Google Trends is a very useful tool for keyword research, especially when using the advanced search options that are almost hidden in plain sight.
Explore the various Google Trends menus and options and discover the seemingly endless ways to get more keyword search volume insights.
Learn a new way to unlock the power of one of Google’s most important SEO tools.
The Value Of Google Trends
While Google Trends is accurate, it doesn’t show actual traffic numbers.
It shows the number of queries made as a relative percentage on a scale of zero to 100.
Unlike Google Trends, paid SEO tools provide traffic volume numbers for keywords.
But those numbers are just estimates extrapolated from a mix of internet traffic data providers, Google Keyword Planner, scraped search results, and other sources.
Click stream data usually comes from anonymous traffic data obtained from users of certain pop-up blockers, browser plug-ins, and some free anti-virus software.
The SEO tool then applies calculations that match their best guesses about how the data correlates with Google keyword searches and traffic volume.
So while paid SEO tools provide keyword traffic estimates, the data provided by Google Trends is based on actual search queries and not guesswork.
Not that Google Trends is any better than paid keyword tools. When used in conjunction with a paid keyword tool, one can get an almost accurate idea of a keyword’s actual search volume.
There are other functions in Google Trends that can help summon accurate segmentation of keyword data which helps understand which geographic locations are best for promotional efforts and also discover new and trending keywords.
How To Use Google Trends For SEO
1. Get More Accurate Data By Comparing Keywords
Google Trends shows relative traffic visualizations on a scale of zero to 100.
You can’t really tell if the trend is reporting hundreds or thousands of keyword searches because the graph is on a relative scale of zero to one hundred.
However, relative numbers can be more meaningful when compared to keywords whose traffic levels are known from other keyword phrases.
One way to do this is to compare a keyword’s search volume to that of a keyword for which you already know accurate traffic figures, for example from a PPC campaign.
If your keyword volume is so large that you don’t have any keywords to compare, there are other ways to find keywords to use for comparison.
Comparison keywords don’t have to be related. It can be in a completely different vertical and can even be a trending celebrity name.
What matters is the general keyword volume data.
Google publishes the Google Trends Daily Trends web page that displays trending search queries.
What’s useful about this page is that Google provides keyword volume in numbers, like 100,000+ searches per day, etc.
Example Of How To Pinpoint Search Volume
I’ll use the search phrase [how to lose weight] as an example of how to use Google Trends to get a closer picture of actual search volume.
The way I do this is by using a known search volume and comparing it to the target keyword phrase.
Google provides search volume on its trending search page, which can be adjusted according to what’s trending in any country.
On this particular day (22 September 2022), actress Ana De Armas was trending with 50,000+ searches, and former American football player (keyword phrase [Bret Favre News]) was trending with 20,000+ searches.
Step 1. Find Search Trends For Target Keyword Phrases
The target keyword phrase we researched was [how to lose weight].
Below is a screenshot of the one year trend for the target keyword phrase:
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
As you can see, this was a pretty stable trend line from September 2021 to September 2022.
Then I added two keyword phrases for which we have close search volume numbers to compare all three, but for a 24 hour timeframe.
I’m using a 24 hour timeframe because the search volume for our comparison keyword is trending for one day today.
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
Our target keyword phrase, with the red trending line, is right in the middle, between the [Ana De Armas] (blue) and [Bret Favre News] (yellow) keyword phrases.
The comparison above tells us that the phrase [how to lose weight] has a keyword volume of over 20,000+ searches but less than 50,000+ searches.
The relative search volume of [how to lose weight] is 50% of the keyword phrase [Ana De Armas].
Since we know that [Ana De Armas] has a search volume of around 50,000+ searches on any given day, and [Bret Favre News] has a search volume of 20,000+ queries on the same day, we can say with some accuracy that the keyword phrase, [way lose weight] has an approx daily search volume of around 30,000 on an average day, a few thousand more or less.
The actual number could be higher because Google Trends shows the highs and lows at certain points in the day. The total for the day is likely higher.
The hack above is not 100% accurate. But it’s enough to provide a solid rough idea and can be used to compare and validate data extrapolated from paid keyword research tools.
Related: How To Do Keyword Research For SEO
2. Discover Insights From Time-based Trends
There are two common ways to look at keyword data: stretched over a longer period and across a shorter period.
You can set up Google Trends to show you traffic trends starting back in 2004. This is useful for showing you audience trends.
For example, review these five year trends for the search term [WordPress], WordPress software, and WordPress websites:
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
There is a clear downward trend for WordPress across all three variations.
The downward trend extends to related phrases such as:
There are many reasons why search trends are down. It could be that people have lost interest, interest has gone elsewhere or the trend has become obsolete.
The digital camera product category is a good example of the downward spiral caused by products being replaced by something else.
Knowing which way the wind is blowing can help content marketers or publishers understand when it’s time to save a topic or product category and move on to trending topics.
Related: Content Marketing: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
3. Related Topics And Queries
Google Trends has two great features, one called Related Topics and the other Related Queries.
Topics are search queries that share concepts.
Identifying related topics that are on the rise is useful for studying how audiences or consumer demands are changing.
This information can in turn provide ideas for new content creation or product selection.
Users who searched for your term also searched for this topic.
You Can See with the Following Metrics
Top – Most popular topics. Ratings are on a relative scale where a score of 100 is the most searched topic and a score of 50 is half of the most popular terms searched, and so on.
Increase – The topics related to the largest increase in search frequency since the last time period.
Results tagged with “Breakout” saw a marked increase, possibly because the topic was new and had few (if any) previous searches.”
Descriptions of Related Questions are similar to Related Topics.
Top queries are generally the most popular searches. Rising Query is a query that is currently popular.
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
Data from Rising Query is great for staying ahead of the competition.
4. Short-Term Trends Can Bring Massive Traffic
Seeing keyword trends in a short view, such as a 90-day or even 30-day view, can reveal valuable insights for taking advantage of rapidly changing search trends.
There is a lot of traffic on Google Discover as well as on Google News.
Google Discover is related to trending topics related to search.
Google News is a watershed moment in terms of current events.
Sites that target one of those traffic channels benefit by knowing what the short-term trends are.
The benefit of looking at short-term trends (30 days and 90 trends) is that certain days of the week stand out when those searches are popular.
Knowing what days of the week the interest for a particular topic can be helpful in planning when to publish certain types of topics, so that the content is there when your audience searches for it.
5. Keywords By Category
Google Trends has a function to narrow your keyword search query inventory by category topic.
This provides more accurate keyword data.
The Categories tab is important because it distills your keyword research to the right context.
If your keyword context is [car], it makes sense to fine-tune Google Trends to only show data for the car context.
By narrowing Google Trends data by category, you’ll be able to find more accurate information on the topic you’re researching for content in the right context.
6. Identify Keyword Data By Geography
Google Trends keyword information based on geographic location can be used to determine which areas are best to reach for site promotion or to adapt content to specific regions.
For example, if a certain type of product is popular in Washington D.C. and Texas, it makes sense to direct promotional activities and localize content to those areas.
In fact, it may be useful to focus link building promotional activities in those areas first as interest is higher in those parts of the country.
Keyword popularity information by region is invaluable for link building, content creation, content promotion and pay per click.
Localizing content (and promoting it) can make it more relevant to people who are interested in that content (or products).
Google ranks pages according to who is most relevant, so incorporating geographic nuances into your content can help rank for the most people.
7. Target Search Intents With Search Types
Google Trends gives you the ability to further refine keyword data by grouping it by the search type from which the data comes, Search Type.
Refineing your Google Trends research by search type allows you to remove the “noise” that may be making your keyword research unclear and helps it be more accurate and meaningful.
Google Trends data can be enhanced by:
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
YouTube search is a fantastic way to identify search trends for content with the word “how” because many people search YouTube using phrases with the word “how” in them.
Even though these are searches performed on YouTube, trending data is useful because it shows what users are searching for.
Google Trends searches for how, what, where, when, why, and who show that search queries starting with “how” are the most popular on YouTube.
Google Trends limits comparisons to five keywords, so the following screenshot omits those words.
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
If your keyword phrase involves instructional content that uses words like “how to”, enhancing your research with a YouTube search type can provide useful insights.
For example, I’ve found that YouTube Search returns more relevant “related topics” and “related queries” data than research with “web search” selected.
Here’s another example of how using different search types helps refine Google Trends data.
I did the same how, what, where, when, why and who to search but this time using the News Search fix.
Screenshot from Google Trends, September 2022
Search trends on Google News are very different from search patterns on YouTube. That’s because people want to know the “what” and “how” types of information in Google News.
When creating content related to news, it is important to identify the right angle to report the news item.
Knowing which “what” or “who” words are most relevant to a topic can be useful for crafting a title to be what readers are most interested in.
Above is a view of search queries for the last 90 days.
When the same keywords are searched using a 5 year perspective, it becomes clear that “who” type keywords tend to spike according to current events.
As an example of how current events influence trends, the biggest spike in searches for the word “who” occurred in the days following the 2020 presidential election.
Each Search Type query refinement provides a different help for filtering the results to show more accurate information.
So try the Search Type option as the information provided may be more accurate and useful than the more common and potentially noisy “web search” version.
Unlock The Hidden Power Of Google Trends
Free tools are generally considered to be less useful than paid tools. That’s not necessarily the case with Google Trends.
This article lists seven ways to find useful search-related trends and patterns that are totally accurate, more than some search-related data from paid tools.
What’s really important is that this article is only beginning to scratch the surface of all the available information.
Check out Google Trends and learn about additional ways to mix search patterns for more useful information.
Featured Image: Romance Studio/Shutterstock
Conclusion: In the timeframe considered, Google Trends proved to be reliable only for surveys on RSV of countries around the world.
How do I master Google Trends?
- Using Google Trends to Find a Niche.
- Find Relevant Product Categories in Related Topics.
- Using Google Trends for Keyword Research.
- Promote Your Store Around Seasonal Trends.
- Using Google Trends for Content Freshness.
- Create Content About Current Trends.
- Find Niche Topics by Region.
What’s a good score on Google Trends? Interpreting Google Trends A value of 100 is the peak of the term’s popularity, while a value of 50 means the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means that a sufficient amount of data is not available for the selected term. Let’s use the image below as an example.
How do I use Google Trends well?
To start using Google Trends, enter keywords into the search bar or choose one of the examples provided. You can also scroll down to see general information about current trends in your country. We can see a breakdown of how popular each term is in each state.
What is the most popular thing on Google Trends?
| # | Search terms | organic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | YouTube | 2.9B |
| 2 | 1.7B | |
| 3 | translate | 22.8 million |
| 4 | pornhub | 208.9 million |
What is a good number for Google Trends?
When looking at a graph of search interest over time, the point at which the chart reaches 100 is the peak of search popularity. At this point, the ratio of queries for a given search term to the total number of searches performed in that region is the highest it has ever been during that period.
How do I read Google Trends?
When you search for a term in Trends, you’ll see a graph showing the term’s popularity over (near) real time. Hovering your mouse over the graph shows a number, which reflects how many searches have been performed for a given term relative to the total number of searches performed on Google.
Can you get exact numbers from Google Trends?
Google Trends won’t give you any absolute numbers on searches, only relative ones. To get absolute numbers, you’ll need to use something different, like the Google Adwords Keyword Planner, which is really designed for building Google Ads.
What are the dotted lines in Google Trends?
General trends regarding COVID-19 The solid line shows the weekly positive trend of COVID-19 while the dotted line shows the trend of GT search volume for the keyword âCOVIDâ in each region (or the corresponding Japanese language keyword in Japan).
Does Google know everything I’ve ever searched?
If you use Google products, they try to track even more. In addition to tracking everything you’ve ever searched for on Google (eg “weird rash”), Google also tracks every video you’ve ever watched on YouTube.
How far can Google search be traced? Users can choose a time limit – between three or 18 months – for how long this information can be stored by Google. Anything older than 18 months will be automatically deleted.
Does Google keep a record of my searches?
When you search on Google with Web & App Activity turned on, Google saves activity such as your Search history to your Google Account. We use your saved activity across Google services to provide you with more personalized experiences, such as app and content recommendations.
Does Google keep track of your searches?
When Web & App Activity is on, Google stores information such as: Your searches and other things you do on Google products and services, like Maps and Play. Location, language, IP address, referrer and whether you are using a browser or app. Ads that you click on, or items that you buy on the advertiser’s site.
How long does Google keep a record of your searches?
Complete deletion of data from our servers is equally important for user peace of mind. This process generally takes about 2 months from the time of deletion. This often includes a month-long recovery period if data is accidentally deleted.
What do marketers do on Google Trends?
Identify Trends and Generate Sales By using Google Trends to search for competing brands, compare product features, or identify top queries in a particular industry, you can find products or features that your target audience values or is more interested in.
How does Google Trends use social media marketing? Selecting a Hashtag With Google Trends, you can find keywords that are popular in an area or demographic you want to reach, and incorporate them into your social media posts as hashtags. “Having three or four optimized and targeted hashtags,†he explains, “is much better than listing every hashtag that comes to mind.â€
Why is Google Trends a valuable resource for doing market research?
Google Trends helps to get an idea of the demand or popularity of any keyword/trend. Choosing popular keywords, and using them in their articles, helps content creators to drive more traffic and gain popularity. Also, entrepreneurs and business people use Google Trends for market research.
What is Google Trends best used for?
Google Trends can be used for comparative keyword research and to find event-triggered spikes in keyword search volume. Google Trends provides keyword-related data including a search volume index and geographic information about search engine users.
What can Google Trends be used for?
Google Trends provides access to a largely unfiltered sample of actual search queries made to Google. These are anonymized (no one is personally identifiable), categorized (specifies topics for search queries) and aggregated (grouped together).
What is the most popular thing on Google Trends?
| # | Search terms | organic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | YouTube | 2.9B |
| 2 | 1.7B | |
| 3 | translate | 22.8 million |
| 4 | pornhub | 208.9 million |
What are three things you can use Google Trends for?
Google Trends is a trend search feature that shows the popularity of search terms on Google. You can see if the trend is up or down. You can also find demographic insights, related topics, and related queries to help you better understand Google trends.
What’s most popular on Google Trends?
How can Google Trends be used in class?
Using Trends is a great way to ask high-level thinking questions. For example, have students ask about a topic like the 2nd Amendment, and see when and where the search has had its ups and downs. Ask them why they think it peaked at a certain time – what happened at that peak.
What can Google Trends be used for?
Google Trends provides access to a largely unfiltered sample of actual search queries made to Google. These are anonymized (no one is personally identifiable), categorized (specifies topics for search queries) and aggregated (grouped together).
How can Google Trends Help Students?
Users can explore people’s browsing interests and find additional data such as the most relevant articles, interests over time, interests by region, trending queries and related topics.