Google announces 2020’s trending queries

Saudi Arabia’s e-learning platform Madrasti was the most trending search query in the Kingdom. (Shutterstock)
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RIYADH: Google has revealed its Year in Search results for Saudi Arabia. The annual lists share the most trending search queries that had the highest spike over a sustained period in 2020 compared to 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s e-learning platform Madrasti was the most trending search query in the Kingdom, surpassing searches for COVID-19 and Tawakkalna, which ranked second and third, respectively.

However, a love of sports was evident in Saudi Arabia with the Cricket World Cup match between India and New Zealand, rankings of the Saudi football league and other sports all making it among the top trending queries throughout the country. Searches for Aramco stock also trended this year.

While the US presidential elections were the fifth-most trending query in Saudi Arabia, under the people category, US President Donald Trump and American President-elect Joe Biden ranked first and third, respectively. A range of celebrities and social media influencers also trended this year including Heba Al-Hussein, Suzan Negm El-Deen, and Elham Ali.

On the entertainment front, El Brins, Amr Ikhlaa, Ibnat Al-Safeer, and Anta Atroq Baaby were the top-four trending movies and series in the country. Surprisingly, the game XO made a comeback as the top trending game in Saudi Arabia, followed by Among Us and another classic, Tic Tac Toe.

Dalia El-Fiki, Google’s communications and public affairs manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said: “I’m personally inspired by the top trending queries, because they reflect the adaptability and resilience of people, regardless of the circumstances.

“We are glad that Google Search helped both Saudis and residents to access the information they needed during these exceptional times and we hope to continue helping our users.”

The lists, which include the top trending searches, people, events, sports, series, and movies, are generated by looking at trillions of aggregated and anonymized searches. Spam and repetitive queries are then removed to build lists that reflect the spirit of 2020.