Trends don’t just tell us what’s going on in the world beyond our desks, they also educate us on where our marketing focus should be and the markets we should be targeting. Google kindly gifted the world with Google Trends, a feature that tells us the popularity of search terms. Why is this important? Because it helps us to run strategic Search Engine Optimisation campaigns (which is posh for telling us the keywords and phrases to include in our content so that when Jo(e) Public puts them into their search engine, our websites rank highly). You see, as with most things these days, it’s all about Google! So how should you use Google Trends as part of your SEO strategy?
If you have never used Google Trends before, head over there now and have a look! Just click this link.
For those of you want to learn more about google trends and how you can include it as part of your SEO strategy, read on…
Know your topics
You can’t go into using Google Trends blind. You need to know which topics to target. You might know these instinctively or it might come down to which overstocked products you want to get off your shelves.
From here you type in those keywords and phrases to see how they perform. This might be laborious but it’s time well spent. You’ll end up with a list of search terms that have a strong search volume. Profitable niches will be indicated by graphs that show steady growth in search terms. You could also jump on topics with sudden growth to try to get ahead of the competition but that can be a bit hit and miss.
Product range expansion
Google Trends can help eCommerce businesses with product range expansion. If you’re looking to expand a product range, look at related searches to your key search terms. Which related products are people interested in? They can give you great hints for safe new product categories.
Keep on top of keyword popularity
There might only be so long that you can bang the same drum. Google Trends helps you to keep on top of which keywords are still popular and those that are dwindling. A custom period can be set to explore a topic. Once you see that a topic is no longer popular you know not to waste any more time or resources over it.
Target local trends
The handy Google Trends map identifies local SEO trends that help you customise your local marketing campaigns and manage expansion into different markets. It will also tell you where your products are most popular and what people in different locations are interested in.
Competitor watch
A healthy bit of spying can be good for your business! Using the Google Trends Compare option you can see how well you are doing in your market. By keying in a maximum of 5 search terms you can see which of your competitors are growing so you can analyse why.
Blogs and videos
It’s well documented that blogs and videos are key for SEO, but their content also requires a strategic approach. The Google Trends Related Topics table shows topics that Google has identified as being close to your keyword. These can then be used as blog topics to give your SEO even more oomph! For video, use the YouTube search option in the Web Search dropdown menu.
Get in touch
Code Galaxy provides software development and website design consultancy. For more information on SEO and Google Trends or for other help with your website or software, contact us using our online form.
