The Point

The other day, I went to search for something on Google and noticed some interesting results from Google’s suggest feature after typing just one letter. Wow, I thought. How presumptuous of Google to think it can guess my will and desires from one letter. Of course that then led to curiosity, and hence this post. What terms manage to garner the top 10 spots for each letter of the English alphabet? So without further ado, the top 10 terms for each letter on Google’s suggest feature (along with some of my comments).

Interesting Statistics

• Brand names: 195 (75%)
• Generic Search Terms: 44 (16.9%)
• TV Shows / Movies: 6 (2.3%)
• Famous People / Bands: 9 (3.5%)
• Search Engines: 6 (2.3%)

Award of Awesomeness:

It’s a tie between Facebook and Yahoo, both for earning top spots in “w” for “www.facebook.com” and “www.yahoo.com” of all things. My hat is off to you both.

Multiple Entries

The winner for multiple entries is Yahoo, followed by Google (thought this is no doubt helped by the fact that most of Google’s competing services are directly linked to from Google’s home screen and thus don’t need to be searched for… not to mention the fact that there is less competition for the letter “y”).

• at&t: 2
• bank of america: 2
• comcast: 2
• ebay: 3
• facebook: 3
• google (including gmail): 6
• itunes: 2
• ikea: 2
• mapquest: 2
• myspace: 2
• quotes: 4
• ups: 2
• verizon: 3
• virgin: 2
• yahoo: 8
• zune: 2

a

• amazon
• aol
• american airlines
• addicting games
• ask.com *interesting that one of the top results in the Google search engine is another search engine
• at&t *people actually type the ampersand into the search box
• at&t wireless
• autotrader
• apple *Apple makes it difficult for people who want to find information about fruit
• american airlines

b

• bank of america
• best buy
• bed bath and beyond
• bank of america online banking
• barnes and noble
• bing *another search engine
• blockbuster
• baby names *notice that the vast majority of suggested terms are brand names… this is not
• burlington coat factory
• borders

c

• craigslist
• cnn
• comcast.net
• costco
• chase
• club penguin
• capital one
• comcast
• continental airlines
• cartoon network

d

• dictionary.com
• dictionary *function people can search… like dictionary “idiosyncratic” where google has a dictionary function
• disney channel
• delta airlines
• direct tv
• dell
• dillards
• dominos *another example of a proper noun making it difficult to search for a common noun… seriously, I want to know more about how to play
• dancing with the stars *this is one popular show
• daylight savings 2009

e

• ebay
• espn
• expedia
• ebay.com
• express
• ebay motors
• english to spanish translation
• evite
• enterprise
• erin andrews

f

• facebook
• facebook login
• fox news
• food network
• firefox
• fandango
• forever 21
• fedex
• free online games
• fedex tracking

g

• gmail
• google maps
• google earth
• google.com *damn kids trying to break the internet!
• games
• gamestop
• glee
• google translate
• google wave
• geico

h

• hotmail
• hulu
• home depot
• halloween costumes
• h1n1 symptoms
• hollister
• horoscope
• hobby lobby
• hotels.com
• hp

i

• imdb
• ikea
• itunes
• inspirational quotes
• itunes download
• irs
• iphone
• ikea usa
• isohunt
• inglorious bastards

j

• jet blue
• jcpenney
• justin tv
• joann fabrics
• justin bieber
• jobs
• jokes
• java
• jimmy johns
• jcrew

k

• kohls
• kelly blue book
• kmart
• kayak
• kinkos
• kings of leon
• kroger
• kanye west
• kim kardashian
• kaiser permanente

l

• lowes
• lyrics
• limewire
• lady gaga
• love quotes
• linkedin
• lands end
• louis vuitton
• ll bean lego

m

• myspace
• mapquest
• msn
• maps *yeah this could conceivably be counted as a brand name (someone on Google searching for maps is probably looking for Google maps), but we’re going to give it the benefit of the doubt as a generic term
• mapquest driving directions
• macys
• mega millions
• mortgage calculator
• myspace layouts
• miniclip

n

• netflix
• nfl.com
• new york times
• nordstrom
• northwest airlines
• nbc
• nickelodeon
• new moon
• nick jr
• news

o

• office depot
• old navy
• orbitz
• overstock
• office max
• oprah
• online games
• olive garden
• owl city
• open office

p

• pandora
• party city
• photobucket
• pizza hut *who takes the top spot for the coveted pizza spot for “p”
• papa johns
• paypal
• poptropica
• powerball
• pirate bay
• people of walmart

q

• quotes *people love quotes
• qvc
• quotes about life
• quest diagnostics
• quicktime
• quiznos
• quotes about love
• qwest
• quizzes
• quotes and sayings

r

• realtor.com
• reverse phone lookup
• radio shack
• redbox
• runescape
• recipes
• rei
• restoration hardware
• rotten tomatoes
• rate my professor

s

• southwest airlines
• swine flu symptoms
• sears
• spanish translation
• skype
• staples
• sprint
• sams club
• sports authority
• sparknotes

t

• target
• twitter
• thesaurus
• travelocity
• translator
• ticketmaster
• tmobile
• tv guide
• tmz
• toys r us

u

• usps
• ups
• united airlines
• ups tracking
• us airways
• urban dictionary
• ufc
• urban outfitters
• usaa
• us bank

v

• verizon wireless
• verizon
• victoria secret
• vampire diaries
• vlc
• virgin america
• vh1
• verizon.net
• virgin mobile
• value city furniture

w

• walmart
• weather
• white pages
• wikipedia
• www.facebook.com
• web md
• www.yahoo.com
• webkinz
• wells fargo
• walgreens

x

• xbox 360
• xm radio
• xbox live
• xkcd
• xanax
• xcel energy
• xm radio online
• xbox 360 games
• xbox 720
• xbmc

y

• youtube
• yahoo
• yahoo mail
• yellow pages
• yahoo.com mail
• yahoo answers
• yahoo maps
• youtube music
• yahoo finance
• yahoo fantasy football

z

• zillow
• zappos
• zip codes
• zip codes by city
• zombieland
• zodiac signs
• zune
• zune hd
• zero punctuation
• zabasearch