South Africas Top Google Searches for 2019

We've wrapped up 2019 and as with every year, South African's were fiercely using google for all sorts of weird and wonderful search queries. The search engine giant has been so kind as to revealed its annual review of a Year in Search for South Africa. This annual summary gives us a glimpse into what countries search trends look like. This year they've given us a small peek into the top searches made along with popular categories or search types made by South Africans in 2019. 

This is a snapshot of the most popular search trends and the most popular search categories and shows us how South African’s like to use Google. The 2019 edition has also included new categories such as top ten ‘music personalities' and ‘movie searches’ queries for the year, which has grown in popularity as South Africans were fixated on sporting events while local drama and issues become more prominent online. Google tends to include categories where they see a rising interest in overall search interest and it looks like entertainment has been a winner for local search in 2019.

Some search topics have changed over the past 12 months if we compare the top dogs dominating last year. However, a few have stayed strong over the 2 year period with load shedding being a consistent search trend over the last 2 years. 

To view last years search trends and see how they compare, check out our previous post - South Africa’s Top Google Searches for 2018

So what did South African's look for in 2019?

If I had to summarise, I'd say the FIFA Soccer World Cup, The Royal Wedding, the listeriosis outbreak really captured South Africans interests and were the big winners in 2018.

Top trending overall searches in South Africa 

1. Load shedding
2. Election results
3. Thanos
4. IEC
5. Fiona Viotti
6. Black Friday Specials
7. Gavin Watson
8. Mark Batchelor
9. Teacher’s Day
10. Hoerskoel Driehoek

Top trending South African "Near Me" searches

1. Job openings near me
2. Parks near me
3. Restaurant near me
4. McDonald's near me
5. Hotels near me
6. Hair Salon near me
7. Voting Station near me
8. Petrol station near me
9. Makro near me
10. Woolworths near me

Top trending South African searches for local personalities 

1. Neyi Zimu
2. Xolani Gwala
3. James Small
4. Chester Williams
5. Andile Gumbe
6. Siya Kolisi
7. David Kekana
8. Faf De Klerk
9. Peggy Sue Khumalo
10. Robert Marawa

Top trending South African recipe searches

1. Pornstar Martini recipe
2. Pickled fish recipe
3. Lasagne recipe
4. Chicken stew recipe
5. Spaghetti bolognese recipe
6. Chicken Ala King recipe
7. Beef stew recipe
8. Hot cross buns recipe
9. Chicken pie recipe
10. Hummus recipe

Top trending South African searches for sport

1. Rugby World Cup
2. Cricket World Cup
3. India vs South Africa
4. Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates
5. AFCON
6. Bafana Bafana
7. Cricket live scores
8. Proteas
9. PSL Standings
10. Stellenbosch vs Kaizer Chiefs

Top trending questions South Africans ask Google

1. Why were cornflakes invented?
2. What time is the rugby world cup final?
3. How many votes for a seat in parliament?
4. How did Cameron Boyce die?
5. How long is a rugby match?
6. What is Bosasa?
7. What time do voting stations open?
8. Who won the election in South Africa?
9. What is media?
10. What is teenage pregnancy?

Top trending political figures and parties searches

1. Boris Johnson
2. Constantino Chiwenga
3. Baleka Mbete
4. Robert Mugabe
5. Economic Freedom Fighters
6. African National Congress
7. Nelson Chamisa
8. Cyril Ramaphosa
9. Democratic Alliance
10. Elijah Cummings

Top trending movies searches

1. Avengers Endgame
2. Captain Marvel
3. When They See Us
4. Aquaman
5. Lion King
6. John Wick 3
7. Joker
8. Hustlers
9. Birdbox
10. A Star is Born

Top trending musical personalities searches

1. Johnny Clegg
2. Thami Shobede
3. Nipsey Hussle
4. Mampintsha
5. Oliver Mtukudzi
6. Nichume
7. Ndlovu Youth Choir
8. Babes Wodumo
9. Pitch Black Afro
10. Kabza de Small

Information sourced from Google trends

Have your say

What did you think of South Africa's top searches for 2019? Any surprises? Let us know in the comments below.

Contact us

If you want to know more about popular local search trends don’t be shy we’re happy to assist. Simply contact us here

View previous years results

• South Africa's Top Google Searches for 2016
• South Africa’s Top Google Searches for 2017
• South Africa’s Top Google Searches for 2018

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If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles. 

• How to create a nichemarketer profile 
• How to create a nichemarket business listing 

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have a little extra time to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, why not check out the following posts about search trends.

• How To Leverage B2B Search Trends
• How To Structure Keyword Research

Tags: content marketing , seo , search trends , South Africa