Google Trends reflects the relative popularity of any keyword. This tool is priceless for online research and marketing. Still, not all SEO managers use it to the fullest.
Unlike Google Keyword Planner, it does not show absolute search volume for a keyword. Instead, it collates it with the overall number of searches to provide a comparative ratio. Google Trends is undoubtedly one of the top SEO tools today. Here are seven ways in which it can improve your marketing efforts.
1. Find Trending Topics
The name of the tool suggests its primary purpose. The Trending Searches feature shows queries whose popularity has jumped over the past 24 hours in a particular location. An SEO can thereby spot a window of opportunity, and create relevant content that will be viewed by millions.
Sometimes, it is tricky to get your timing right, as the popularity of certain keywords is short-lived. A classic example is “Father’s Day”. However, by comparing the data with historical stats, you can check if the peak has already occurred, and adjust your content accordingly.
2. Plan Your Content Calendar
Search queries for a particular event (e.g., Christmas) become the most frequent at a particular time of year. For instance, “Oscars” is the most popular around March, as this is when the ceremony is held. This provides priceless insights for your content calendar.
Of course, for holidays or major events, timing is easy to guess. Google Trends can deliver data on less obvious queries — for instance, “full moon”. The data shows that users tend to enter the query around the same time every month. A website owner could create a post on the subject and update it monthly.
3. Identify Seasonal Trends
For example, if you sell umbrellas in the United States and Australia, you should understand when these goods are in the highest demand. With Google Trends, this information can be analyzed at a glance.
In this example, you will see that the keyword “umbrella” is most popular in the States in June and in Australia in December. The rainy season starts in these countries at different times of the year. A business owner can easily identify the peaks and bottoms of the search for their product.
But how to put this knowledge to practical use? Obviously, you may generate content that will coincide with the peak. For instance, you could create an article titled “Preparing for Wet Season in Australia/US” and post it in the peak months.
Secondly, you can optimize your existing pages before the peaks. Suppose you have a page selling umbrellas and an article on wet season tips. To boost revenues, you could start their active optimization a few months before the peak. A timely link building campaign brings in more customers when the season starts.
4. Find New Keywords
With Google Trends, it is easy to find new keywords to extend your reach. For instance, people searching for “sneakers” often google the names of sports brands. You do not need to rack your brain over new phrases — the “related queries” feature provides a ready answer
There are two useful options: “Top” and “Rising”. You can see all top queries in general, or phrases which are gaining traction. Overall, there are four ways to generate keyword ideas.
- You can find more keywords for your strategy.
- The data gives a better picture of the needs and search patterns of your customers.
- You can find searches related to your related searches.
- The suggested queries may be used as seed keywords in Keywords Explorer.
What other brands are people from your target audience googling? Google Trends can also help you to identify the key competitors. This is a basic example of how to use Google Trends for better SEO.
Look through queries related to your company’s name. They are used by your potential customers! Take advantage of the data. Create posts that compare your products and competitor’s goods.
5. Find Best Locations
The tool allows filtering by region. It shows what consumers in a country or city are interested in. This data is invaluable, as you see where the demand for a product or service is the highest.
Armed with these insights, SEOs can narrow down their PPC strategy. For example, they may switch from targeting the entire country to specific cities. This reduces spending on AdWords. Secondly, they may design content with these locations in mind (think of ads like “Living in Montreal? Here is a way to lower your electric bill”).
6. Identify Misleading Popularity Spikes
Do not just look at the average monthly search volume. Some keywords see peaks followed by a decline, but their average figures are still impressive. For example, check the data for “fidget spinner” and “yo-yo”. The average volume for the former is much higher, but it has been falling since 2017. The interest in yo-yos, however, is stable.
Therefore, before you start writing another article, check its subject first. Some keywords are actually unicorns whose volume may mislead you. Nobody wants to create content for falling topics.
7. See What Is Trending on YouTube
The most popular video hosting site belongs to Google. However, this does not mean every search query is equally popular in both systems. For example, since 2008, “HTML tutorial” as a Google query has been losing popularity. YouTube shows the opposite trend: more and more people were looking for videos with HTML walkthroughs between 2008 and 2017.
This kind of information is easy to deduce from Google Trends. For a SEO manager, it is telling: videos are most effective for the promotion of HTML-related content. They may even look for YouTube stats separately. To enable filtering, select the “YouTube search” in the drop-down menu.
The Bottom Line
Even though Google Trends was not devised for SEO managers, there is a lot they can learn from it. Its data is particularly useful for keyword research and other promotion tasks. Now, the freshest data on trending searches is a click away.
Rajiv is working with Deepak Shukla and a content writer at Pearl Lemon who has written on a diversity of topics, from colored diamonds to SEO software. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, sketching, cooking, and video games.
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