Google reveals Australia’s top search over 20 years

Google has aired 20 years of dirty laundry, revealing exactly what we’ve been searching over the last two decades.

Google made it to Australia’s shores in 2002 with just one employee working from their lounge room Photo: Alain Jocard

What better way to celebrate 20 years in Australia than by airing the nations’s dirty laundry?

According to the global search engine, Aussies had a yearning to “draw”, “screenshot” and “lose weight”.

On the news front, we wanted the latest Covid, Trump and footy updates more than anything else.

The Australian search data dump marks Google’s 20th year on our shores.

Mel Silva, Managing Director, Google Australia & New Zealand, described the tech giant’s humble beginnings in Australia.

Stream more tech news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Google Australia and New Zealand managing director Mel Silva said Australia has a two-way relationship with the tech company.

“The Australian team started in a lounge room in 2002, with just one employee,” she said.

“We now have over 2,000 local Googlers, with about half of us supporting our engineering work, and through our apps and services, we now provide nearly $67 billion in annual economic value to Australia.”

Ms Silva said we had proven we were “hungry to learn it all” over the last two decades.

“Aussies are renowned for our DIY spirit, and these searches hit an all-time high during the pandemic,” she said.

“We’re clearly crafty, searching for DIY blinds, face masks, wedding invites and Christmas decorations. And we’ve looked to learn – how to draw, tie a tie, play guitar, and how to build a cubby house, pizza oven, dog kennel and more.

Google made it to Australia’s shores in 2002 with just one employee working from their lounge room Photo: Alain Jocard

“We were also adventurous in the kitchen, with top trending ingredients over the past five years including tomahawk steak, scallops, brisket, sago pearls, lobster tail, tempeh and bone marrow.”

Google’s news search data revealed another, perhaps not surprising, trend – we’re nuts for sport.

“Our top news searches spanned sectors and borders. A defining moment in our history, ‘Covid’ topped the list, followed by ‘Trump’,” Ms Silva said.

Aussies couldn’t get enough of Trump it seems. Picture: Shannon Stapleton

“Our obsession with sport shone through, with ‘AFL’ and ‘NRL’ ranking third and fourth, while ‘Arsenal’ and ‘F1’ news also landed in the top 10.

“Looking further afield, we also searched for news about Ukraine and China.”

As well as what Google has done for us, Ms Silva explained what mark Australians have left on the global tech giant.

“We’ve built products that have scaled to the world – including Google Maps, which started right here in Sydney,” Ms Silva said.

Google Maps was convieved in Sydney before it was launched in 2005.

“And we’ve teamed up with over 1.6 million Aussie businesses, large and small, to help them thrive online and reach the world.”

And as for what we’ve been searching over the last 20 years? Here it is...

Top ‘how to’ searches in Australia

1. Draw

2. Screenshot

3. Lose weight

4. Tie a tie

5. Make money

6. Have sex

7. Make chocolate

8. Play guitar

9. Make slime

10. Delete Facebook

Aussies were keen to make DIY face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Top DIY searches in Australia

1. Blinds

2. Face mask

3. Wedding invitations

4. Christmas decorations

5. Kitchens

6. Christmas gifts

7. Room decorations

8. Halloween costumes

9. Tiles

10. Room decor

Not surprisingly, we’ve always been keen for footy updates. Photo: Quinn Rooney

Top searched terms alongside “news” in Australia

1. Covid news

2. Trump news

3. AFL news

4. NRL news

5. Police news

6. Qld news

7. Ukraine news

8. Arsenal news

9. F1 news

10. China news

Natural disasters with the highest search interest

1. Bushfire

2. Flood

3. Cyclone

4. Earthquake

5. Storm

Thrifty Australians were keen to buy second-hand books

Top items searched with “do op shops/charity shops sell …” in Australia

1. Pots

2. Books

3. Underwear

4. Door beads

5. Perfume

6. Bikes

7. Rags

8. Sim cards

9. Gift cards

10. Cameras

Top questions on self care in Australia

1. What is self care?

2. Why is self care important?

3. How to self care?

4. What to put in a self care box?

5. What is self care capacity?

6. Is self care selfish?

7. What is a self care plan?

8. What are self care strategies?

9. What are self care activities?

10. What is self care in nursing?

Top searches for “how to build (a) …” in Australia

1. Retaining wall

2. House

3. Pergola

4. Cubby house

5. Fence

6. Pizza oven

7. Shed

8. Dog kennel

9. Stairs

10. Gate

And we were hungry for a Tomahawk Steak … according to our search trends.

Top trending ingredients alongside “how to cook” (past five years vs. previous five years)

1. Tomahawk steak

2. Scallops in shell

3. Brisket

4. Sago pearls

5. Lobster tail

6. Tempeh

7. Cauliflower rice

8. Bone marrow

9. Broccolini

10. Enoki mushrooms

Top searched types of travel in Australia

1. Time travel

2. International travel

3. Student travel

4. Last minute travel

5. Smart travel

6. Space travel

7. Load and go travel

8. Air travel

9. World travel

10. Cheap travel