Checking a Word's Google Weight

A few weeks ago, I wrote a story where a quote had the word "trash can." I originally wrote the word as "trashcan." My boss consulted a dictionary and did not find the word. Both the AP Stylebook and the online version failed to cover the word. Several online dictionaries accepted both forms as correct.
My boss, a copy ace, turned to Google News. He entered the word in both forms. A search of “trashcan” produced just less than 100 results. A search of “trash can” turned up more than 1,000 hits. Due to the results, we chose the two-word form. I have deemed the practice "checking a word's Google weight."
I would never trust Google as a sole fact checker for anything, but I believe this was a righteous call for two reasons.
One, “trashcan” was not in the original dictionary consulted. To me, this implies the possibility that it is actually the two words, “trash” and “can,” and they would have been defined separately. Two, since English news writers from around generally use the same styles (though there are some exceptions), a ninety-plus-percent consensus is a pretty safe bet when considered with the first reason.
Is anyone troubled with the call?