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Google Trends & Search Statistics Australia (2024)

Daniel Law
September 9, 2024

As Australia’s digital space significantly improves, particularly with the rise of mobile traffic, 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, and an increasing demographic of digital natives, we are seeing new trends and search behaviours that could make or break your digital marketing strategies and SEO in 2024.

That said, we brought together the latest Google trends and search statistics in Australia to help businesses understand the context of new trends and user behaviour in Australia’s ever-expanding digital landscape.

Overview of Google Trends in Australia

Rounding up Australia’s search trends in 2023, we can see which topics Aussies are most hungry for answers and their digital pulse, which describes the country’s search behaviour.

While the world has changed significantly, with all the international affairs and events, we have turned to Google search to wrap everything around our heads, from the war in Gaza to the Optus outage and the Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum.

We also bade goodbye to Tina Turner, Barry Humphries, and Matthew Perry and entered a new royal era with the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Aside from learning about current events worldwide, we also sought escapism and entertainment, like choosing between Barbie and Oppenheimer or cheering for our Tillies.

From the worldview to local niches and trends, let’s rundown Australia’s search trends and make sense of how Google search was defined for the Aussie digital landscape at the latest.

Top Search Queries in Australia: Impact of Global Events

For the past year, several search queries popped up nationwide and made their mark on Google search trends, particularly trying to make sense of the biggest global events.

We searched for queries such as:

Why are Israel and Hamas at war?
Why is the Gaza Strip so important?

This was all to show that we were immensely curious about the world around and us, especially during times of strife when the world turned online to express their opinions and sentiments about the growing wars. We also searched for local news events, including where to vote and the outcome of the Voice referendum.

Global breakthroughs also found their way into our digital space, with Google Trends recording keywords such as:

Chandrayaan-3 landing
Tillies world cup

These strongly describe our interest in global achievements in science and technology. We are also a nation of sports fanatics, supporting our women in sports and cheering our Matildas into the finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. True enough, the keyword “where to watch the Women’s World Cup” also got trending.

How about for 2024?

As of August 20, here are the most popular search queries in Australia:

Source: Google Trends

About 4 years after the COVID-19 pandemic, a new health trend emerged, known as Monkeypox (mpox 2024), which recently had a global upsurge. As Aussies who have just gone through the global lockdown, it’s a no-brainer that this search trend got almost 200k+ search volume within just 5 days.

The hit TV series Boy Swallows Universe, Logies 2024 winner Larry Edmur, the Premier League match Leicester City vs. Tottenham, and the unfortunate death of journalist and AFL reporter Sam Landsberger shared the 1,000% search volume trend.

Year-on-Year Comparison of Search Trends in Australia

From 2022 to 2023, our search behaviour evolved from patterns focused on flexible work arrangements, finding value in the 2022 job market, and more value-centric online shopping behaviour to a more curious and socially aware demographic.

In 2022, search terms on “Why is ____ expensive in Australia” increased by 40% yearly.

Source: Year in Search 2022: AUNZ Search Trends

On the other hand, 2023’s similar search queries focused more on global affairs, sociopolitical information, and a little bit about social media and entertainment.

Popular “why” search queries in 2023 include:

Why is Israel and Hamas at war
Why is Optus down
Why is Twitter called X
Why is Book Depository closing
Why is Gwyneth Paltrow in court
Why is my phone on SOS
Why is the Gaza Strip important
Why is Camilla being crowned Queen
Why is Sam Kerr not playing today
Why is Oppenheimer rated R

Those trending search queries put context into our online behaviours, as we established our online shopping behaviour in 2022 and have found or followed brands that share our values. The following year, tighter and tougher events were experienced on a global scale, prompting Aussie netizens to plug in and learn more about global issues.

Regional Search Trends in Australia

Let’s examine each region in depth and how its search patterns tell a story about the local digital pulse.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT region recorded a recently popular search trend on Sam Landsberger’s loss, spiking by as much as +1,000% within 6 hours as of August 20. Similarly, popular searches were made about LeAnn Rimes, who recently rocked her opening performance for a popular Australian TV singing competition.

The EPL also holds several top spots in the trends list, as many searchers in the region try to keep up to speed with the latest sporting events and group standings.

Source: Google Trends

New South Wales

As of August 20, 2024, the NSW region has its own distinct set of search trends. The keyword monkeypox currently has the highest search volume and trend duration as a recent health issue concerning the global health sector.

You can also find a few entertainment trends currently up the charts, including search intent for video games and popular concerts in the area.

Source: Google Trends

Northern Territory

As of August 2024, the NT’s search trends landscape is almost idle, with only one keyword trending at roughly 200+ search volumes. Note that this statistic may change as you visit the source link later.

Source: Google Trends

Queensland

Queensland shares the same trends with ACT and NSW, with a few distinct trends such as the Logies 2024 awards. The region also has its own share of entertainment and sporting trends as with NSW and ACT.

Source: Google Trends

South Australia

While the monkeypox search trend isn’t currently in SA’s top list, it is still mostly similar to the other regions in terms of trends and search demographics. Sporting and entertainment currently cover most trending keywords in the region, reinforcing the trend across other regions.

Source: Google Trends

Tasmania

Entertainment remains a top search trend in Tasmania as of this writing. The Logies 2024 awards have over 2,000+ search volumes in the region, followed by the AFL match Collingwood vs. Brisbane.

Source: Google Trends

Victoria

Victoria is experiencing a rapidly increasing search trend for global health concerns, as monkeypox is rising. People in the region are turning to their phones to get more information about the disease, an acquired response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entertainment gets second and third spots in the popular TV series Boy Swallows Universe and the passing of the French actor Alain Delon. The new meme “Very demure, very mindful” also gained traction as more Victorians searched the keyword, trying to understand the meme.

Source: Google Trends

Western Australia

WA remains consistent with the other regions, with most of its recent trends leaning towards entertainment and sports.

It’s worth noting that these search trends change depending on your visit date. But it’s also worth noting how these trends shape the region’s search demographics and give insights into what WA residents look for on the web

Source: Google Trends

Search Behavior Differences Between Mobile and Desktop Users in Australia

Here are the following search-relevant reasons why Australian internet users aged 16 to 64 browse the web:

Finding information: 74.3%
Researching how-tos: 68%
Researching products & brands: 59.5%
Reading the news: 58.5%
Finding ideas and inspiration: 50.4%
Researching travel plans and vacations: 49.1%
Researching health issues and healthcare products: 39.8%
Study-related research: 39.7%

Source: Global Digital Report: Australia

According to the latest Global Digital Reports data, most internet users rely on Google search for more than general searches. They also use Google to make day-to-day decisions about healthcare, studies, purchases, travel, and pastime activities.

But how does mobile and desktop traffic compare to each other in terms of search volume?

The latest data suggests that a vast majority, particularly 92.4%, of internet users (aged 16 to 64) access the internet using their smartphones. Laptops and desktops come third on the list, with about 80% of Aussies using them to surf the web and do their daily searching.

Source: Global Digital Report: Australia

In an increasingly mobile-first digital landscape, it’s obvious that most Aussies have become fond of using their smartphones to search for things at home and on the go. However, laptops and desktops are here to stay as robust channels for Google search and multitasking.

How Businesses Can Leverage Google Trends in Australia

Google Trends isn’t just a tool for detecting local digital pulses. It is also an effective tool for businesses and marketers to make informed decisions and exploit emerging trends.

Seasonal Marketing Campaigns and Inventory Management

Using Google Trends to track relevant keywords, you can identify peak search volume and demand as they happen. For example, suppose you find out that searches for Christmas Gifts have started trending as early as November. In that case, you can ramp up your Christmas Sales preparations and inventory early and expect your brand to reach your audience just as soon as they’re about to look for it.

By analysing past search trends in your area, you can also forecast demand for certain products and efficiently manage your inventory, minimising the risk of costly overstocking or stockouts.

Tailored Content Marketing

Understanding what your customers are looking for during certain seasons can help you craft highly curated and relevant blog posts, social media content, and videos that perfectly align with trending topics.

Executing your content marketing campaigns and promotions at perfectly timed seasons can maximise visibility and engagement because you’re communicating to people actively looking for your products or brand.

Competitor Analysis

Google Trends can also detect search trends on brand keywords and can be used to identify search interest in your brand against competitors for certain periods. This reveals slight shifts in market share and indicates the impact of your existing marketing efforts.

Analysing which keywords your competitors are trending on can also help you allocate resources more efficiently, adjust your campaign to compete effectively using a data-driven marketing campaign, and take advantage of trending keywords your competitors have yet to rank.

Final Thoughts

Australia’s Google Trends & Search in 2024 mainly focused on global news and entertainment. With most Australians having adjusted well to the new normal and established a sense of familiarity towards online shopping, which was the biggest trend of the previous years, brands should keep connecting to their audience and resonating with the values they share and advocate.

Aussies have become digital natives thanks to the drastic changes to work-from-home setups and lockdowns brought about by previous global health crises.

That being said, Google Search’s traffic volume is only expected to increase further, allowing businesses to tap into this sheer potential and develop bespoke marketing campaigns that reach their audience when and where they expect it.

Written by

Daniel Law

Daniel Law is the SEO Director at Red Search, a specialist SEO agency based in Sydney, Australia. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Daniel has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in search engine optimisation (SEO). He is passionate about helping businesses achieve success through effective and sustainable SEO strategies and is dedicated to staying up to date on the latest industry trends and best practices.