10 Ways to Use Google Trends for Better SEO

Undeniably, Google Trends is an incredibly functional and free tool to conduct keyword research. However, not many are aware of its advanced search options hidden from plain sight. 

Exploring Google Trends menus and options gives you endless insights into your target keyword. For SEO specialists, Google Trends is quite a boon. With an easy-to-use interface, detailed and varied info, and data-driven visuals, Google Trends holds the cue to rank high across SERPS.

In this blog post, you will learn how to use Google Trends in the 10 best ways to improve your SEO strategy.

What is Google Trends?

Google Trends is nothing but a high-end, real time data exploration tool that offers a range of insights for specific keywords and other related searches and queries.

Simply put, Google Trends shows how frequently a particular keyword is entered into the search bar.

Besides, the Google Trends Compare feature also shows a website’s total search volume over a preferred period.

Additionally, it offers valuable information related to the search volume index as well as the geographical location of users.

Besides seeking assistance with keyword ideas, you can also use Google Trends to discover specific searches that are currently trending and varying search volume for a target keyword across different locations.

No wonder seasonal businesses that show up on Google shopping searches can use Trends to monitor shifting patterns in consumer interests.

One of the most compelling reasons why Google Trends is a preferred tool for SEO is because it’s free, especially if you are new to SEO and don’t want to spend on paid tools.

A quick look at Google trends for the first time can confuse you, but every dashboard data makes sense. 

For starters, here are three ways you can use Google Trends :

1. To find keywords: By looking up a topic on Trends, it’ll help you find all relevant keywords for that topic currently trending on Google. Further, it also gives you access to related queries that help expand your horizon. You can quickly identify where and how your audience interacts with the topic. 
2. To analyze keywords: By correctly analyzing and understanding the list of keywords, you can narrow your focus and filter it using key metrics. Google Trends helps you understand and make sense of the keywords by showing the keyword volume and the platforms it is trending on. When you combine such insights with other SEO tools, it will help boost your content strategy.
3. To target specific keywords: When you have the final list of keywords ready, the next step is to understand the user intent. That way, you will better understand your audience, who they are, and what they want. You can also use the Google Trends filter data option to find relevant results. This, in turn, will help you analyze how the search trend has changed across web search queries, images, YouTube, Google shopping, news, etc.

How Does Google Trends Work?

As the world’s greatest search engine, Google generates trillions of search results every day. That’s a lot of real time data.

Now, when it comes to effective representation and segmentation of related search terms of interest, you can use Google Trends to anonymize data. This generally shapes group searches based on general queries to uncover related topics and specific search terms.

In other words, when you use Google Trends, you better your chance to measure the right interest level for a topic or search term minus all the biases.

Additionally, Google Trends analyzes the popularity levels of search terms in real time. It shows what people are searching over different locations and how the search volume is impacted by the hour.

This is vital information that affects SEO strategy. While there are several options for paid SEO tools, Google Trends is definitely the first on the list as a free, reliable investigator. It also makes it fairly easy for users to conduct research according to a specific search term and goal.

If you are tight on budget and don’t want to invest in a paid tool for SEO right away, Google Trends can cover a lot of ground. 

Primarily a data exploration tool, Google Trends identifies patterns by tracking real-time search volume and showcases them through engaging visuals.

That way, it helps to easily highlight the latest trends that can be further classified according to region, time frame, platform, and more.

However, it is wrong to assume every search term is aggravated when you use Google Trends, barring a few searches. If that would have been the case, Google search results would have taken longer to appear.

Instead, Google Trends has an intuitive dashboard that uses random samples of trending searches with multiple options to gain valuable insights and find search volume trends.

No matter how impressive it sounds, Google has cautioned not to rely solely on the results of Google Trends to understand search term dynamics.

Also, as an SEO specialist, you must not take the same data used into account for a direct head-to-head comparison with other tools like Google Shopping Ads. Each dataset follows a different measuring method and is further normalized to gain valuable insights.

That’s why the results you get when using Google Trends for a particular keyword differ from a typical Google search.

Google Trends also normalizes search data by considering a specific web or search term’s popularity. Further, it tallies the same against the total number of searches generated for a particular keyword. The region and time you set when using Google Trends is also a vital parameter.

Here’s an example to help you understand the concept better.

Let’s assume you use Google Trends to know the top search traffic volume trends for terms specific to cars popular in a city.

In this case, the algorithm of Google Trends will apply a simple mathematical formula. It will consider the search volume for cars and divide the same for each car-specific data by the total number of related search queries made in your city for that day.

Doing so will prevent the typical anomalies like cities with the highest number of related queries ranking first only because of the population. While more than one city is expected to have a similar liking, the trending keywords can still differ.

The other adjustment Google Trends makes to the web search data is scaling. This is befitting for digital marketers looking to boost SEO efforts.

Google Trends data is typically displayed with a max value of 100. That means, at the peak of search interest levels, the data will be shown as a value of 100, whether it’s a thousand web searches in a small town or a million globally.

Such adjustments allow digital marketers to effectively track peaks in search results for closely related keywords over a day, week, or month.

10 Powerful Ways to Use Google Trends for SEO

Knowing how Google Trends works is not enough.

For a brand looking to make an impact, you will need to use the tool to generate insights into search volume, behavior, and trends. Only then will you have a rock-solid content strategy in place. 

Here’s exploring 10 compelling ways to use Google Trends for better SEO. 

1. Planning Your SEO Efforts to Match Seasonal Demands

Have you ever wondered why business starts to see a rise in drinks and foods during the holidays?

This is because seasonal demands and trends go hand-in-hand. During some months of the year, the surge in volume for related topics is exponentially compared to the rest of the year.

Using Google Trends to understand and anticipate trends as per the season will impact content strategy and marketing campaigns.

For instance, February is known as the month of love, and certain related keywords like “Valentine’s Day” or “Valentine’s Day gift ideas” will rank better if you identify the trend ahead of time.

Your peak seasons might look different depending on your industry, size, and product market. By utilizing the features of Google Trends, you can predict the audience’s interest level.

That’s why it’s essential to always be on the lookout for hidden opportunities or breakout keywords that, if capitalized correctly, attract a good number of visitors to your website. 

2. Capitalize On Relevant Trends 

The “recently trending” and “trending searches” are two key places you can look into using Google Trends. They will inform you of the current topic keywords that are doing well.

You can always climb the trend wave by identifying key phrases ranking high on popularity charts. The other way of using Google Trends is by looking at related queries and understanding the gaps where the target audience might be interested.

Finding new ways to generate or repurpose content to address the audience’s needs will help you gain maximum benefit.

3. Understanding Geographic Trends (Where Your Products/Services Are Most in Demand)

A business is able to thrive and cater to a region where its products and services are most in demand.

By using Google Trends, identifying such key areas becomes easier. If you’re targeting a particular geographical region, Google Trends can help identify locations with a higher probability of ranking for target keywords.

Tailoring your content based on where your potential customers are and then targeting them by using relevant search will increase the odds of conversion.

Geo-targeted Google ads and capitalizing on local trends will further boost traffic for your web page. 

4. Learn the Best Type of Content to Create exclusively for that Keyword

Try interpreting the type of content that is most in demand for a particular keyword. That way, it will be easier to generate relevant content pieces.

For instance, a particular topic and keyword is preferred by your audience to be consumed in the form of a YouTube video. Instead, writing a blog post will be a sheer waste of time and money.

By analyzing data across the web, news, shopping pages, etc., on Google Trends, a business will have a better chance of reaching people. 

5. Separate the Fads From Trends and Avoid Wasting Time on Content Ideas

Being intentional and productive about the trends you capitalize on is crucial, especially when plenty of fads are hitting the market.

If you invest your time, energy, and resources in a topic, then ensure the interest is not temporary. After all, good content comes at the cost of blood, sweat, and tears. This is where Google Trends gains paramount concern.

By checking the keyword or topic interest over a time graph, it becomes easy to identify fads (which explode but then just as suddenly fade) vs. trends (that are more cyclical in nature and steadily grow over a long period). 

6. Identify E-commerce / Merchant Center Opportunities With Google Shopping Trends

Analyzing product-specific data helps businesses understand ongoing trends and consumer behavior more intimately. Since Google shopping is a heavily used feature, it makes the analysis much easier.

If you can identify prime Google shopping trends for products, e-commerce opportunities will be easier to spot and capitalize on. 

7. Analyzing Competitors’ Position and Their Content 

Every good business keeps track of its competitors. Using the “Compare” option on Google Trends makes your keyword research more insightful.

By taking stock of your position compared to your competitors, you’ll better understand where you stand. Plus, when you analyze what is working for other businesses in your industry, you can take inspiration and leverage this insight to reap maximum benefits. 

8. Finding Video and How-to Trends By Limiting to YouTube Searches

YouTube is the online school of the tech space. Users conduct a YouTube search for a wide variety of reasons, from assistance with specific gadgets to cooking recipes, exercise guides, and more.

As such, the volume of YouTube search queries continues to grow every second, and its popularity has never dipped. It’s essential to understand what type of videos work to utilize this platform and garner views and reach.

Google Trends helps you niche down and analyze YouTube search trends, find popular keywords, and identify topics that are currently trending. Generating videos with a “how-to” approach by looking at the related queries and keywords will be a surefire hit.

9. Find Region-Specific Words and Phrases to Target

Looking for region-specific keywords is another brilliant way to expand your keyword search volume and add synonyms and related words to your list.

For instance, language and slang differences will get your phrases that are differently used in the UK versus the US. Such nuances in language according to regions shouldn’t be overlooked by any business wanting to attract a global audience. Incorporating a few phrases and interchangeable words gives you a better chance to rank a webpage across different regions. 

10. Explore Drops in Traffic From Organic Search

The use of Google Trends isn’t just confined to keyword-specific research. Analyzing drops in organic traffic is also a feature that most SEO specialists constantly take into account.

In this case, the first order of business is to check whether the drop is due to technical or manual reasons. Often, the drop can be attributed to trends instead of poor SEO practices.

If it is due to a trend, you’ll find it dips yearly on a time graph of not more than 12 months. In that case, it’s just a seasonal keyword; you don’t have to panic about changing your SEO strategy. 

Unlock The Hidden Power Of Google Trends

Google Trends can be used for a wide variety of needs- from finding the right keywords for your niche to organizing a content calendar and even tracking your competitors. 

Finding SEO practices, new keywords, and content ideas that help take your business to the next level would be incomplete without the help of Google Trends.

So, the next time you are looking for keyword research, suggestions, and ideas to spruce up your SEO strategy, don’t forget to try Google Trends. It’ll help you to unlock the true potential of a brand.

Some FAQs that you will find helpful: 

Q1: What is the primary benefit of using Google Trends for SEO?

A: The primary benefit of using Google Trends for SEO is effortlessly analyzing real-time search data.

As a brand, this will help you to identify trending topics and keywords, understand the user intent, create content, and optimize content strategy.

Q2: How can Google Trends help me in my SEO efforts for seasonal demands?

A: Google Trends can help anticipate the seasonal trends in search trends by highlighting keywords with a significant boost in search volume.

Accordingly, you can plan your content and marketing campaigns to meet user needs at that time of the year.

Q3: Why geographic trends are important in SEO? How can Google Trends help?

A: Understanding geographic trends is crucial for targeting the specific regions and locations where your products and services might be in heavy demand.

Google Trends quickly identifies areas with a high probability of ranking for a particular set of keywords so that you can develop your content strategy accordingly.

Q4: Can Google Trends help a brand differentiate between fads and trends?

A: Certainly! Google Trends can easily distinguish between fads and trends using historical data.

By analyzing trends and other related keywords, you can identify related topics and also decide on content ideas to grow in popularity and stay away from investing in resources for temporary spikes.

Q5: How can Google Trends help competitor analysis?

A: Google Trends has a built-in “compare” option that allows you to assess the keyword performance of blog content against your competitors.

That way, you will know how to plan your own keyword strategy and optimize your content accordingly.