Facebook has emerged as the UK’s most Googled term in 2013, beating a number of popular sites – including YouTube – to the number one spot.
Retail sites like Amazon and eBay proved to be some of the most prevalent search queries in the UK, coming in at 5th and 7th respectively.
Google itself came in third place. Perhaps surprisingly, Twitter failed to land in the top 10 for UK-based searches – pointing to the widespread use of the micro-blogging site on mobile devices, where users reach the social network directly via its app.
Brits using Google also displayed a preference for accessing newsfeeds; the Daily Mail was 8th on the list, while BBC News came in 6th place.
Highlighting the need for businesses to use social media as part of comprehensive search engine optimization strategies, industry analyst Chris Green said:
“Facebook has now firmly established itself as a hub on the internet, making it a destination for surfers to do multiple tasks such as communications, gaming, shopping, photo-sharing and information gathering.”
As well as unveiling the most popular terms, Google also revealed the top trending queries – categorised as the entries that have experienced the most significant increases in traffic when compared to last year’s data. The list supports the internet’s place today as a relevant source of instant, accessible news, as many of the entries point to significant world events. Nelson Mandela, for instance, came in at number one, while the royal baby was in 7th place.