Dogpile.com Releases Its Top Search Results for 2011

Dogpile, a meta-search engine operated by InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:INSP) that combines search results from all of the leading search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and Bing, today released its annual list of top search results for 2011.

“Based on an analysis of hundreds of millions of the most popular search queries submitted on Dogpile.com this past year, we captured a glimpse of the interests of Americans,” said Stacy Ybarra, senior director of corporate communications at InfoSpace. “2011 presented itself as a year full of economic and employment concerns, celebrity captivation, notorious sex scandals, and beginnings and endings in global political events.”

Top Ten Overall Favorite Fetches:

1. Facebook

2. YouTube

3. NFL

4. American Idol

5. iPad

6. iPhone

7. Kim Kardashian

8. Justin Bieber

9. Casey Anthony trial

10. Powerball

Top Ten Celebrities:

1. Kim Kardashian

2. Justin Bieber

3. Megan Fox

4. Lady Gaga

5. Katy Perry

6. Charlie Sheen

7. Selena Gomez

8. Emma Watson

9. Mila Kunis

10. Adele

The queen of reality show TV, Kim Kardashian, topped the celebrity list on Dogpile.com for the second year in a row. Her marriage, however short-lived, to athlete Kris Humphries was the most talked about American wedding of the year, second in popularity to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s much publicized and highly searched royal wedding in London last April.

Bieber Fever continued this year with pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber following closely behind Kim Kardashian. Bieber jumped five spots from number seven on the 2010 celebrity chart to number two in 2011. The Canadian teen heartthrob shared his fame with his own sweetheart, Selena Gomez, who placed in the top ten for celebrity searches the first time, a dramatic surge considering Gomez’s absence in the top 100 celebrity ranking last year.

Top Ten Musicians:

1. Justin Bieber

2. Lady Gaga

3. Katy Perry

4. Adele

5. Miley Cyrus

6. Taylor Swift

7. Rihanna

8. Amy Winehouse

9. Nicki Minaj

10. Eminem

It wasn’t a shock to see baby-faced Justin Bieber appear again on the top musician chart with the launch of a high grossing, 3-D biopic-concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and the release of his second album, Under the Mistletoe. It was a surprise, however, not to see Beyoncé on the top ten most-searched celebrity or musician list despite her unexpected unveiling of her baby bump at the MTV Video Music Awards last August. Coming in second on the most popular musician list was Lady Gaga, whose entry into the Grammy Awards in February resembled her own version of birth to promote her hit single, “Born this Way.”

Top Ten News Searches:

1. Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2. Casey Anthony trial

3. Hurricane Irene

4. Occupy Wall Street

5. Libya Battle of Tripoli/Muammar Gaddafi

6. Royal Wedding

7. Death of Steve Jobs

8. Arizona/Gifford Shooting

9. Death of Osama Bin Laden

10. End of U.S. War in Iraq

News across the globe topped the most searched news list from Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, to the collapse of Libya under its former ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, and President Obama’s campaign follow-through with his announcement of the end of the U.S. war in Iraq.

Unemployment didn’t make it as a topic in the top news search list, yet it was evident that economic instability was a major concern for many with a high volume of searches for job listings, resume templates and cover letter samples. Internet users also seemed to show more interest in finding ways to save or make money, or perhaps tap savings, with noticeably large numbers in searches for coupons, credit unions, NASDAQ shares, social security, minimum wage, Sallie Mae, financial aid, and lottery results.

What are Dogpile users doing to keep their minds off of economic uncertainties aside from satisfying their celebrity curiosities? We saw major boosts in search appearances of numerous retail sites, social networks, tech gadget reviews, online games and even dating sites, suggesting many Americans are increasingly going online to find quite a few distractions and digressions.

Top Ten Online Diversions:

1. Facebook

2. YouTube

3. eBay

4. Craigslist

5. Amazon

6. TMZ

7. Drudge Report

8. Match.com

9. Pogo

10. Skype

Top Ten Brick & Mortar Retail Sites:

1. Walmart

2. Home Depot

3. Lowes

4. Best Buy

5. Sears

6. Target

7. Costco

8. Kohls

9. Staples

10. Kmart

Top Ten Social Network Sites:

1. Facebook

2. YouTube

3. Flickr

4. Twitter

5. LinkedIn

6. MySpace

7. Tagged

8. Google +

9. Meetup.com

10. Orkut

Top Ten Tech Gadgets:

1. iPad

2. iPhone

3. XBOX

4. Kindle

5. iPod Touch

6. Nook

7. Blackberry

8. Touchpad

9. PlayStation

10. Android

Top Ten Online Games:

1. Angry Birds

2. Webkinz

3. Minecraft

4. Mahjong

5. Sudoku

6. Runescape

7. Farmville

8. Solitaire

9. Chess

10. Poker

Dogpile users also distracted themselves offline by tuning into TV and radio talk shows to listen to others’ opinions, or tuned out in front of the tube to watch highly rated and ranked entertainment TV shows.

Top Ten Television News and Talk Radio Shows:

1. CNN News

2. FOX News

3. Nancy Grace

4. 60 Minutes

5. The Howard Stern Show

6. NBC Nightly News

7. The Dave Ramsey Show

8. Anderson Cooper 360

9. The Daily Show

10. The Rachel Maddow Show

Top Ten TV Shows:

1. American Idol

2. Dancing with the Stars

3. The Dr. Oz Show

4. NCIS

5. Glee

6. Oprah

7. The Today Show

8. The Voice

9. X Factor

10. Big Brother

American Idol had a revival in ratings with a spot at number one as the most searched TV show this year. The reality show had a new competitor, The Voice, to help keep the talent program on its toes – similarly speaking to the second most-searched reality show, Dancing with the Stars.

Although Oprah’s top ranked syndicated show aired its last episode after a quarter of a century on NBC earlier this year, she launched her own Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) later in the year. Her protégé, Dr. Oz, successfully made it to this year’s Top 10 list for the first time with his own daytime talk show, The Dr. Oz Show.

“The most popular search queries on Dogpile continue to provide Internet users with access to online resources, local businesses, e-commerce, and a plethora of news and content our users want,” said Ybarra. “Our search data for Dogpile.com indicates that Americans continue to be intrigued with celebrity gossip and other online interests, and are increasingly using the Internet as a resource, and for convenient services online.”

For more on Dogpile search trends, follow Arfie on our Dogpile Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/dogpilesearch and search on www.Dogpile.com every day for a daily listing of favorite fetches, or top searches, on its homepage.

Report Methodology

To determine which search terms were the most popular in 2011, Dogpile team members compiled hundreds of millions of queries that Internet users submitted on Dogpile.com throughout the year, then aggregated the themes and topics that were most prevalent. No individual searcher’s personal information was made available and adult content terms were filtered out of results.

About InfoSpace, Inc.

InfoSpace, Inc., a leading developer of metasearch products, is focused on bringing the best of the Web to Internet users. InfoSpace's proprietary metasearch technology combines the top results from several of the largest online search engines, providing fast and comprehensive search results. InfoSpace sites include Dogpile® (www.dogpile.com), InfoSpace.com® (www.infospace.com), MetaCrawler® (www.metacrawler.com), WebCrawler® (www.webcrawler.com), and WebFetch® (www.webfetch.com). InfoSpace's metasearch technology is also available on nearly 100 partner sites, including content, community, and connectivity sites. In addition, the Company operates an innovative online search engine optimization tool, WebPosition® (www.webposition.com). Additional information may be found at www.infospaceinc.com.

InfoSpace.com, InfoSpace, Dogpile, MetaCrawler, WebCrawler, WebFetch, and other marks are trademarks of InfoSpace, Inc.