It’s official, the annual release of the Yahoo! Year in Review for 2009 has arrived! Perhaps bigger and better than ever, this year’s Yahoo! roundup includes in-depth pictorials and a slew of popular topics to sort through, as well as some bonus features  – such as the decade in sports, Yahoo Answers highlights, and a Twitter contest where you can share your top moments of 2009 for a chance to win one of the most popular products of the year, the iPod Touch.

Don’t have the time to scan them all? Here are the highlights of the most popular searches on Yahoo! in 2009:

Top 10 Overall Searches

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twilight
3. WWE
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears
6. Naruto
7. American Idol
8. Kim Kardashian
9. NASCAR
10. Runescape

Top 10 Celebrity Farewell Searches

1. Michael Jackson
2. Farrah Fawcett
3. Patrick Swayze
4. Natasha Richardson
5. Jett Travolta
6. Billy Mays
7. David Caradine
8. Steve McNair
9. Jade Goody
10. Ted Kennedy

Top 10 Sudden Fame Searches

1. Jon & Kate Gosselin
2. Erin Andrews
3. Susan Boyle
4. Kris Allen & Adam Lambert
5. Nadya Suleman (aka Octomom)
6. Carrie Prejean
7. Mark Sanford
8. Portuguese Water Dog
9. Falcon Heene (aka “Balloon Boy”)
10. Sonia Sotomayor

Top Finance Searches

1. Coupons
2. Unemployment
3. Stimulus Plan
4. Cash For Clunkers
5. Student Loans
6. IRS Refund
7. Foreclosures
8. Government Jobs
9. Bernard Madoff
10. Health Care Bill

“Market Darlings” Related Searches

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Hulu
4. Bing
5. iPhone
6. LinkedIn
7. Dollar Stores
8. Palm Pre
9. Rosetta Stone
10. Kindle

Top Yahoo! Mobile Searches

1. Megan Fox
2. Mobile Games
3. Michael Jackson
4. Movies
5. Rihanna
6. Mail
7. Lady Gaga
8. NFL
9. Ringtones
10. iPhone

Top Obama Searches

1. Obama Inauguration
2. Obama Biography
3. Obama Speech
4. Obama Stimulus Plan
5. Obama Family
6. Obama Health Care Reform
7. Obama Approval Ratings
8. Obama Facebook
9. Obama Overseas
10. Obama Dramas

Among the other must-read lists: Top Travel Destination Searches 2009, Top Viral Videos of 2009, and the Best Bloggers of 2009.

*Michael Jackson highlighted for effect, as he crossed over several categories.

Back to: This Is It: The Most Popular Searches of 2009 >>

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Search Headlines | Stats: Search Behavior | Yahoo | Yahoo: Buzz

About The Author: Elisabeth Osmeloski is Director of Audience Development for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. She is responsible for increasing readership through owned, earned and paid media channels. In addition, she assists in programming sessions at Third Door Media's Search Marketing Expo conference series and manages speaking engagements for editorial staff. Follow her on Twitter @elisabethos. See more articles by Elisabeth Osmeloski

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