Google trend strategies for growth
In this article you will learn about:
What Google Trends is
What Google Trends has to offer
How to use Google Trends
What is Google Trends
Most small businesses don’t have in-house digital marketing capabilities and don’t realise that they can reach new customers and increase traffic to their website without spending thousands on advertising. Did you know there are strategies you can adopt for free that will help increase organic traffic (visitors from a search engine such as Google) to your website and social media platforms?
To get started, you need to know what your prospective customers are interested in so you can create the right content that helps your website and social media platforms become more discoverable on search engines like Google. That's where Google Trends comes in - a free website that analyses the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. It uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries submitted by users over time to show you what is trending.
The website is a free tool that can be used to do keyword research, plan a successful content strategy and improve your search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO for a hair salon, for example, will help get the salon website to appear in search engine research when people are searching for keywords like ‘salon near me’, ‘hairdresser’ or ‘haircut and colour’.
What does Google Trends offer
If the primary objective of Google Search is to return relevant results to a customer’s search query, having the right information to stand out from a sea of results from similar businesses is critical. Google Trends helps you achieve this by:
Monitoring search trends
Finding new keywords
Researching your business niche
Showing the latest popular searches
Comparing keywords
Optimising for video and e-commerce
Targeting local audiences
Analysing competitors
Planning your yearly calendar
Top tip
Don’t be tempted to use high volume keywords that don't relate to your business. Google gives preference to platforms that are relevant to what a customer is searching for. That means that ranking for content that isn't relevant will lead to a high bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who only view one page on your site) which in turn signals to Google that your website or page shouldn't be included in the search results in future. This will negatively affect your search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy.
How to use Google Trends to monitor search trends
Go to Google Trends and type in what you are searching for. Let’s say you are searching for the best time to sell jackets. You’ll notice that the term has more searches during winter months and which months it is less popular. Recognising the patterns will help you publish content when consumers are hungry for it which in turn will help attract more visitors to your site.
How to use Google Trends to find new keywords
Start your search with a key word, select the time range and country and then scroll down to look at the last two blocks. In the ‘Related queries’ block on the right, you’ll get suggestions related to your key word. Filter the key words to get the top results.
How to use Google Trends to research your business niche
Type in the business niche you want to research. To check if your idea has potential for the long-term, switch the stats date in ‘Interest over time’ from 12 months to (for example) 2013-present. This will provide an overview of how it as evolved or regressed over time.
How to use Google Trends to see the latest popular searches
Enter Google Trends, in the top right corner select the country whose trends you want to check, and then scroll down. This will reveal the recently trending searches and the top yearly searches.
How to use Google Trends to compare keywords
Use the Google Trends’ comparison option which reveals which key words have the most searches and how they change over time.
How to use Google Trends to improve SEO for video and e-commerce
When searching for a term, change the channel from ‘Web Search’ to ‘YouTube Search’ or ‘Google Shopping’. This is good way to understand how trends vary if your business relies on video marketing or e-commerce. Watch this five minute tutorial on YouTube.
How to use Google trends to target local audiences
When you do a search you will see the regions and cities where your content or products have the highest Google search frequency. Use this information to optimise your website for local SEO and to target specific regions through paid advertising or custom content.
How to use Google Trends to analyse your competitors
Look in ‘Related queries’ for brands that show up in people’s searches. This is useful comparison feature to see how Google trends compare among your competitors. Use this information to analyse your market and find areas to improve.
How to use Google Trends to plan your year
It’s a good idea to match your website content and seasonal sales offers for the times that Google sales trends indicate that they are hitting their peak. Learning how to use Google Trends means you are able to look up keywords and topics in advance, look for past patterns and schedule content on the patterns that are likely to be repeated.
Still need help?
There are a number of useful YouTube tutorials on how to use Google Trends. Try this one.
A final thought
Google Trends allows advertisers and marketers to look at both past search trends for a product they plan to advertise as well as what’s popular right now. This allows them to plan the best time for their advertising campaign.
Call to action
Interested to know how mature your business is in search engine optimisation compared to other businesses like yours? Take our free Business Assessment and select "Digital Skills" followed by Search Engine Optimisation.
Key Takeouts
Google Trends is a free tool that allows you to do key word research; see what is trending on Google; find a niche; get new content ideas; or learn more about your target audience.
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