Beyond Minecraft, 2014’s search engine users have been busy trawling the web for serious news, sport, celebrity news and a pre-schooler’s animated series called Peppa Pig.

Dominating headlines for all the wrong reasons, the next most searched items centred on Malaysia Airlines with both MH370 and MH17 air disasters transfixing the public’s attention. 

The New Zealand election, which may take position in history as the ‘dirtiest’, also attracted a large amount of online traffic, taking third spot on the search engine’s searches.

Louis Niven, Yahoo New Zealand General Manager Sales says: “It’s reassuring that Kiwis were so engaged with the election, searching for updates on how the main players  were faring in the race – but not surprising considering the number of unorthodox news stories uncovered during the campaign.”

It was also a big year for sport, with a number of events drawing Kiwis’ attention. The All Blacks remain firm fan favourites at number four; followed by the heart-stopping drama of the FIFA Soccer Football World Cup and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow coming in at number five and six respectively.

And, the juggernaut that is Peppa Pig continued its dominance in the pre-school entertainment and associated merchandising space, proving a highly topical and popular search for long-suffering Kiwi parents.

Celebrities were once again a feature on the list, with Justin Bieber confirming that New Zealanders love a bad boy. In more serious celebrity news, the tragic and unexpected deaths of beloved Hollywood actor Robin Williams and New Zealand model and television personality, Charlotte Dawson also featured in the top 10.

“We have a theory that people like Robin Williams and Charlotte Dawson have a tremendous impact on our lives and through the internet we’re able to reach out, stay in touch and share our feelings like never before,” says Louis.

Yahoo New Zealand top 10 most popular 2014 searches

1.  Minecraft

2.  Malaysia Airlines (including MH370 and MH17)

3.  New Zealand Election

4.  All Blacks

5.  FIFA World Cup

6.  Commonwealth Games

7.  Justin Bieber

8.  Peppa Pig

9.  Robin Williams

10. Charlotte Dawson