Experian Hitwise recently released the top search terms of 2011 across the major search engines. Facebook once again tops the list and holds a total of 4 of the top 10 spots, just as it did in 2010. Although Facebook also held 4 top spots in 2010, the total volume of these terms increased 33% over the previous year.
Top Search Queries of 2011:
- Facebook login
- Youtube
- Craigslist
- Myspace
- Facebook.com
- eBa
- Yahoo
- www.facebook.com
- Mapquest
It is very interesting to see that all of the top 10 search terms were navigational, in both 2010 and 2011. Many people obviously prefer to search for a website within a search engine, as opposed to entering the URL directly in their browser.
Hitwise also reported an 11% growth in single-word searches, such as “face” and “you.” This data could provide additional opportunities for companies looking to expand their SEO efforts into new directions.
Top 10 Websites Visited in the US (according to Hitwise):
- Youtube
- Mail.yahoo.com
- Yahoo
- Bing
- Search.yahoo.com
- Gmail
- Mail.live.com
- MSN.com
Once again, Facebook was the top-visited website in the US. Facebook accounted for 10.29% of all US visits from January-November 2011, which is 15% more than in 2010.