Tony Keusgen, Google Indonesia's managing director, explained that the list included various topics that had captured the attention of the public, including events, public figures or news updates. 

"These are the searches that generated the most traffic and intense curiosity among Indonesians," Tony told a press conference on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Putri Silalahi, Google Indonesia's product communications head, said the company had applied two criteria to determine the most popular searches across the country. 

Read also: Ed Sheeran, Raisa among 2017's most popular on Spotify in Indonesia

The first criteria, she said, were searches that created a spike in the search engine's traffic within a short amount of time. An example is Setya Novanto being named a suspect in the e-ID graft case, Putri added. 

The second criteria, Putri said, were searches that were consistently maintained as an interest throughout the year, such as the "Surat Cinta untuk Starla". 

"Users continue to search things related to 'Surat Cinta untuk Starla', either about the song to also the film," Putri said.

The song "Surat Cinta untuk Starla" was released last year on YouTube and then promoted on social media. (liz/kes)

Here are the top 10 most searched topics on Google in Indonesia in 2017:

1. Surat Cinta untuk Starla (A long song for Starla)
2. Pengabdi Setan (Satan's Slave)
3. Setya Novanto 
4. Pilkada DKI (Jakarta elections)
5. SEA Games
6. Jokowi Mantu (Jokowi welcoming in-law)
7. Ayam Geprek (pressed chicken)
8. Raja Salman (King Salman)
9. Sidang Ahok (Ahok's trial)
10. Om Telolet Om

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