WebProNews

It's hard to believe data about 2007 is still being released, but a new Hitwise report is interesting, nonetheless.  It seems that social networks and YouTube were quite popular last year, with related terms dominating a list of the top ten UK searches.

 Social Media Dominates

YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and a two-word version of YouTube ("you tube") placed third, fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively, even though none of them showed up at all on the previous year's list.  Such accomplishments are impressive, to say the least.  Bebo, meanwhile, held on to its number two spot.

Yet it's also important to note what happened to less successful properties.  Robin Goad writes, "'ebay' remains at the top, but other retail-related terms have fallen down the rankings: 'argos' and 'amazon' remain in the top 10, albeit placed lower, while 'easyjet', 'autotrader' and 'ebay uk' have all dropped out.  'Old' media has also suffered, with 'bbc' falling three places and 'cbbc' departing the top 10."

Search trends aren't surefire indicators of profitability, of course, and even traffic may not follow these numbers - people unfamiliar with the spelling of YouTube probably don't watch many videos online.  Still, this is the sort of news that can (and will) be taken straight to advertisers as recession problems continue.

It's also likely to make AOL happier about its much-questioned acquisition of Bebo.