2011: The Year in Google Searches

One of my most favorite parts of being a blogger (aside from the local fame and celebrity), is occasionally looking at the search terms you use to get to arrive here.

Completely inspired by my fellow blogess, Capitol to Capital, I decided to recap the most popular search terms (according to my friends at Google Analyitics) for 2011.  There are some real winners in the list kids, so pull up a chair, get yourself a slice of slice of Jell-O mold, and read on...

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I think people are lost in the sea of social media, because MANY of you have searched for "social media sermon" and wound up at mine. Granted, my beliefs on social media are not the only ones out there, but it is good to know people are reading about the evils of Facebook messaging on the pages of W and CP.

A shockingly large number of you are interested in a block island bachelorette party.  My friend Katie's bachelorette party was the scene of my lobster roll taste test (which included not one but two lobster rolls consumed in 48 hours), and apparently folks want the skinny on this. It was a fun weekend, and I'm glad it will live on in Google fame forever...

HUGE heart explosions to everyone who searched for my chocolate chip challah recipe and made it the THIRD item that pops up when you Google "Chocolate Chip Challah."  Hello search engine optimization!

And to my fellow web surfers who also dislike coffee, I think we're soul mates (unless you're just searching "dislike coffee" because you don't believe it is possible, in which case I would like to prove once and for all that it IS possible). My post about Filter remains one of my favorites, mostly because of the shout out to the coffee shaped bike racks.

One highlight on the list is "Emily Pearl AND Hampshire College" which leads curious searchers to my post about my weekend in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts.  I LOVE being associated with such a progressive, interesting, and delicious place. 

A few savvy googlers searched for "holding out something picture." This just warms my heart!  It was actually last year at this time when I was blogging about my top 10 favorite holding things out photos of 2010.  I am thrilled that my signature photo (and forced depth of field strategy) has made it into your google psyches. 

I am glad to know I am not alone in my love of kale. Internet searchers are looking high and low for recipes to incorporate the leafy green vitamin powerhouse, and arriving at my Wild and Crazy Palate post about kale, feta, cranberry goodness. Have you made it recently? I think you're due for another batch!

2009's Passover with a PowerPoint post was highly searched for this year.  I even received an email from a woman in New Jersey who was looking for a downloadable version of the PowerPoint to use at her Seder! Way to go, Jill S., for creating such a fabulous Jewish education resources.

Searchers were all over my Meaningful Marshmallow Experience post this year. Folks searched for the "Karen Mary Company" and appropriately wound up there, but people also searched for "cookie as big as your head company" which ALSO brought them to the post. This is one of the reasons I love being alive, because of moments like this. (And also, shouldn't all cookies be as big as your head?  Let's work on that.)

And to the person who searched for "bacon enrobed chocolate wild and crazy pearl," I salute you.

PS -- I was kind of wishing my list of Like It, Like It items would have made it into your search engine favorites, but it didn't.  Alas,  am linking to it here because 1) I can and 2) it is one of my favorite posts of all time.