- Google Trends SEO Explained: How To Use Trends For Keyword Research
- What is Google Trends, and How Does It Work?
- How Is The Data Adjusted? What Does a Value of100 Mean?
- How To Read Google Trends
- Discovering regional and international differences in keyword popularity
- What is a query vs a topic in Google Trends?
- Finding New Trending Keywords Using GoogleTrends
- Compare The Relative Popularity of Search Terms
- Find unknown search volumes using Google Trends' comparison feature
- Using Google Trends to Find Popularity in LocalAreas by City and Country
- Conclusion
What is Google Trends, and How Does It Work?
Google Trends is a search platform that shows the popularity of asearch term over a chosen period in a selected region. It provides insightsinto demographic information along with related topics and queries. GoogleTrends also allows you to compare multiple search terms to see which ones areperforming better than others.
The Google Trends home page has the latest stories and insightsthat are created from Google search data. It also shows recently trendingsearches and has the “Year in Search” feature, which allows you to see what themost popular searches were in a given year. These home page features can help youfind interesting insights without even having to perform a search of yourown.
So how does Google Trends work? While many people think that thedata they are seeing is the direct volume of search queries for that word overtime, it actually shows the relative popularity in the form of a ratio. GoogleTrends takes a particular query’s search volume and divides it by the totalnumber of searches completed in the given time period and geographic region.The resulting ratio is then scaled on a range of 0-100, which is used to createthe graph you see. Also, Google Trends deletes data from repeat searches fromthe same person over a short period of time to give a more accuraterepresentation of search popularity.
Knowing this information about how Google Trends calculates itsdata, there are two important takeaways to consider. The first is that searchterm popularity changes when the search query’s volume changes. The second isthat search term popularity also changes when the total number of searches changes,even if the search query’s volume is constant.
How Is The Data Adjusted? What Does a Value of100 Mean?
As we just discussed, the data that Google Trends uses isconverted into a ratio and then scaled on a range of 0-100. But interpretingthe meaning of the numbers from 0-100 can be tricky if you aren’t exactly surewhat they mean.
When looking at the graph of search interest over time, the pointwhere the chart reaches 100 is the peak popularity of the search. At thispoint, the ratio of queries for the specific search term to the total number ofsearches conducted in the region is the highest it has ever been during thatperiod. So, the point on the graph where search interest is equal to 50 showsthat the search term was half as popular at that point in time. If the score is0 that means there was not a sufficient amount of data to analyze the selectedterm.
How To Read Google Trends
When you search for a keyword on Google Trends, the first thingyou’ll see is a graph that shows how the popularity of that term has fluctuatedover the past 12 months. Along the X-axis, you’ll see time broken down by dates,and on the Y-axis, you’ll see the scale of 0-100, which was discussed in theprevious section.
The line will fluctuate in position over the time period withpeaks showing an increase in the popularity of a search term and dips showing adecrease in popularity. Also, you have the option to change the time period ofdata on the graph to the past hour, 4 hours, day, week, month, 90 days, 5years, or 2004-present.
Discovering regional and international differences in keyword popularity
The results also provide you with a map that allows you to see thepopularity of a topic in any individual country or worldwide. From there, youcan break up the results by region, subregion, metro area, or city. The resultswill then be listed from most popular to least popular next to the map. Keep inmind that a higher value means a higher proportion of query searches incomparison to the total number of searches in that geographic region, not ahigher number of total searches. This information can be beneficial if you arelooking to create targeted advertisem*nts for a specific geographic regionbecause you see which cities and states have the highest interest in yourchosen keyword or topic.
Understanding Top, Rising & Breakout queries
At the bottom of the search results page, you’ll find a list ofrelated topics and a list of related queries. Both of these lists can be sortedby either “Top” or “Rising” Criteria. When you sort the list using the “Rising”feature, the results will show the topics or queries that had the biggestincrease in search frequency since the last time period at the top. Topics orqueries labeled “Breakout” had a tremendous increase in search frequency. Whenyou sort the lists using the “Top” feature, the results will show topics orqueries that are most popular using the 0-100 scale at the top.
What is a query vs a topic in Google Trends?
It is also important to note that when conducting a search onGoogle Trends, there is a difference between a search term and a topic. Asearch term is a specific result that only includes the relative search volumeof matches for all terms in your query in the language given. A topic is agroup of search terms that share the same concept or entity, in any language. Keep in mindthe search terms and topics are measured differently, so if you try to comparea search term to a topic, it won’t be as accurate as if you were to compare asearch term to a search term or a topic to a topic.
Finding New Trending Keywords Using GoogleTrends
While it is always essential to conduct traditional and thoroughkeyword research, Google Trends can help you find new trending keywords thatare experiencing growth in popularity. There are a couple of different ways youcan go about this.
The first option is to go to the “Trending Searches” page onGoogle Trends. Here you will see daily search trends starting with the currentday. This will show a list of the top trending topics that have jumpedsignificantly in traffic over the past 24 hours so that you can see what peopleare most interested in right now. This list is updated hourly. Included witheach topic is the absolute number of searches made and related news stories sothat you can find more information. If you scroll down, you will find thetrending topics of previous days. This page is helpful if you are looking fornew trending keywords that are related to popular culture or currentevents.
Also on the “Trending Searches” page is a tab for realtime searchtrends. Here you can see stories that have been trending across Google over thepast 24 that are updated in realtime. You can also see a graph for each topicthat shows how the popularity of the topic has fluctuated over the past 24hours, along with links to news stories. The biggest difference between therealtime search trends and the daily search trends is that realtime searchtrends allow you to break down the data into categories. The default shows youtrends from all categories, but you can choose to see topics specifically frombusiness, entertainment, health, sci/tech, sports, or top stories. Thisfunction could be very useful for finding new trending keywords that are moreclosely related to your business’s industry or sector.
Track Search Interest Over Time & Seasonality Using Trends
Earlier, we discussed how you could track interest in a searchterm over time using Google Trends by adjusting the time frame to your desiredperiod. This is an important feature because it can show you whether a keywordis growing or declining in popularity over time. Acquiring this knowledge canmake or break a keyword.
For example, say you go through your keyword research process andfind a keyword that you think is a winner for your business. It has a highsearch volume, low difficulty, and a high organic CTR. You plan on writing acontent piece centered around this keyword. But then you go to Google Trends tocheck out how this keyword has been performing over time and see that itspopularity has been steadily declining over the past 5 years. You might not wantto put the time and effort into writing about that keyword anymore if you knowthat traffic isn’t going to be increasing.
Every business is different, andthis find might not always steer you away from targeting the keyword, but it isstill valuable information to have. Tracking search interest over time allowsyou to see the bigger picture and not just how the keyword is performing in thepresent moment.
Another benefit of tracking search interest over time is that ithelps you identify recurring patterns. This will show if there is significantseasonality related to a search term that you should take into consideration.For example, the search term “school supplies” peaks every year in August.Knowing this information, if you are a business that sells school supplies,you’ll know to optimize your website, content pieces, inventory and advertisem*nts forthis keyword in July and August.
This is a rather obvious example, but you maybe able to find recurring patterns of interest for your business as well if youtake a look at your different keywords in Google Trends. For the most accuratedata, be sure to set the time frame for 2004-present as this is the largestsample size available.
Compare The Relative Popularity of Search Terms
Google Trends allows you to compare the relative popularity of upto five different search terms by simply typing in one term and then clickingthe compare button to add more terms. Once you have entered all the terms youwant to compare, you will find a graph that compares the relative popularity ofthe terms on a scale of 0-100 with a line that shows how the popularity of eachterm has changed over time. There is also a map that allows you to comparesearch term popularity by subregion, metro area, or city. This makes it veryeasy to see which places prefer one search term over another. Lastly, you canalso see related search queries for each of the search terms you chose.
One way you could use this comparison tool is to see how you stackup against your competition. By typing in your brand name along with the brandnames of a couple of your competitors, you can easily see who has beenperforming better during specific time periods or in a particular city orstate.
You could also compare the relative popularity of differentkeywords to aid in your keyword research process. If you are stuck decidingbetween a few different keywords and are unsure which might be the best tofocus on, you could compare them using Google Trends. While there are othercriteria you need to look at when making keyword decisions, this is a quick wayto see how each keyword has evolved in popularity over time and what region itmight perform best in.
Find unknown search volumes using Google Trends' comparison feature
A killer way to use the keyword comparison tool is toestimate search volumes on new or forbidden keywords. It can be nighimpossible to get accurate search volumes for a brand new or trendingkeyword - and anything Google might not allow advertisers to bid on,such a CBD oil, are often hidden from Adwords search volumesentirely. But if you take an inoffensive keyword you know that hasconsistent search volume and compare it to your mystery term you can getan idea of the relative popularity. If the peak of a trending term is5x that of your well known keyword then you should probably get writing!
Using Google Trends to Find Popularity in LocalAreas by City and Country
Google Trends makes it very easy for you to view data bygeographic region and understand how popularity for a search term varies bylocation. This can be very helpful for getting a better understanding of whereyour business’s products or services are the most popular or most needed.
Start by simply typing the name of your product or service intothe search bar. Then scroll down to the map section of the page and decide ifyou would like to see the search term interest breakdown by subregion, metroarea, or city. From here, you can easily identify where your product or serviceis being searched for the most. This information can help you choose where youshould target your PPC ads and can give you ideas about location-specificcontent that you could create.
Another method you can use to analyze the popularity of a term ina certain location is to use the search filters. After you type in the term youwant to search for, click the three dots on the right-hand side of the box andclick the “change filters” button. Here you can type in any location that youwant to see data for. This works for both individual terms and for comparingterms. You can choose different locations and use the same term multiple timesif you want to see how the term varies over time in different places. This couldhelp you see if interest in your product or service is increasing in one citybut declining in another city so that you can make informed marketingdecisions.
Conclusion
As you can see, Google Trends can be used for a wide variety of differenttasks. Although the data can be a little tricky to interpret at first, once youtruly understand what you are looking at the information you find can helpinform many business and marketing decisions.
The trending searches page and the related queries and topicssections can help you brainstorm new keyword ideas. The graph can help youunderstand if a keyword is growing or declining in popularity over time and canhelp you identify important trends such as seasonality. The map shows you wherecertain keywords are performing best, which can help make location-basedbusiness decisions. Comparing keywords can show you how you stack up againstcompetitors and if certain keywords are performing better than others.
Overall, Google Trends is a great tool to facilitatebrainstorming, planning, and decision making. Don’t be afraid to play aroundand experiment with all of the different functions Google Trends has to offer.You never know what valuable insights you might find that can help yourbusiness get one step ahead of the competition!
