2017’s most googled search terms in the Netherlands
By Mina Solanki
That’s right, it’s that time of year again. Google has released its lists containing the top 10 search terms used in the Netherlands. The lists cover everything from most searched politicians to YouTubers.
Top 10 searches in 2017
This year, the most popular search term in the Netherlands was “Anne Faber”, whose missing persons case was all over the news. Anne Faber was, unfortunately, found dead. Coming in second was “Stemwijzer”, a voting guide for political parties, which was most likely popular due to the elections for the Dutch House of Representatives.
The third most popular search term was “Patricia Paay”, a Dutch television personality and singer, amongst other things, whose name made it into the news after a sex tape of her was leaked.
At number four is “Abdelhak Nouri”, a young professional Dutch footballer who went into heart failure during a friendly match in Austria and was left with brain damage. Rounding off the top five is “Staatslotterij Oudejaarstrekking”, which is the lottery draw on New Year’s Eve.
In the rest of the top 10 searches you can find, in order of frequency, “IPhone 8”, “Tour de France”, “Fidget Spinner”, “Song Festival” and “Ajax Manchester United”.
Top 2017 “How does it work” searches
This year, the top 10 searches for “how does it work” reflect our love of social media and the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency. The most popular “how does it work” search in the Netherlands, this year, was “how does Paypal work?” This was followed by Google searches asking how Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder and Spotify work. Social media and the digital age are definitely reflected in such searches.
The sixth most frequent “how does it work” search belongs to Kiala, a parcel service. The next two searches support the trend of watching television online. These were namely searches asking how Kodi and Netflix work. In at number nine, the Dutch wanted to know how Bitcoin works, and finishing up the top 10 was “how does voting work”.
Top Dutch 2017 “What is” searches
Holidays were particularly popular “what is” searches this year. Topping the top 10 was “Wat is Pinksteren?” Pinksteren translates to Whitsun or Pentecost, a religious holiday. In the second most frequent search, the Dutch wanted to know what a Pangolin is. For those who don’t know, it is a mammal with scales from head to toe, which, if touched, will roll up into a ball.
Completing the top five, the Dutch asked Google what Easter, populism and the Confederations Cup are. Following on from the top five “what is” searches, Google was asked what dividend tax is.
The seventh most popular search asked what Bitcoin is and the eighth queried what an exit poll is. Concluding the top 10 “what is” searches were, what is fipronil? Which is an insecticide that contaminated eggs in Europe and Asia in 2017. And last but not least, what is Good Friday?
What did you ask Google this year? See the full list of top 2017 Google searches.
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Completed her Master's degree at the University of Groningen and worked as a translator before joining IamExpat. She loves to read and has a particular interest in Greek mythology. In addition to this, she is an avid rower.Read more