday”. Google searches for Rebecca Black and her song jumped >10,000% between 2010 and 2011 and reached more than 167 million views on Youtube. The searches for this young pop star even topped those of Lady Gaga during the video’s peak popularity in March.

This internationally recognized topped New Zealand’s singles charts and rightfully so; the city of Auckland was featured as a backdrop in the video!

The second place goes to Google itself with more than 10,000 people searching for ‘Google+’ within the 2- weeks following its launch and announcement of open signups! Google+ ranked as the fastest growing social network drawing in users from all over the world including the Dalai Lama.

Daredevil ‘Ryan Dunn’ takes the third spot on the charts. Dunn was best known for his risky stunts on Jackass and Viva La Bam and was a member of the CKY Crew.

This well-known reality television personnel lost his life on June 20, 2011 in an alcohol related car crash causing the Google search volume to rise by more than 10,000%. Fans took to social networks to show their remorse for this Ohio born rebel.

Murder is sure to attract an audience as proved by ‘Casey Anthony’ taking fourth place on the fastest rising Google search list. Two-year-old Caylee Anthony’s remains were found wrapped in a blanket in a wooded area near Casey’s family house.

The mother, Casey Anthony, was tried for first degree murder but was found ‘not guilty’ on June 5, 2011 causing the searches to grow by 2,680%. This set forth a skyrocket of searches for ‘Casey Anthony’ and a social media frenzy regarding the verdict.

Gamers took to Google upon the release of ‘Battlefield 3’ increasing its search by a whopping 1,773% between 2010 and 2011. This popular EA first person shooter video game sold 5 million copies in its first week and won Best Show at Gamescom in Germany and a Future Game Award to the 2011 Tokyo Game Show. Its unique multi-player features were a hot topic amongst all tech and gaming experts and enjoyed by a vast gaming audience.

Apple strikes again with the rumoured release of the iPhone 5. As the anticipation grew in 2011 with iPhone users looking forward to the new release so did the searches- by 1,658% between 2010 and 2011. The reported iPhone 5 was speculated to have edge-to-edge glass, an 8 megapixel camera and extensive voice controls.

The iPhone 5 search peaked a week before the release of the iPhone 4s in October and the ‘non-existent’ iPhone 5 continued to lead the search polls even after the iPhone 4s release.

With strong vocals and killer radio hits Adele takes seventh place in Google’s fastest rising searches. Adele sold 208,000 copies of her album “21” within the first week of its release. The release hooked millions of fans causing her search to rise 1,588% between 2010 and 2011. The album took the number one spot in 24 countries and spent 2 weeks as a number one in New Zealand.

The search for 東京 電力 ‘TEPCO’ (Tokyo Electric Power Company) rose by 1,470% in regards to information on the Fukushima | Plant after the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Despite the fact that Japanese-language users represent only 4.7% of total Internet users the 東京 電力 signifies the enormity of the search to place it amongst the fastest rising list of 2011.

The search for Steve Jobs rose by 982% in October 2011 after he passed away from cancer at the age of 56. This apple co-founder was a creative technical visionary who revolutionized people’s lives with Apple digital appliances. Jobs continuously marked the papers with the release of the iPad 2, resignation and mourned death.

Reconfirming the imprint Steve Jobs left on the world, the iPad 2 takes the number 10 spot for Google’s fastest rising searches with a calculated growth of 939%. There were 500,000 tablets sold on the release weekend and they were sold out across all mediums within the first week. These hot items were highly desired, so much so that a teenager from China sold his right kidney in order to buy an iPad 2.

From pop culture to natural disasters, revolutionary digital technology and more 2011 comes to an end. We venture into the New Year not knowing quite what to expect or what will captivate our attention. Our crew at Pure SEO wants to wish you all the best for New Year to come and are excited to see what will be rising in the worlds searches this year.

1st Place: Rebecca Black and her hit single ‘Friday’.

Google Search Growth: >10,000%

2nd Place: Google +

Google Search Growth: >10,000%

3rd Place: Ryan Dunn

Google Search Growth: >10,000%

4th Place: Casey Anthony

Google Search Growth: 2,680%

5th Place: Battlefield 3

Google Search Growth: 1,773%

6th Place: iPhone 5

Google Search Growth: 1,658%

7th Place: Adele

Google Search Growth: 1,588%

8th Place: 東京 電力 (TEPCO)

Google Search Growth: 1,470%

9th Place: Steve Jobs

Google Search Growth: 982%

10th Place: iPad 2

Google Search Growth: 939%