India getting more utilitarian, but education, entertainment still most searched on Google

Advertisement
By Press Trust of India | Updated: 19 December 2012 10:39 IST
Indian Internet users are now searching more for utilitarian services like banking, shopping and travel compared to entertainment in previous years, Google India on Tuesday said.

While unveiling its annual Zeitgeist list this year, Google India Vice-President and Managing Director (Sales and Operations) Rajan Anandan said, "utilitarian services drove search volumes".

"Google's 2012 Zeitgeist reflects data from 1.2 trillion searches in 146 languages globally. With 137 million users, India is the world's third largest Internet market and is a good barometer of trends in Indian society as a whole," Anandan told reporters New Delhi.

While results in 2011 reflected the emphasis on people and event related searches, Internet users in India are now starting to use the web for their personal needs - shopping, booking tickets and making informed decisions for their offline purchases, he added.

Advertisement

According to the Zeitgeist, IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) led the top trending search list, followed by GATE Exams, Sunny Leone, 'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Rowdy Rathore'.

An analysis of the top searched travel websites showed that while railways, airline tickets, and hotel booking sites were an obvious trend.

A bus booking portal redbus.in featured at number three in the list, marking a new trend in how Indians prefer to travel, Anandan said, adding that a huge chunk of search volumes were coming from mobile phones.

Advertisement

"With growing smartphone adoption, mobile searches continued to grow with over 70 million mobile Internet users.

We expect India's next 150-180 million Internet users will access the Internet through their mobile devices," he added.

Advertisement

This means that the information that these users will look for will need to be more local, he said.

The most searched terms on mobile phones in 2012 included songs, YouTube, ATMs, Cricinfo and IRCTC.

Advertisement

Another trend seen in the Zeitgeist is the shift in the user perception on purchasing gadgets, books, accessories and more online with Flipkart, Homeshop18 and Snapdeal topping the top searched shopping websites list.

Sensex topped the most searched event this year, followed by Vilasrao Deshmukh's death and Hurricane Sandy in the US.

In a separate list by YouTube, Google's video sharing portal, the most searched video was 'Brown Rang' by YoYo Honey Singh beating international topper PSY's Gangnam Style.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Flipkart, Google, IRCTC, Internet, YouTube
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Tiger Shroff's Baaghi 4 to Land on OTT Platforms Soon: All the Details
  2. Redmi Note 15 Series India Launch Timeline, Price and Features Leaked
  3. Amazon Diwali Sale 2025: Best Deals on Smartwatches for Runners
  4. Vivo Announces OriginOS 6 for Vivo and iQOO Handsets Globally
  5. OnePlus 15 Launch Details Likely to Be Announced on October 17
  6. Oppo Watch S With Temperature Monitoring Launched at This Price
  7. Oppo Find X9 Pro, Find X9 Launched With Dimensity 9500 SoC: See Price
  8. Google Offers Up to 2TB of Storage Across Gmail and Photos for Rs. 11
  9. OTT Releases of the Week (Oct 13th - Oct 19th): What to Stream This Weekend?
  10. Battlefield 6 Has Reportedly Sold 7 Million Copies in 5 Days After Launch
  1. Exploding Dry Ice May Explain Mars’ Puzzling Dune Patterns, Study Finds
  2. Dark Matter Might Leave A Faint Colour Mark In Light, Say Scientists
  3. Baaghi 4 Starring Tiger Shroff Reportedly Set to Land on OTT: Everything You Need to Know
  4. M3gan 2.0 OTT Release Date Revealed: Know When and Where to Watch Sci-Fi Horror Film Online
  5. Satellites Capture Record-Breaking 20-Metre Waves Crossing Entire Oceans
  6. Scientists Discover Parasitic Worms That Hunt Using Static Electricity
  7. SpaceX Launches 21 Satellites With Second Falcon 9 Launch Of The Year
  8. Bridgerton Season 4 To Begin Streaming on Netflix in 2026: Know When and Where to Watch it Online
  9. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Design, Black Colourway Leaked via Case Manufacturer
  10. NASA Plans To Deorbit The ISS By 2030, to Transition to Private Space Stations
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.