Australians couldn’t get enough information about Sam Kerr and the Matildas in 2023, as Google revealed its annual search data.

Google’s Year in Search for 2023 was announced on Tuesday, lifting the lid on Australia’s most-searched people, places, things and questions of the year.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup unsurprisingly had Australians clamouring for info about the Matildas, with two of the team’s stars making it on to the list of Top Trending Aussies this year.

And the data also showed that when Optus went dark, people were searching for answers as people tried to make sense of what was going on with the outage, while many turned to Google to find answers about the Indigenous Voice referendum and the war between Israel and Hamas.

But alongside the pressing questions about who and what dominated our culture this year, Australians were surprisingly also eager to find out how to make a Grimace shake, what is a Quordle, and how to make a paper popper.

And as with any year, people had plenty of mundane questions.

Some people needed help setting up a Facebook profile, others wanted to know how to watch sport, the data revealed.

Most popular ‘How to’ queries on Google for 2023

1. How to watch Women’s World Cup
2. How to lock Facebook profile
3. How to vote referendum
4. How to solve a Rubik’s Cube
5. How to get rid of my AI on Snapchat
6. How to get Snapchat AI
7. How to vote early
8. How to watch Rugby World Cup
9. How to get Taylor Swift tickets
10. How to watch The Ashes in Australia.

Google helping make sense of the world

The Optus outage topped the list for news-related searches in 2023, with controversial celebrities, wars and disasters also on the list.

The most-searched news events:

1. Optus outage
2. War in Israel and Gaza
3. Referendum results
4. Andrew Tate
5. Earthquake Melbourne
6. Submarine
7. Turkey earthquake
8. Chandrayaan-3
9. Russell Brand
10. NSW election results.

Australia loves the Matildas

“As a nation of sports fanatics, this year women in sport scored big as we went mad for our Matildas,” Google said of the Australian search data.

Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler were among the most-searched Australians in 2023 and “how to watch the Women’s World Cup” was the most-searched question of the year on Google.

“Why is Sam Kerr not playing today?” was also among the most-asked questions. Kerr missed much of the World Cup with a calf injury.

However, the Cricket World Cup was the most-searched sport topic of the year, followed by the Ashes.

Matildas captain Sam Kerr was the most searched for Australian on Google. Photo: Getty

Most-searched sports events

1. Cricket World Cup
2. Ashes
3. Women’s World Cup
4. Jake Paul v Tommy Fury
5. BBL
6. Champions League
7. UFC 294
8. FA Cup
9. LIV Golf
10. United Cup.

Barbenheimer, Taylor Swift dominate entertainment

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer dominated the box office this year, so it’s not surprising they dominated Google search results.

‘Taylor Swift tickets’ was another wildly popular search term, thanks to tickets for her Australian leg of The Eras Tour going on sale.

And it seems people still like their daily game fix, with The New York Times‘ Connections and Quordle making the cut too.

Most searched entertainment queries

1. Oppenheimer
2. Barbie movie
3. Taylor Swift tickets
4. Connections
5. Hogwarts Legacy
6. The Last of Us
7. Everything Everywhere All at Once
8. Quordle
9. John Wick 4
10. Avatar.

Google searches for Oppenheimer and Barbie spiked in 2023. Photo: TND

While Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler were the most searched Australians in 2023, Aussies were also searching for sporting figures like Michael Clarke, Reece Walsh and Tim Tszyu.

Two politicians also ranked among the most searched for Australians on Google for 2023: Daniel Andrews and Lidia Thorpe.

Most searched for Australians

1. Sam Kerr
2. Mary Fowler
3. Michael Clarke
4. Reece Walsh
5. Dan Andrews
6. Bianca Censori
7. Tim Tszyu
8. Kathleen Folbigg
9. Ellie Carpenter
10. Lidia Thorpe.

In 2023, the likes of Matthew Perry, Cal Wilson, Jock Zonfrillo and Lisa Marie Presley died.

Naturally, following their deaths, there was a spike in Google searches.

The most Googled celebrities after their death

1. Matthew Perry
2. Jock Zonfrillo
3. Sinead O’Connor
4. Tina Turner
5. Cal Wilson
6. Ken Block
7. Lisa Marie Presley
8. Barry Humphries
9. Johnny Ruffo
10. Angus Cloud.

Recipes fit for a King

With King Charles’ coronation, came the coronation quiche, and it was the most-searched recipe in Australia.

Australians tried out, or at least searched for, recipes, like the Grimace Shake and the viral “Marry Me Chicken”.

However, Australians were still loyal to the humble Anzac biscuits too.

The coronation quiche marked King Charles’ coronation.

Most searched for recipes

1. Coronation quiche recipe
2. Grimace Shake recipe
3. Coronation chicken recipe
4. CWA Anzac biscuit recipe
5. Chicken Honolulu recipe
6. Lamb stew recipe
7. Pornstar Martini recipes
8. Marry me chicken recipe
9. Chicken and leek pie recipe
10. Modak recipe.

Turning to Google for DIY inspiration

People turned to Google to learn how to make gifts for loved ones and hair products, indicating people yearned to be creative and wanted to indulge in some self-care.

Popular DIY searches on Google

1. How to make a paper popper
2. How to make rosemary water for hair
3. How to make kinetic sand
4. How to make slime without activator
5. DIY Valentines gift for him
6. DIY Easter basket
7. DIY ice bath
8. How to make a vision board
9. How to make an invoice
10. How to make a kite.