Searching For Answers On Ask.com In 2011

It’s been about a year since Ask went back to its roots as a full Q&A site and at the end of last year, we offered up its most popular questions of 2010. In that story from 2010, note that Ask.com claimed 90 million users at that time, and in this year’s followup release of the most popular questions, Ask.com cited their 60 million users helped predict what’s to come in 2012 (see below).

According to Comscore’s September 2011 web property rankings however, Ask remained around 90 million unique users, and reported in October that Ask’s search share remained steady.

Whether it’s 60 or 90 million doesn’t really matter, all that really matters is the quality of answers Ask.com returns when you put in the most popular questions. To make it interesting this year, I’ve provided links to each search result for the questions below, survey says…

Top Celebrity Search Terms  & Questions Asked In 2011

1. Was Kim Kardashian’s wedding fake? Ask answers.
2. Is Justin Bieber going to be a dad? Ask answers.
3. Are Lady Gaga’s face implants real? Ask answers.
4. Did Beyonce fake a baby bump?  Ask answers.
5. Who made Kate Middleton’s wedding dress? Ask answers.
6. Did Ashton cheat? Ask answers.
7. Was Michael Jackson murdered? Ask answers.
8. Is Selena Gomez pregnant? Ask answers.
9. Is Lindsay Lohan going to jail? Ask answers.
10. What happened to Charlie Sheen’s teeth? Ask answers.

Top News Search Terms & Questions On Ask.com

1. How big was the earthquake in Japan? Ask answers.
2. What caused Hurricane Irene? Ask answers.
3. How much was Steve Jobs worth? Ask answers.
4. What did William whisper to Kate on the balcony? Ask answers.
5. Who started Occupy Wall Street? Ask answers.
6. When will Apple release the iPhone 5? Ask answers.
7. Who killed Bin Laden? Ask answers.
8.  Where is Casey Anthony hiding? Ask answers.
9. What is happening on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11? Ask answers.
10. How did Amy Winehouse die? Ask answers.

Top Political Searches & Questions

1. Will Obama get re-elected? Ask answers.
2. What is Mitt Romney’s religion? Ask answers.
3. Is Sarah Palin running for president? Ask answers.
4. Is Michele Bachmann crazy? Ask answers.
5. Where can I find Anthony Weiner’s Twitter pics? Ask answers.
6. Who was Arnold’s mistress? Ask answers.
7. Which states allow gay marriage? Ask answers.
8. When will the troops come home? Ask answers.
9. When is the Iowa caucus? Ask answers.
10. Who will lead Libya after Ghadafi? Ask answers.

Overall, most of Ask’s instant/closest answers were pretty solid, but I particularly liked the Michele Bachmann response. What did you think of Ask’s answers? Let us know in the comments below.

With 2012 right around the corner, Ask also leveraged the top questions asked by the site’s 60 million users to also predict headlines for the year to come.

Top Predictions For 2012

1. George Clooney wins his second AND third Academy Award
2. Dr. Oz surpasses Dr. Phil in ratings in a post-Oprah world
3. Green Bay Packers wins Super Bowl second year in a row
4. McDonald’s adds the McRib to its permanent menu
5. New York reclaims its spot as top the US travel destination from 2011 leader Orlando
6. Breakout star of 2011, Nicki Minaj, leapfrogs pop icon Katy Perry in album sales
7. Pippa jumps onto the list of top ten baby names of the year
8. Facebook goes public with world’s largest IPO
9. Tiger Woods retires from golf