Ask.com Posts Most Popular Questions Of 2013 Without Waiting To See What Gets Asked In Dec.

It’s not even Thanksgiving week, but Ask.com has posted its Most Popular Questions and Search Terms for the year, listing 2013’s top ten trending terms for news, celebrity and entertainment, and political searches.

According to the site, the Royal Baby ranked No. 1 for the top searched news term of the year, with the corresponding question: “What is the royal baby’s name?”

Other popular news searches included the Boston Marathon (“Where was the Boston Marathon bomber found?”) and Syrian (“Will the US invade Syria?”).

The most popular celebrity-related question on Ask.com in 2013 was, “Why is Kim and Kanye’s baby named North West?” placing the offspring of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at the top of the list for trending celebrity and entertainment search terms. Second to North West was Miley Cyrus with the corresponding question, “What did Miley Cyrus do at the VMAs?”

Other top celebrity searches included Cory Monteith, Paula Dean and Amanda Bynes.

Ask.com’s No. 1 political search term was “Government Shutdown” with the corresponding question, “Why did the government shutdown?”

Edward Snowden won the No. 2 spot for top political searches with most people asking, “Where is Edward Snowden?” Other popular political searches included Proposition 8, Anthony Weiner, Obamacare and NSA.

Listing the top searches of 2013 seems a bit premature on Ask.com’s part, with the entire month of December still to go.

Ask.com isn’t the only site to jump the gun, video marketing firm Unruly posted a year-end list this week as well, a story we covered on our partner site at Marketing Land: The Year of Beauty Sketches & Camels, Unruly Releases Most Shared Ads Of 2013.

Ask.com’s Top News Search Terms and Questions in 2013:

1. Royal Baby – What is the royal baby’s name?

2. Boston Marathon – Where was the Boston Marathon bomber found?

3. Syrian – Will the U.S. invade Syria?

4. Philippines Typhoon – How can I help victims of the Philippines typhoon?

5. George Zimmerman – Why was George Zimmerman acquitted?

6. Navy Yard Shooting – Who was the Navy Yard shooter?

7. Oscar Pistorius – Did Oscar Pistorium kill his girlfriend?

8. Ariel Castro – Who did Ariel Castro kidnap?

9. Detroit Bankruptcy – How far in debt is Detroit?

10. Benedict XVI – Why did Pope Benedict step down?

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.