A Year in UAE’s Search: Google’s Top Searches of 2012
Gangnam Style, Whitney Houston and Hamdan Al Kimaly top the 2012 trending list for search queries
Dubai, UAE – 12th of December, 2012: Today, Google announced its annual Zeitgeist, a look at 2012 through the collective eyes of UAE residents on the web, offering a unique perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted in the UAE.
This year’s trending searches show growing interest in political and social issues within the Arab world as well as globally in addition to a rising interest in electronic gadgets and entertainment news. This year’s Google Zeitgeist reveals that Emiratis are turning to the Internet as their number one source of information on-the-go.
Google’s top searches of 2012 in the UAE showcased the top 10 findings for trending search terms, trending people, TV shows, sports teams, athletes, Emirati Olympians, foods, travel destinations and fashion labels.
UAE’s Top Trending Query
Gangnam Style
UAE’s Top Trending Person
Whitney Houston
UAE’s Most Searched TV Show
Omar Series
UAE’s Most Searched Athlete
Cristiano Ronaldo
UAE’s Most Searched Sports Team
Barcelona
UAE’s Most Searched Emirati Olympian
Hamdan Al Kimaly
UAE’s Top Trending Travel Destination
Al Ain Al Sokhna
UAE’s Top Trending Food Search
Baklava
UAE’s Top Trending Fashion Label
Isabel Marant
You can find out the top 10 most-searched terms for each category by visiting the Google Zeitgeist website on googlezeitgeist.com and checking out the UAE tab for more in-depth information.
Trending in 2012: Searches Trending in 2012: People Most Searched in 2012: TV Shows
1. Gangnam Style 1. Whitney Houston 1. Omar Series
2. iPad 3 2. Shama Hamdan 2. Fatma Series
3. Olympics 2012 3. Kate Middleton 3. Zero Four
4. Samsung Galaxy S3 4. Yousef Al-Qardawi 4. Roya’
5. The Avengers 5. Felix Baumgartner 5. Sabah Al Khair
6. Skyfall 6. Usain Bolt 6. Hibir Al Eyoun
7. Hurricane Sandy 7. Karina Kapoor 7. The Voice
8. Ramadan Shows 2012 8. Mohamed Morsi 8. Arab Idol
9. Kony 2012 9. Adele 9. Arabs Got Talent
10. Syrian Revolution 10. Ibrahim Al Fekki 10. Molhaq Banat
Most Searched in 2012: Athletes Most Searched in 2012: Sports Teams Most Searched in 2012: In-Country Olympians
1. Cristiano Ronaldo 1. Barcelona 1. Hamdan Al Kimaly
2. Roger Federer 2. Real Madrid 2. Omar Abdulrahman
3. Kaka 3. Chelsea 3. Ahmed Khalil
4. David Beckham 4. AC Milan 4. Ahmed Al Maktoum
5. Lionel Messi 5. Arsenal 5. Khaled Issa
6. Maria Sharapova 6. Liverpool 6. Khadeeja Mohammed
7. Rafael Nadal 7. Zamalek 7. Mohammed Fawzi
8. Michael Jordan 8. Manchester United 8. Saeed Al Maktoum
9. Michael Schumacher 9. Manchester City 9. Rashed Issa
10. Xavi 10. Roma 10. Ahmed Ali
Trending in 2012: Travel Destinations Trending in 2012: Food & Drinks Trending in 2012: Fashion Labels
1. Al Ain Hot Springs 1. Baklava 1. Isabel Marant
2. Riyadh 2. Licorice 2. Michael Kors
3. Istanbul 3. Fettucini 3. Bershka
4. Vienna 4. Carob Tropical Pod 4. Ice Watch
5. Seville 5. Chicken Kabsa 5. Nike
6. Frankfurt 6. ‘Eesh Saraya 6. H&M
7. California 7. Daoud Basha 7. Forever 21
8. Chicago 8. Kafta 8. Saint Laurent
9. The White House 9. Baba Ghanoush 9. Celine
10. Barcelona 10. Arugula Salad 10. Alexander Wang
In addition showcasing what people were curious about in UAE, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics captured the world’s attention in 2012. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear on our Google Zeitgeist webpage, googlezeitgeist.com — from most-searched travel destinations in Brazil, to trending Australian celebrities, to most-searched Egyptian Olympians, to top tech gadgets in Japan and everything in between.
To see more information about Google Zeitgeist across the globe, use interactive data visualizations and to watch our annual video, visit googlezeitgeist.com.
What is Google’s Year-End Zeitgeist?
Google reveals the internet “Zeitgeist” (German for “the spirit of the times”) through an exploration of the over one trillion search queries we receive each year. In addition to the Year-end Zeitgeist, which highlights the top trends of 2012, we also have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past and present search trends. Google Zeitgeist tools can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur over time. These tools are available year-round for you to play with, explore, and learn from: google.com/zeitgeist
About Google Inc.Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
