New data published by Experian has outlined the most popular terms searched for by US users of myriad engines, made via desktop web browsers.
While the results do not include any mobile searches, which is a shame, given the growing influence of the market, they should give a good overview of the trends that shaped the year.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the top term in 2012 was the same one that dominated in 2011. Facebook was searched for more than any other keywords, taking a total of 4.13% of all searches.
This is an increase of 27%, year on year and an indicator that Mark Zuckerberg's social network is still riding high, even if people seem keen to search for it in order to access it, rather than entering the fairly obvious URL into their browser's address bar.
Four out of the top 10 searches were actually related to Facebook, with people entering the address or searching for the login page via search engines.
The second most searched-for term of the year was YouTube, which retained its position behind Facebook from 2011.
Social networks like these account for over six percent of the top 50 searches, according to Experian analysts, which is up by 44%, year on year and marks the on-going expansion of this particular online marketplace.
Google will be pleased to see that searches for its own sites and services were up by 20%, accounting for a total of 1.91% of all searches made in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, online retail giant, Amazon, managed to push its way into the top 10, after being absent from this prestigious list in 2011.
Experian Marketing spokesperson, Bill Tancer, spoke out about the browsing habits which are indicated in the latest search charts. He explained that many people still prefer to visit the sites they regularly use by way of a search engine, bypassing traditional URLs.
There was a 16% rise in the number of searches using a single word in 2012, which Mr Tancer believes has occurred because users are increasingly looking to the results suggested by services like Google, to lead them in the right direction, with minimal user input.
It is worth pointing out that Experian only started ranking the top 10 search terms on an annual basis back in 2006, which shows just how young the market is at the moment.
However, this provides valuable insights into the ways in which search engines are being used, which can help webmasters to target SEO appropriately.
With more people than ever using search engines to channel their experience of the web, even if social networks are having their own impact, it seems that these services will remain an important part of site building and management for the foreseeable future.
Whether or not Facebook can maintain its grip on the market is another matter, as its billion-strong user base must surely become more mobile-oriented with the growth in the use of smart devices.