Google announces top South African searches for 2017
This year's trending searches show growing interest in local celebrities and events, with seven of the top 10 trending search terms being local, in contrast to fewer than half last year. 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.
Top trending South African searches
- Dumi Masilela
- Zimbabwe
- Cyclone Dineo
- Joe Mafela
- Karabo Mokoena
- Joost van der Westhuizen
- Black Friday
- Mayweather vs McGregor fight
- Fast & Furious 8
- Hurricane Irma
Trending personalities
- 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
- 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
Top TV shows
- 13 reasons why
- Games of Thrones
- Isibaya
- Uzalo
- Big Brother Naija
- American Gods
- Idols SA
- Sex in the City
- Big Little Lies
- Riverdale
Top searched recipes
- Oxtail recipes
- Sweet potato recipes
- Beef stew recipes
- Vegan recipes
- Creamed spinach recipes
- Halal recipes
- Prawn recipes
- Spaghetti recipes
- Cauliflower recipes
- Bread recipes
To see more information about Google’s Year in Search across the globe and to watch our annual video, click here.
This information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on 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. Live Google search trends data is available here.