According to Lycos, the rumors of an affair between Alex Rodriguez and Madonna caused a huge surge in the number of searches for their names last week. Other searches that surged last week were searches for Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl, Nicole Kidman, Jesse Jackson and the iPhone.

Lycos maintains The Lycos 50(TM), the 50 most popular Internet search results for the week, which is located at 50.lycos.com. If you’re so inclined to make comments, you can comment on their blog located here at their Lycos50 blog or on their new Under the Red Carpet Blog.

Let’s take a look at the list for last week, the week ending July 12, 2008. This is the list of the biggest “movers and shakers” for the week, the searches that suddenly had a surge. This means that previously there weren’t that many searches but all of a sudden there was a huge number of searches for the phrase as compared to their normal number of searches.

  Biggest Movers and Shakers for Week Ending July 12, 2008:
      1.  Alexander Rodriquez     533%
      2.  Madonna                 515%
      3.  Lindsay Lohan           480%
      4.  Katherine Heigl         425%
      5.  Nicole Kidman           400%
      6.  The Bachelorette        365%
      7.  Jesse Jackson           333%
      8.  iPhone                  270%
      9.  Brett Farve             200%
      10. Miss U.S.A.             140%

According to Lycos, there was a big surge in the number of searches for Alex Rodriguez and Madonna because they both have been in the news lately. “Amid swirling rumors of an affair and the breakup of their respective marriages, baseball star Alex Rodriguez (533 percent) and Madonna (515 percent) surged to the top of this week’s Lycos 50 “Movers and Shakers” list. Rodriguez, whose wife Cynthia has filed for divorce, and Madonna have both denied the affair, claiming to know each other only through their mutual manager.”

The “Grey’s Anatomy” star, Katherine Heigl, gained 425 percent on the “Movers & Shakers” list after speculation that her character, Dr. Isabel “Izzy” Stevens, will be killed off the show. Lycos says that “Last month Heigl withdrew her name from consideration of the Emmys, claiming her role wasn’t worth the nomination, leading Entertainment Weekly to report that rumors are flying that the show’s creators are angry with the actress and thinking of killing off her character.”

Lycos went on to say that “New mom Nicole Kidman gained 400 percent following the July 7 birth of her baby daughter Sunday Rose Kidman in Nashville, Tenn. Kidman was surrounded by her country music superstar husband, Keith Urban, and several family members; the couple was married in June 2006.

There was also an increase in searches for Angelina Jolie. “Speaking of new babies, Angelina Jolie climbed to No. 5 on the Lycos 50 for the week following the birth of her twins over the weekend. Jolie, 33, and Brad Pitt, 44, are the proud parents of newborn twins — son Knox Leon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline — who were born on Saturday night at a maternity clinic in Nice, France.”

Lycos also publishes the top 10 search terms for the week, which has Paris Hilton, YouTube, and Clay Aiken at the top.

The Lycos 50(TM) Top 10 Search Terms for the Week Ending July 12, 2008:
1. Paris Hilton
2. YOUTUBE
3. Clay Aiken
4. Pamela Anderson
5. Angelina Jolie
6. Tim McGraw
7. Entwistle Verdict
8. Facebook
9. Madonna
10. George Carlin

Related posts:

1. Lycos Reveals Top Search Phrases for Week Ending June 30, 2007 Lycos, the former-search-engine-turned-internet-portal, has come out with their list of the top keyword searches for the week ending June 30, 2007. The death of...
2. Lycos 50 for Week Ending July 14, 2007 - Al Qaeda and Emma Watson Are Tops Lycos, a leading internet community destination for entertainment content (formerly known as the Lycos search engine), is reporting their "Lycos 50" for the week...
3. Lycos Integrates blinkx Video Search on Lycos MIX Platform     Lycos is teaming up with the video search engine blinkx to fully integrate the blinkx functionality on the Lycox MIX Platform. On...
4. Hitwise Says Searches for Global Warming Going Up According to Hitwise, one of the companies that tracks these sorts of things, is saying in a press release today that searches for the search...
5. Paris Hilton Fires Back at John McCain; Stays At Top of Search Phrases Paris Hilton fired back at John McCain in response to Presidential Candidate John McCain's recent television ad. John McCain's TV ad compared Senator Barack...