Top Google Searches

As you know, the top search engine in the world is Google.  Most of us use Google from time to time to find a quick fact or run a search.  Not surprisingly, more and more internet users are beginning to utilize Google as their primary search engine.  Without a powerful search algorithm to sift through inconceivable quanitities of information, the Internet would be an absolute mess.  Trying to navigate from page to page would be time-consuming, laborious, and frustrating without the valuable service the search engines provide.  Earlier today, I got to thinking and I wondered what the most popular Google searches of all time are.  After some research, here's the list I compiled.

1. Facebook
It seems like Mark Zuckerberg's brainchild has taken over the world rapidly.  Every single person I know in my age group has a Facebook account.  According to their statistics page, Facebook has more than 500 million active users and people spend over 7 billion minutes a month logged on.  More than 70% of Facebook users reside outside the United States.  It's hard to wrap your head around these numbers but even more mind-numbing is the rate at which Facebook has proliferated.  A decade ago, Mark Zuckerberg was a broke college student, a far cry from the household name he has become.  Now, after just 7 years of existence, Facebook has become a regularity on the Internet.

2. YouTube
YouTube is another internet sensation that has rapidly grown in a short span of time.  Online videos were few and far between before 2005, when YouTube was launched as a technology startup company funded by Sequoia Capital.  Now, everyone pulls up YouTube videos to show their friends and family, and some videos have become a valuable educational tool in the classroom.  I'd imagine that YouTube gets quite a bit of traffic from Google.

3. Sex and Porn
Unfortunately, the Internet has become a venue to access pornography and X-rated material.  Google has not been immune to the expanse of porn on the internet.  The keyword "sex" gets 4 billion searches per year while "porn" attracts 3 billion.  Not surprisingly, porn sites make up a large percentage of all websites.

4. Yahoo
Yahoo is arguably Google's largest competitor in the search engine market, but many people use Google to search for Yahoo and vice versa.  In addition, Yahoo provides instant messaging, e-mail, and other things.  Yahoo receives about 6 billion searches per year THROUGH Google. 

5. CraigsList
Not to be forgotten is a wonderful online classified ads website called CraigsList.  You can search for jobs, housing, services, products, and gigs.  Craigslist determines the location of your computer, then directs you towards classified listings in your area.  Also relatively new to the Internet, CraigsList has attracted billions of visits a year since it's inception in 2005.