Google has released its annual “Year in Search” results for 2024. In spite of Google’s search quality having declined lately (and AI slop not helping), it’s still an interesting annual survey of what people are searching on Google. Below is my look at some of the Year in Search lists, for both the United States and worldwide. Unsurprisingly, the 2024 US presidential election and its participants are frequently mentioned, so I’ll spare having to waste more space and time on the election’s winner by skipping the overall search results.
Top 10 sports teams
Global:
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Inter Miami CF
- Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- Boston Celtics
- New York Mets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Argentina national football team
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Edmonton Oilers
United States:
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- New York Mets
- Boston Celtics
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Dallas Mavericks
- Indiana Fever
- Indiana Pacers
- San Diego Padres
- Cleveland Guardians
American sports teams seem to dominate the search results even globally. Despite soccer being the world’s most popular sport, only three soccer teams appear in the global results. Surprisingly, a hockey team also appears in the global results, the Edmonton Oilers.
Domestically, the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers apparently got everyone’s attention. WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever, is also the most-searched WNBA team, and even outranks Indy’s other pro basketball team, the Pacers. Clark herself is the eighth most-searched athlete in the US.
The most searched athlete globally (and #2 in the US) is Olympic boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif. Khelif faced numerous crass attacks and misinformation during this year’s Summer Olympics. At #2 globally (#1 in the US) is Mike Tyson, per that terrible Netflix boxing match against Jake Paul. Until said match, I’d never heard of Paul; I don’t pay much attention to influencers.
Top 10 movies
Globally:
- Inside Out 2
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Saltburn
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Dune: Part Two
- It Ends with Us
- Oppenheimer
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- Alien: Romulus
- Terrifier 3
United States:
- Inside Out 2
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- It Ends With Us
- Saltburn
- Dune: Part Two
- Twisters
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Despicable Me 4
- Terrifier 3
- Alien: Romulus
Hollywood sequels dominate the global and United States lists, with “Inside Out 2” topping both lists. Sequels take up seven of the top 10 spaces globally, while they make up eight of the top 10 spaces in the United States.
One film stands out globally: last year’s hit “Oppenheimer.” My guess: the film wasn’t released in Japan until early 2024, to some controversy (given its subject matter).
Top 10 TV shows
Globally:
- Baby Reindeer
- Fallout
- House of the Dragon
- Heeramandi
- Shogun
- The Perfect Couple
- Queen of Tears
- Marry My Husband
- 3 Body Problem
- Nobody Wants This
United States:
- Griselda
- Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
- Baby Reindeer
- Fallout
- The Perfect Couple
- Shogun
- Fool Me Once
- Nobody Wants This
- House of the Dragon
- Your Honor
“Quiet on Set” is the documentary about the problematic behind-the-scene goings-on at Nickelodeon’s aughts-era sitcoms. Despite how many headlines the documentary made, it only made #2 on the US list, below “Griselda,” a Netflix miniseries released in January about a Colombian drug lord. I haven’t seen “Quiet on Set,” but given Nickelodeon sitcom producer Dan Schneider’s history, what I’ve read about it isn’t surprising.
“Google Headquarters in Ireland Building Sign” by Outreach Pete is licensed under CC BY 2.0. (Flickr / cropped from original)
