• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 13, 2017

Behavior influences consumer choices. In 2017, more people searching on google.com than ever before asked "how." "How do wildfires start?" "How far can North Korea missiles reach?" "How much will the wall cost to build?" This shows how consumer behavior became a major factor in the decisions searchers made.

At the end of each year, Google looks back at the most searched-on terms and popular topics. This year the company based the lists on search terms that had a high spike in traffic in 2017, compared with those in 2016.

This year, people searching on google.com wanted to know "how," so the number of questions and types of questions rose to an astounding rate.

Google estimates that the growth in "best" mobile searches for face lotion and moisturizers rose 115% in the past two years. Searches for the best salt rose 375% in the past two years. 

Searchers relied on Google to provide the answers to questions such as how to help those caught up in the terror of Las Vegas. They asked how to help hurricane victims in Texas, how to make a protest sign, how to watch the eclipse and how to be a good parent, a strong woman or a superhero -- and how to make a difference in the world.

As Google notes, many of the trending questions centered on disasters around the world -- from Hurricanes that devastated the Caribbean, Houston and Florida, to earthquakes that struck Mexico City.

Humanity shone through as people asked "how do I help?"

The top 10 global searches for 2017, in this order, focused on Hurricane Irma, iPhone 8, iPhone X, Matt Lauer, Meghan Markle, 13 Reasons Why, Tom Petty, Fidget Spinners, Chester Bennington, and India National Cricket Team.

In global news, people searched most on Hurricane Irma, Bitcoin, Las Vegas Shooting, North Korea, Solar Eclipse, Hurricane Harvey, Manchester, Hurricane Jose, Hurricane Maria, and April the Giraffe.

And finally, people searched for information about the icons the world loved and lost in 2017 -- including Tom Petty, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Bill Paxton, Hugh Hefner, Aaron Hernandez, Lil Peep, Mao Kobayashi, Charlie Murphy, and David Cassidy.