How to use Google Trends for SEO
How you can use Google Trends for SEO
Keyword research
Keyword research seems the most obvious SEO-based use for Trends, but it is often overlooked in favor of Keyword Planner and the other industry-standard tools.
In fact, it serves as the perfect complement to these platforms, bringing to light patterns that they cannot reveal.
Trends will suggest new keywords based on different criteria to those employed in Keyword Planner. For example, it highlights related search queries (using the example of “dogs” again) that have very recently risen in popularity.
There will also be some outliers (in this case, the Watch Dogs video game), as Google groups a lot of related sub-topics under the aegis of the main categories.
Nonetheless, these examples do show how frequently this tool can provide unexpected ideas.
It is also reflective of how the readily available nature of fresh data on Trends can add vital, new elements to a keyword list.
This is significant as we move beyond simple keyword matching and into an age of semantic relevance. Building out a keyword list that contains the spectrum of audience demand for your products is no longer a luxury; it is a pre-requisite for performing well.
Moreover, if SEOs can target trending queries before they peak, competition will be lower and potential rewards will be greater.
For those that would like to examine the data outside of the platform, there are numerous R and Python packages that can make calls via the Google Trends API.
This allows users to download queries in order to manipulate and visualize the data. One such package for R, (gtrendsR), is explained in more detail in this handy blog post.
Combined with a versatile plotting package like ggplot2, this approach opens up a new level of functionality to Google Trends data for SEO research.
Compare search trends across Google search engines
The addition of filters for News, Shopping, Images, and YouTube to Google Trends has opened up a wide range of new SEO research opportunities.
These can be accessed from a drop-down menu at the top of the results page.
Image search data in available from 2008 to the present day and it should prove a very valuable source of inspiration for SEOs.
Not only is image search responsible for a huge amount of queries already, but it is also an area of focus for Google as it aims to fend off threats from the likes of Facebook, Amazon, and Pinterest.
It is also possible to compare these search trends across two different queries, due to the manner in which Google processes and displays the data. In the example below, I have set the filter to show the trends for “cats” in the US and for “dogs” in the UK.
Assess and predict seasonal peaks
Perhaps the most common use of Google Trends for SEO is the analysis of peaks and troughs in consumer demand.
To cite a simple, but illustrative, example of how this works, we can look at the search query [olympics].
Trending topics for reactive content
One of the most useful aspects of Google Trends is the access it provides to real-time search data. There are plenty of content marketing and SEO technologies out there, but none can provide data as reliable as the information Google serves from its own databases.
Source: Medium
Keyword research
Keyword research seems the most obvious SEO-based use for Trends, but it is often overlooked in favor of Keyword Planner and the other industry-standard tools.
In fact, it serves as the perfect complement to these platforms, bringing to light patterns that they cannot reveal.
Trends will suggest new keywords based on different criteria to those employed in Keyword Planner. For example, it highlights related search queries (using the example of “dogs” again) that have very recently risen in popularity.
There will also be some outliers (in this case, the Watch Dogs video game), as Google groups a lot of related sub-topics under the aegis of the main categories.
Nonetheless, these examples do show how frequently this tool can provide unexpected ideas.
It is also reflective of how the readily available nature of fresh data on Trends can add vital, new elements to a keyword list.
This is significant as we move beyond simple keyword matching and into an age of semantic relevance. Building out a keyword list that contains the spectrum of audience demand for your products is no longer a luxury; it is a pre-requisite for performing well.
Moreover, if SEOs can target trending queries before they peak, competition will be lower and potential rewards will be greater.
For those that would like to examine the data outside of the platform, there are numerous R and Python packages that can make calls via the Google Trends API.
This allows users to download queries in order to manipulate and visualize the data. One such package for R, (gtrendsR), is explained in more detail in this handy blog post.
Combined with a versatile plotting package like ggplot2, this approach opens up a new level of functionality to Google Trends data for SEO research.
Compare search trends across Google search engines
The addition of filters for News, Shopping, Images, and YouTube to Google Trends has opened up a wide range of new SEO research opportunities.
These can be accessed from a drop-down menu at the top of the results page.
Image search data in available from 2008 to the present day and it should prove a very valuable source of inspiration for SEOs.
Not only is image search responsible for a huge amount of queries already, but it is also an area of focus for Google as it aims to fend off threats from the likes of Facebook, Amazon, and Pinterest.
It is also possible to compare these search trends across two different queries, due to the manner in which Google processes and displays the data. In the example below, I have set the filter to show the trends for “cats” in the US and for “dogs” in the UK.
Assess and predict seasonal peaks
Perhaps the most common use of Google Trends for SEO is the analysis of peaks and troughs in consumer demand.
To cite a simple, but illustrative, example of how this works, we can look at the search query [olympics].
Trending topics for reactive content
One of the most useful aspects of Google Trends is the access it provides to real-time search data. There are plenty of content marketing and SEO technologies out there, but none can provide data as reliable as the information Google serves from its own databases.
Source: Medium
