Have you already created your ideal customer profile (ICP) and know your target audience well, but feel like there’s still something missing to boost your Digital Marketing strategies? I bet you want to know what this audience is really searching for on the Internet, right? That’s where Google Trends comes in!
With it, you stay on top of all search trends and can use this information to improve your actions — especially the creation of content for SEO —, getting ahead of the competition.
Interesting, right? Here, I’ll show you how to use Google Trends to enhance your strategies. Come with me!
What is Google Trends and what is it for?
First, let me explain it to you from the beginning. Google Trends is a free tool from Google that allows users to discover the popularity of keywords over time and in different regions.
The tool allows you to understand user behavior, showing which words and topics they search for the most. This way, agencies and marketing professionals can validate and plan their actions according to some information shown there.
It seems simple, but it has a huge impact! Why? Well, with this information, you can adjust your Digital Marketing strategies in several ways. I’ll list some of the main ones here:
- Monitoring changes in audience search behavior and peaks of interest in specific topics;
- Source of information for Content Marketing with the production of texts, videos and other formats according to the current interests of your audience;
- Optimizing a website, because trending keywords attract more organic traffic, increasing visibility and reach;
- Improve paid media campaigns by indicating which terms are gaining popularity;
- Building omnichannel strategies, when you use trends to integrate actions across multiple platforms and channels for target audiences at different touchpoints.
How to use Google Trends?
Now, I’ll walk you through the process of using this tool. Don’t worry, it’s super simple! To search Google Trends, follow these steps:
- Go to Google Trends and enter a keyword in the main search field;
- After entering the term, adjust the filters according to your needs:
- Geographic location: select the country or region of interest;
- Period: choose between the last 7 days, 30 days or 12 months, for example;
- Categories: target results by choosing between areas such as health, sports, technology, etc.;
- Search type: such as web, news, images, shopping or YouTube.
Now, let’s interpret the data:
Deciphering the metrics
The big difference with Google Trends is that it is a tool created by the “owner of the data”, which is Google itself. So, this puts it in a position to “predict the future” in different formats, take a look:
- Interest over time: Shows the popularity of a search term over a period of time. The maximum value is 100 — high trend — while lower values indicate lower interest;
- How to use: With it, you can evaluate topics that gain or lose interest seasonally. This is useful for planning product launches or marketing campaigns at the right time;
- Interest by region: informs you how much that keyword is searched for in different regions or cities. This way, you can identify where there is the greatest demand or interest for a topic;
- How to use it: You can use it to create regional campaigns based on the data that interests that audience. For example, if “tangerine” is used more in a location than “bergamot”, you can better target your marketing actions in that area;
- Related topics and searches: these are other words or terms searched together with the main search;
- How to use: Your content and SEO strategy can include these words within the semantic field of the text to attract a diverse audience and, at the same time, maintain relevance on Google.
Comparing to the competition
Now here’s a golden tip: you can also use Google Trends to compare the popularity of terms linked to your brand and your competitors.
To do this, first type the keyword related to your brand and click on “add comparison”, adding the other term you want. You can compare up to five at the same time!
For example, let’s compare “coconut oil” with “castor oil”, for a period from 2004 until now, take a look:
Comparative graph of interest over time for “coconut oil” and “castor oil”. Source: Google Trends.
Right off the bat, the graph shows that the popularity of “coconut oil” increased from 2007 onwards, surpassing “castor oil” and seeing spikes in interest over time.
This means that there was some event in 2012 — probably television — that generated an increase in interest in this product and, with analyses like this, we can understand how to use each subject to our advantage and what the impact is of campaigns that use these terms in Marketing.
Following the same example, the graph of interest by region shows that the term “coconut oil” has a higher search volume than “castor oil” in almost every state in the country, revealing how strong the priority of this word is.
Finally, as I said before, related searches show us ideas for other relevant keywords that can be included in your Marketing and SEO strategy.
Identifying content opportunities
And now let’s move on to what I like most: using Google Trends to create relevant content. By monitoring the most searched keywords, you can get some really cool ideas to guide your productions.
To do this, consider:
- Monitor keywords to create valuable content;
- Keep an eye on searches and related topics to discover semantic terms that are interesting to your audience. For example, if you search for “Digital Marketing” and see that “Digital Marketing for Small Businesses” is trending, create content that includes these terms or is geared toward this niche as well;
- Analyze the interest graph over time to plan content based on search volume, such as “Christmas gift” guides at the end of the year or “travel tips” during the summer holidays.
Integrating into SEO strategy
Another very important point is to optimize your SEO techniques according to the data. Here’s how to do it:
- Identify trending keywords and use them in titles, subtitles, meta descriptions and body text to improve visibility and reach the top of Google;
- Track the highs and lows on the interest chart to adjust strategies and stay relevant, considering seasonalities;
- Compare search terms related to your brand and your competitors to find out which keywords are attracting the most attention;
- Use Google Trends to discover niche markets. For example, if you see a keyword that is gaining popularity in a specific region, you can create SEO content that targets that audience.
Be part of the trend!
As you can see, taking advantage of search trends is a great strategy for Digital Marketing actions. Google Trends ensures excellent targeting, which helps keep your brand aligned with the interests of the audience and ahead of the competition.
Furthermore, Google’s tool is a reliable source to guide your actions and better position your content in the search engine.
As a Content Marketing and Sales specialist, Enjoy Minder is the ideal partner for you if you want to make the most of these opportunities. So, talk to our experts to take the next steps!
