Some people make the mistake of confusing Google Trends with Google Analytics, but the two services have few similarities. Google Analytics is an application that focuses on website traffic, while Google Trends provides information on search traffic, particularly searches that are “hot” in any given location. For example, at the moment of writing this blog, most of the hot search topics are related to prom. The search interest is especially high in “how to ask someone out.” On the surface, Google Trends may appear as a fun curiosity that one can use to pass five minutes, but it can be a powerful SEO tool in the right hands.
SEO and Google Trends
The power in Google Trends rests within the detail of its insights. Let’s go back to the prom example. For prom searches, Google Trends can show details like the volume of search per state, common keywords and phrases associated with prom (dresses, how to dance, prom season) and even gender breakdowns. At the moment, far more boys than girls are trying to learn how to ask someone out.
Google Trends is not limited to popular search terms. Like the Google search engine itself, Trends allows you to search for specific keywords and view detailed results. If you are a lawyer who wants to research how potential clients search for “Personal Injury,” you can type in “Personal Injury” and get information like general interest of the topic over time (which can go back as far as 2004), what countries search for personal injury the most, and the related topics.
The related topics show associated searches or modifications that many users type after their initial input. Right now in “Personal Injury,” the highest related topic is “Medicaid,” with “Property Damage” trailing behind. With this information, you may decide to focus your Personal Injury SEO on topics related to Medicaid, or if you are just starting out may try to make property damage your niche.
Compare and Contrast
Of course, looking up just one keyword or search phrase won’t give you all the information you need for your business. You may want to see how “Medicaid” and “Property Damage” trend throughout the year, or maybe you are interested in seeing how “Car Accidents” performs as a search term compared to “Personal Injury.”
Having several separate line graphs in different windows can be hard to track, but Google Trends simplifies the data by having direct comparisons show up in one window, each with their distinct color. This way, you can learn how “Property Damage” can be more popular in one county, while “Medicaid” is more popular right next door. Google Trends’s intuitive design makes these searches easy and quick, making your journey of finding the next great content idea for your website a little smoother.
Google Trends is a fantastic tool for SEO insights, but research can dig much deeper. Where are you currently ranking on Google? What keywords are you already ranking well for, and which need work? How much of your website traffic is coming from searches, if any? Questions like these require a thorough understanding of how SEO works and how your competitors are using it to reach their business goals. Want to know how SEO can benefit your business? Fill out our free SEO audit form to find out how your website can improve, and how we can get the job done.