October 25th 2025

Google’s top searches of 2014: Robin Williams, World Cup, and Ebola

Just like everyone else, Google puts together end-of-year lists for its various properties. We’ve already seen YouTube and Google Play, but now it’s time to see what the company is best known for: Search.

 

The company today released the fourteenth installment of its year-end zeitgeist. Here are the top 10 global trending searches for 2014:
1.       Robin Williams
2.       World Cup
3.       Ebola
4.       Malaysia Airlines


5.       ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
6.       Flappy Bird
7.       Conchita Wurst
8.       ISIS
9.       Frozen
10.   Sochi Olympics
The top 10 list in the U.S. is nearly identical. Just replace Conchita Wurst with Ferguson and the Sochi Olympics with Ukraine. Even the ranking is very close. As always, there are also a bunch of categories that we’re frankly not interested in (I’m almost shocked, but more saddened that there’s a section dedicated solely to “Celebrity Pregnancies”), but there are a few that we think are worth highlighting. Below are three of them.

Trending Tech Gadgets:
1.       iPhone 6
2.       Samsung Galaxy s5
3.       Nexus 6
4.       Apple Watch
5.       Chromecast
6.       Xbox One
7.       Samsung Galaxy Note 4
8.       LG G3
9.       Moto 360
10.   Surface Pro
 
Most Searched Places on Google Maps:
1.       Walmart
2.       Starbucks
3.       Target
4.       McDonald’s
5.       Home Depot
6.       Bank of America
7.       Walgreens
8.       CVS
9.       Wells Fargo
10.   Costco
As always, Google’s Year in Search site will give you a closer look at the stories that defined 2014. This time, however, Google has also made it easier to find the trending topics of the year directly from Google Search: just type in “google 2014″ without the quotes to see the top trending lists from around the world.

Source: venturebeat.com