Although many Top Search Terms of the Year lists tend to be met with not a small amount of criticism mainly because certain analysts feel that search engine giants like Google are not being transparent about their filtering process it’s still intriguing to see which terms made it to the top of the heap.

Removing terms that are perenially popular (such as searches for adult content and Web sites that host free e-mail accounts), these lists do not necessarily reflect what people have typed in the most, but rather, they identify the year’s fastest-growing search terms or top gainers compared to the previous year.

Google.com – Top 10 Searches in 2006
1. bebo
2. myspace
3. world cup
4. metacafe
5. radioblog
6. wikipedia
7. video
8. rebelde
9. mininova
10. wiki
Google News – Top 10 Searches in 2006
1. paris hilton
2. orlando bloom
3. cancer
4. podcasting
5. hurricane katrina
6. bankruptcy
7. martina hingis
8. autism
9. 2006 nfl draft
10. celebrity big brother 2006

Yahoo – Top 10 Overall Searches in 2006
1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Shakira
4. Jessica Simpson
5. Paris Hilton
6. American Idol
7. Beyonce Knowles
8. Chris Brown
9. Pamela Anderson
10. Lindsay Lohan
MSN – Top 10 Overall Searches in 2006
1. Ronaldinho
2. Shakira
3. Paris Hilton
4. Britney Spears
5. Harry Potter
6. Eminem
7. Pamela Anderson
8. Hilary Duff
9. Rebelde
10. Angelina Jolie
AOL – Top 10 Overall Searches in 2006
1. Weather
2. Dictionary
3. Dogs
4. American Idol
5. Maps
6. Cars
7. Games
8. Tattoo
9. Horoscopes
10. Lyrics