+1 613.818.9357

WebFuel is Proudly CanadainWho is the King of Search? What are Canadian web searchers looking for online? And… which websites are ranking number one in Canada? As the year ends, we review the number ones from 2010.


Top Search Engines

According to Hitwise, Google is still the King of Search in Canada. Google Canada is the top ranked search engine based on both “Visits” and “Volume of Searchers” for the 12 weeks ending 25/12/2010. Google (.com) and Google France also rank in the top ten.

Top Ten Search Engines in Canada 2010 (Visits Share)                    Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Five  Search Engines Canada (Volume of Searches) Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Websites

The top visited website ranked by “Visits” for the week ending December 25, 2010 is Facebook. It outranks Google Canada which placed second at the close of the year.

Top Websites Canada 2010. Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Social Networking Websites

Facebook also ranked number one in terms of “Visits” for the same time frame. It captured 63.64% of visits based on the top 20 sites. It also dominated ranking in the top ten overall Search Terms ranked by Search Clicks capturing 4 spots out 10. Keyword searches included facebook (#1), facebook login (#2),  www.facebook.com (#5) and  facebook.com (#7).

Top 20 Social Networking Websites Canada 2010. Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Travel Websites

Google Maps Canada ranked number one, followed by Google Maps and then Expedia Canada based on “Visits”. Google Maps also ranked as number one for Travel Search terms based on Search Clicks during the same time frame.

Top Travel Websites Canada 2010.           Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Banking Websites

Canada leads the world in online banking usage. The top site in 2010 was TD Canada Trust Online Banking, followed closely by Royal Bank of Canada Online Banking  and ranking third was Desjardins Online Banking.

Top 20 Banking Websites.  Source: Hitwise Canada

Top Canadian Google Search Terms

Canadian pop star “Justin Bieber” was one of Google’s top searches in 2010. It ranked as Google’s third “fastest rising” search term of the year. This was a popular search query not only in Canada but also around the world. The other 2010 top fast-rising search terms in Canada included the Vancouver Olympics, World Cup, iPad, Lotto Max and Google Translate.

Many of the top overall 2010 search terms in Canada were related to shortcuts to popular websites, including queries for Facebook, YouTube, Hotmail, Google, Yahoo and Kijiji. The other searches in the top 10 were weather, maps, news and games.

And… in case you missed it, Google released its annual Zeitgeist 2010: Year in Review this month based on how the world searched. It captures the top global events – driven by the fastest rising search queries that shaped 2010.

According to Google, searches from mobile devices quadrupled in 2010. As the year ends, it appears that the smartphone has become mainstream.

What do you think 2011 will bring?

Want to learn more? We are trusted by some of the top international and Canadian brands. Contact WebFuel today.