Google is cocky enough to initiate the autocomplete search function after you type in just one letter. This is how Google explains the autocomplete function and how it works:
As you type, Google’s algorithm predicts and displays search queries based on other users’ search activities. These searches are algorithmically determined based on a number of purely objective factors (including popularity of search terms) without human intervention.
No ad to show here.
All of the predicted queries shown have been typed previously by Google users. The autocomplete dataset is updated frequently to offer fresh and rising search queries. In addition, if you’re signed in to your Google Account and have Web History enabled, you may see search queries from relevant searches that you’ve done in the past.
I decided to check out Google’s suggestions for each letter of the alphabet. Type in one letter and Google immediately suggest five options. Clearly these are some of the most common searches done by South African web users (This is Google.co.za, not .com). It makes for quite an interesting list. However, I was logged in to my Google account and thus my previous searches and web activity may affect the algorithm in my favour, although these all look generic enough not to be that personally skewed.
From my very basic analysis it looks like news, entertainment, cars, property, telecommunications providers, banking and financial services, social networking, online shopping and online email services are the most popular online activities for South African web users.
Try it yourself and see if your results differ from mine.
A: absa, absa internet banking, autotrader, autotrader.co.za, audi
B: beeld, bid or buy, builders warehouse, bmw, blackberry
C: computicket, cell c, cipro, career junction, capitec
D: dstv, discovery, dpsa, discovery health, dischem
E: eskom, edgars, ebay, exclusive books, ebay
F: facebook, fnb, facebook login, flysaa, ford
G: gmail, google, game, gumtree, google maps
H: hotmail, hello peter, home affairs, huis genoot, house and home
I: incredible connection, iol, iec, intec, itunes
J: junkmail, jobmail, just letting, jobs, jacaranda
K: kulula, kalahari.net, kia, kickoff, klein kariba
L: lotto, lotto results, linkedin, liberty life, look and listen
M: mtn, makro, mweb, mr price, maps
N: news24, nedbank, nu metro, netbank, neotel
O: old mutual, one time, ofm, outsurance, opel
P: pnet, private property, payfine, psl, pick n pay
Q: quotes, quest, gatar, qantas, quote of the day
R: rapport, rsg, remax, romans pizza, reggies
S: sars, standard bank, saa, sowetan, supersport
T: telkom, twitter, toyota, tut, the star
U: unisa, uj, university of pretoria, uct, up
V: vodacom, vw, virgin active, volksblad, vlc
W: webmail, woolworths, www.fnb.co.za, www.facebook.com, www.gmail.com
X: xstrata, xe, xbox, xds, xbmc
Y: yahoo, youtube, yahoo mail, yellow pages, yahoo mail sign in
Z: z83, z83 form, zebula, zamob, zimbabwe
