Google has revealed the most-searched-for trends, people, recipes, questions and news events Australians were looking up in 2023.
Australians tried to make sense of national and international news stories like the Optus outage that effected more than 10million customers in November as well as the Israel-Palestine conflict which caught worldwide attention on October 7 by turning to Google.
Cultural events like movies, sports, and concerts were also on Aussies’ minds with millions typing queries about Taylor Swift tickets, Matildas football games and the British Royals into the search engine.
Many were cooking up a storm searching recipes for Coronation quiche, the Grimace shake and Anzac biscuits while others were getting crafty and Googling how to make paper poppers, kinetic sand and Valentines gifts.
New York Times‘ daily word game Wordle had a hand in what people were Googling with many wanting to know the meaning of the puzzle’s solutions like snafu, ennui and pique.
Google has revealed the news and cultural events, questions, recipes, how-to’s that were searched for the most by Australians in 2023 from Taylor Swift Eras tickets to Wordle answers
Cultural events like movies, sports, concerts were on Aussies’ minds with millions typing queries about King Charles III’s coronation and the Matildas into the search engine
The top trending news event Australians searched for was the Optus outage on November 8.
The meltdown affected up to 10 million Australians and over 400,000 businesses who were left in the dark for up to 12 hours after their internet and phone services were cut off.
Optus later revealed a ‘routine software upgrade’ triggered the outage and claimed they have taken steps to ensure it won’t happen again.
The second most-searched news story in Australia in 2023 was the ongoing conflict happening in Gaza in which more than 17,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed.
‘Why is Israel and Hamas at war?’ and ‘Why is the Gaza strip important?’ were two of the most common ‘Why is…’ questions asked on google in Australia.
The voice referendum was another hot topic with many Googling the voting results.
Millions of Australians voted ‘No’ to recognise Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people by giving them a voice to parliament.
Right-wing figure Andrew Tate was also Googled a lot for his controversial opinions on women and charges of rape and human trafficking.
The top trending news event was the Optus outage on November 8. The meltdown affected 10 million customers and 400,000 business whose phone and internet services were cut off
The voice referendum was a hot topic with many Googling the results. Millions voted ‘No’ to recognise Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people by giving them a voice to parliament
Other big news topics in Australia was the magnitude 5 earthquake that shook Melbourne in October as well as the infamous Titan submarine implosion and New South Wales state election results.
Women’s national football team, the Matildas captain Sam Kerr was the most Googled Australian followed by player Mary Fowler.
The soccer world cup was the third most Googled sporting event in Australia while ‘How to watch the Women’s World cup’ was the most searched ‘how to’ question of 2023.
Other Aussie names frequently typed into Google’s search bar were ex-cricketer Michael Clarke after his bizarre brawl in Noosa, rugby league player Reece Walsh and Victorian premiere Dan Andrews who stood down from the role in September.
In entertainment and culture the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon dominated Google in Australia.
Women’s national football team, the Matildas captain Sam Kerr was the most Googled Australian followed by player Mary Fowler
In entertainment the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon about the theatrical release of the Oppenheimer and Barbie movies on the same day in July dominated Google in Australia
Hype around the theatrical release of the Oppenheimer and Barbie movies on the same day in July saw the two films make number one and two on the trending entertainment searches respectively.
‘Taylor Swift tickets’ and ‘How to get Taylor Swift tickets’ were up there as millions of Aussies bid for a very limited number of ticket available for the superstar’s five Sydney and Melbourne shows.
Games made the next two top five entertainment spots with online puzzle Connections coming in a number four and Nintendo Switch Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy making number five.
The most popular recipe searched in Australia this year was Coronation quiche, which was chosen by King Charles III and Queen Camilla as the signature dish of the coronation celebrations in May.
Aussies were also searching up recipes for the Grimace Milkshake, a berry-flavoured beverage sold in US McDonald’s from June 12 to July 9.
The other most-searched recipes including Coronation chicken, Country Women’s Association Anzac biscuits and Honolulu chicken.
The top-searched celebrities who died in 2023 included Matthew Perry, Jock Zonfrillo, Sinead O’connor, Tina Turner and Cal Wilson.
The most popular recipe searched in Australia this year was Coronation quiche chosen by King Charles III as the signature dish of the coronation celebrations in May
Popular word game Wordle challenges players to guess a five-letter words in six guesses. The solutions were some of the most Googled meanings in 2023.
Six of the top 10 meaning searches were Wordle answers including snafu, ennui, guano, credo, pique and locus.
Some Australians got crafty and looked to Google for help with questions like ‘How to make a paper popper’ and ‘how to make rosemary water for hair’ topping the trending DIY list.
A paper popper is where a piece of paper is strategically folded so when it’s flicked it makes a startling bang while rosemary water is said to boost hair growth.
Aussies also wanted to know how to make kinetic sand, slime, DIY Valentine’s gifts, Easter baskets, ice baths and vision boards according to Google data.