South Africans have a growing interest in local celebrities and events, with seven of the top 10 Google trending search terms in SA being local, compared to fewer than half last year.
Here are the top trending South African searches in 2017:
- Dumi Masilela
- Zimbabwe
- Cyclone Dineo
- Joe Mafela
- Karabo Mokoena
- Joost van der Westhuizen
- Black Friday
- Mayweather vs McGregor fight
- Fast & Furious 8
- Hurricane Irma
The top 10 trending personalities in South Africa in 2017 were:
- Dumi Masilela
- Joe Mafela
- Joost van der Westhuizen
- Zodwa Wabantu
- Mandla Hlatshwayo
- Lundi Tyamara
- Simphiwe Ngema
- Grace Mugabe
- Hugh Hefner
- Chester Bennington
Top ‘near me’ searches
South Africans are also increasingly using search to find local businesses. The ‘near me’ search list shows what types of businesses South Africans look for in their neighbourhoods and highlights the importance of these, often small, businesses being online and findable. Here are what South Africans are looking for close to them:
- Pharmacy near me
- Dentist near me
- KFC near me
- Jobs hiring near me
- Hardware store near me
- Gynaecologist near me
- Printing shops near me
- Steers near me
- Sushi near me
- Doctors near me
South Africans also used the Google search function to find out more about their favourite television shows. These included:
- 13 reasons why
- Games of Thrones
- Isibaya
- Uzalo
- Big Brother Naija
- American Gods
- Idols SA
- Sex in the City
- Big Little Lies
- Riverdale
Food is also a priority for South Africans. Here are the recipes they most searched for in 2017:
- Oxtail recipes
- Sweet potato recipes
- Beef stew recipes
- Vegan recipes
- Creamed spinach recipes
- Halal recipes
- Prawn recipes
- Spaghetti recipes
- Cauliflower recipes
- Bread recipes
This information is based on data collated by Google showing what South Africans have been searching for and asking Google this year. Google processes more than 40 000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.
To see more information about Google’s Year in Search across the globe and to watch the company’s annual video, click here. Live Google search trends data is available here.
